Mid-term update from Mayor Fortin

By Dean Fortin
Mayor, City of Victoria

This May marks the halfway point in my second term as Mayor in the City of Victoria. As always, it is a team effort of Mayor and Council and staff that get things done, and it is the men and women who work for the citizens of Victoria in public service that deserve the true credit.

The world and our city have seen a number of changes over the last four and a half years, but I remain committed to the same priorities. I remain committed to providing affordable housing so everyone has a place to live in our city. I remain committed to protecting our environment so our city remains a beautiful place for generations to come. And I remain committed to building a strong, vibrant economy so everyone has an opportunity to realize their dreams in our city.

A Home for Everyone

Housing and homelessness continue to be a top priority. I am happy to report that a number of rental and supportive housing units have been constructed in Victoria and the Capital Region, representing a major step forward. In order to ensure Victoria is a place for everyone, we must ensure that there are housing options at all points along the housing continuum.

In 2010, the City purchased two Traveller's Inn motels. Today Queens Manor provides 36 units of supportive housing for adults previously without a home. The second building, Siem Lelum, will provide 40-45 units of housing for Aboriginal youth, young families and grandparents raising grandchildren. Phase one, which will provide 26 units, is scheduled to open this spring.

Loreen Place opened at 35-39 Gorge Road, providing 52 new units of rental housing which are operated by the Greater Victoria Housing Society. The City of Victoria's Housing Trust Fund provided partial funding for this project. Affordable rental housing is key to the livability and long term sustainability of our city and projects like Loreen Place fill an important gap.

Several new construction projects are underway or on the horizon, and will bring new residential units to our growing city.

Protecting our Environment

With input from citizens, we made improvements to a number of public spaces around the city. The Chandler Gonzales Pathway was reopened, providing a safe route for school children to walk to Margaret Jenkins School. We replaced aging play equipment in the Cook Street Playground, after hearing ideas from children and parents about the features that they wanted to see in the playground, and we built a new play area in Fisherman's Wharf Park. More playground improvements are in the works for Wark Street and Fern Street this year. Vibrant public spaces are important for young families to play and gather.