Do you really believe that this project will come in on time and on budget?
The Johnson St bridge project is a good example of the city over selling a project.
If the Crystal Pool project follows the same trajectory it will end up costing 377 million dollars and open in 2042.
However, with the Johnson St bridge project the city had major funding from other levels of government.
For the Crystal Pool project no other level of government or other municipality has offered any funding at all.
The Victoria taxpayer is liable for the whole thing!
LET’S
CLEAR
CRYSTAL POOL
Let's CLEAR the air and build a reasonable, affordable, pool for Victoria
Imagine the Costs
The Crystal Pool regional mega-project
proposes to spend a projected
$215,000,000.— more than three times what the Johnson St. bridge was projected to cost!
Property taxes, rent, and houseing costs will all increase for 20 years. More of our local businesses will close down or move.
Between 29 and 52 mature trees will be razed, and Central Park will be a construction zone until at least 2030.
If the project comes in on schedule.
This Coalition's stance is simple — it does not make sense to put a regional mega-project in a densifying downtown neighbourhood where where so many families live vertically and don't have a backyard.
We are not neutral on the location of the facility — the south option would result in the destruction of between 29 and 52 large mature trees and all the free-to-access recreational facilities. It is also the more expensive option, and would leave less than 1/4 of the park accessible.
We encourage you to vote NO to the borrowing and NORTH on the location!
Victorians need a reasonable new pool facility, accessible housing, and less street disorder.
Let's clear the decks and try again —we can do better ↓
Why Vote NO?
For the
wellbeing of victorians!
Trust
Housing & Affordablity Crisis
The cost of this regional megaproject will be applied directly to housing costs.
This will drive up rents and housing costs when Victorians can least afford it.
The impact of this cost escalation is scheduled to last 20 years.
Regional Facility - Local Cost
This facility was designed as a regional facility but only the 100k residents of Victoria are paying for it.
Victoria already shoulders more than its share of regional burdens.
Why should the Victoria taxpayer be the only one paying for this regional facility when Sannich is unwilling to come up with a mere $2M to keep the McKinnon Pool open?
Meanwhile other municipalities are sending their homeless to Victoria in taxis.
No other level of government or municipality is willing to commit money to this.
Why should the Victoria taxpayer be asked to go it alone?
Climate Resilience
Between 28 and 52 mature trees will be cut down in an urban heat island which will take a hundred years to recover.
The proposed building has floor to ceiling glass. It is incredibly inefficient by design.
Increasingly frequent heat domes means large mature trees in community areas are crucial. Access to greenspace is a big factor in community health.
As is ensuring that children can use the free children's playground, seniors can use the free pickleball courts, and community members can access North Park's only usable greenspace.
ON THE REFERENDUM, THERE WILL BE TWO QUESTIONS:
Question #1
Asks if the City should borrow $168,900,000 to replace the facility.
Question #2
A non-binding question of Voters' preference for the location of the facility—either Central Park North (where the current facility is) or Central Park South, where the basketball and tennis courts, children's playground and playing fields sit.
Vote NO to the borrowing and NORTH on the location!
