mr.x
August 20th, 2007, 10:20 PM
Councillor eyes space under Canada Line
But organizer worries parking and servicing limits possibilities
Nelson Bennett, Richmond News
Published: Tuesday, August 14, 2007
A few days ago, as he contemplated the Richmond Night Market's desperate attempts to find a new home, Coun. Bill McNulty had a minor epiphany.
Put it under the Canada Line, he thought.
After all, the elevated guideway for the new rapid transit system will create dead space that the city wants filled up anyway.
And as anyone who has been to a major Asian city will attest, overpasses and elevated guideways are often used as open-air bazaars -- something McNulty saw first-hand when he travelled to China on an exploratory sister city visit last month.
"When I was in Beijing, I saw markets under the roadways and overpasses," he said. "They utilize any available space."
Time is running out for the popular open-air market. It currently operates from a large piece of land east of No. 5 Road between River Road and Vulcan Way.
The market's lease is running out and its organizer, Raymond Cheung, needs to settle on an alternate location soon.
"It's a great idea," he said of McNulty's proposal, "but it will take a lot of time to resolve the issues, and my main concern is timing."
The Canada Line is slated to open in 2009. But Cheung needs a home for next summer.
"We have to be prepared for next year."
Canada Line spokesman Alan Dever said the elevated guideway will be complete by next summer, so it's feasible for the space beneath to be used for seasonal retail purposes.
"Station construction may not be finished," Dever added.
McNulty said it is important to keep the Night Market in Richmond. If the city does not find a new home for it soon, it will likely end up in some other city.
Cheung said he is in negotiations for alternate locations in three other municipalities.
The Night Market has grown from 40 booths eight years ago to 400. It attracts 30,000 to 35,000 people per night, Cheung said. With 300,000 potential customers over the summer season, the market has become an ideal test market for nascent businesses.
"It has tremendous economic opportunities for very small businesses," McNulty said.
Even if the lease weren't expiring, Cheung said the night market is outgrowing its current location.
"We've pretty much maxed out the space. Either way, we have to find a new home," Cheung said.
Richmond's economic development office has been scrambling to find another home for the night Market, but so far none of the locations are suitable, as far as Cheung is concerned.
"The staff have been working very hard on this issue," Cheung said. "There's no land. They're not God -- they can't create land."
As for McNulty's proposal for Canada Line, even if the space underneath the elevated guideways can be used, Cheung said there are other challenges, although they are challenges that he will face anywhere in Richmond.
One is that the site must be serviced. The biggest challenge, though, is parking.
"We get about 8,000 cars to an event every night," Cheung said. As far as he is aware, there is nothing within the Canada Line corridor to accommodate that many cars.
© Richmond News 2007
But organizer worries parking and servicing limits possibilities
Nelson Bennett, Richmond News
Published: Tuesday, August 14, 2007
A few days ago, as he contemplated the Richmond Night Market's desperate attempts to find a new home, Coun. Bill McNulty had a minor epiphany.
Put it under the Canada Line, he thought.
After all, the elevated guideway for the new rapid transit system will create dead space that the city wants filled up anyway.
And as anyone who has been to a major Asian city will attest, overpasses and elevated guideways are often used as open-air bazaars -- something McNulty saw first-hand when he travelled to China on an exploratory sister city visit last month.
"When I was in Beijing, I saw markets under the roadways and overpasses," he said. "They utilize any available space."
Time is running out for the popular open-air market. It currently operates from a large piece of land east of No. 5 Road between River Road and Vulcan Way.
The market's lease is running out and its organizer, Raymond Cheung, needs to settle on an alternate location soon.
"It's a great idea," he said of McNulty's proposal, "but it will take a lot of time to resolve the issues, and my main concern is timing."
The Canada Line is slated to open in 2009. But Cheung needs a home for next summer.
"We have to be prepared for next year."
Canada Line spokesman Alan Dever said the elevated guideway will be complete by next summer, so it's feasible for the space beneath to be used for seasonal retail purposes.
"Station construction may not be finished," Dever added.
McNulty said it is important to keep the Night Market in Richmond. If the city does not find a new home for it soon, it will likely end up in some other city.
Cheung said he is in negotiations for alternate locations in three other municipalities.
The Night Market has grown from 40 booths eight years ago to 400. It attracts 30,000 to 35,000 people per night, Cheung said. With 300,000 potential customers over the summer season, the market has become an ideal test market for nascent businesses.
"It has tremendous economic opportunities for very small businesses," McNulty said.
Even if the lease weren't expiring, Cheung said the night market is outgrowing its current location.
"We've pretty much maxed out the space. Either way, we have to find a new home," Cheung said.
Richmond's economic development office has been scrambling to find another home for the night Market, but so far none of the locations are suitable, as far as Cheung is concerned.
"The staff have been working very hard on this issue," Cheung said. "There's no land. They're not God -- they can't create land."
As for McNulty's proposal for Canada Line, even if the space underneath the elevated guideways can be used, Cheung said there are other challenges, although they are challenges that he will face anywhere in Richmond.
One is that the site must be serviced. The biggest challenge, though, is parking.
"We get about 8,000 cars to an event every night," Cheung said. As far as he is aware, there is nothing within the Canada Line corridor to accommodate that many cars.
© Richmond News 2007