Densifying Transit Hubs
For the majority of students, it is a necessity to live close to transit systems if we are living far away from campus. Finding a home with reasonable access to transit is a huge perk as it can drastically cut down our daily commute (students need as much time as they can get). By creating dense housing close to transit, there will be more opportunities for students to live close to campus.
The new proposed legislation was announced on November 8th where the BC Housing Minister said the purpose of it is “to help deliver housing to places already served by transit, and so more people can live and work in communities that they call home”. This is a way to maximize the utility of our public transportation networks to create a more efficient system where people can live and work seamlessly — or for students, live and study better.
If you’re a student in Victoria and commute to school, you probably know just how many important bus routes there are that get us directly to the UVic exchange. This proposed legislation requires municipalities to zone areas that are near these crucial arteries as transit-oriented development areas. That means more density will be added close to bus exchanges and rapid transit; which in turn creates more units that are compatible for students. Especially considering that some of these potential development areas are on direct UVic bus lines, students would be able to get to school in less time.
There is a minimum height requirement for all new builds with the storey level depending on the density of the city. In Victoria, the minimum height requirement is 10 storeys, which applies to other midsize cities like Kelowna. However, in Metro Vancouver, the minimum allowed height is 20 storeys to accommodate for their population.
Another notable item from this legislation is that there will be no parking requirements for these complexes that are built near transit systems. Although parking spaces are not prohibited, this legislation could provide financial incentives for builders by lowering costs of development – this is a positive for everyone involved.
The Housing Minister later went on to mention that we should be building the right amount of parking, depending on who we’re trying to serve. In the Student Housing Initiative 2023 Outlook, it was noted that 58% of students at UVic still own vehicles. Should this legislation discount students with cars and solely focus on building homes for students who use transit? Absolutely not. Minister Kahlon makes a strong point about being accommodating for residents with different needs; some students will drive to school while others will use the bus, both of these groups deserve affordable and accessible housing. Despite the distinct variation in preference, 38% of UVic students are looking for a transit-based lifestyle. This means that projects created as a result of this legislation would be suitable for a significant segment of UVic students.
Leo Spalteholz, an independent real estate analyst, provided this image of the impacted area around the UVic bus loop in his tweet outlining the policy changes. While there are some opportunities for growth in the highlighted sphere, critics have suggested that Saanich should implement a broader range that extends beyond the campus to create more options for densification.
400m sphere around UVic Transit Exchange, demonstrating potential densification opportunities
We’ve seen similar cases in big cities like Toronto, where rapid transit systems have been given value by being surrounded by multi-unit complexes. The neighborhood of North York holds a prime transit hub through Yonge Street and Finch Avenue. The Yonge-University subway line is surrounded by many apartment buildings that are incredibly convenient for students who commute all over the city. Essentially, taking advantage of the airspace that floats above these transit hubs or park and ride lots can create more available housing options.
Victoria is already testing out rapid transit systems, such as the Blink RapidBus that services the West Shore to Downtown Victoria. According to BC Transit, this transit service “outperforms the personal automobile in speed, comfort and reliability”. There have been discussions in the past about the possibility of a light rail network in Victoria. This proposed legislation means that the benefits of rail would expand beyond just transportation and into housing. Could cities in BC possibly see something like this in the future? Could a Skytrain station turn into the next Yonge and Finch? Could Esquimalt’s highrise towers adopt a bus exchange? Regardless of the many hypotheticals, we must first see if this legislation gets passed.
Written by Kaya Dupuis