New Images of Proposed Johnson Street Bridge Unveiled

The City of Victoria recently released new design images for the proposed new bridge that will replace the aging Johnson Street Bridge that connects downtown Victoria with the Songhees area. A new website, www.johnsonstreetbridge.com, describes the project in detail and includes an animated video with various “fly-overs” of the new bridge.

The fly-through was produced by Wilkinson-Eyre Architects based in London, UK.

Earlier this year, the Victoria City Council approved a proposal that would replace the current 85-year-old and rapidly deteriorating Johnson Street Bridge with a brand-new bridge that would include amenities for improved cycling, walking and accessibility.

The City views the new bridge as a top priority because the span functions as one of the main corridors into downtown. Over 30,000 vehicle trips cross the Johnson Street Bridge daily in addition to thousands of pedestrian and cycling commuters.

Construction on the drawbridge is expected to begin this coming spring with an estimated completion date of Fall 2011. The total cost of the project is projected to be a modest $63.2 million.

By all accounts, the modern design is popular with the public. “Seeing these images really conveys a feeling of how breathtaking this new bridge will be for the City,” said one member of the citizen advisory board, David Cubberley, in a City press release. “These new illustrations will generate a lot of excitement for the future and the amenities the new bridge will provide, including dedicated bike lanes and pedestrian walkways.”

Today’s Top Rated Videos About Victoria, British Columbia

Victoria BC 14th Annual Vancouver Island Blues Bash Starts Friday

This Labour Day weekend kicks off the 14th annual Vancouver Island Blues Bash at Ship Point on the Inner Harbour, a celebration of Blues and R&B music with afternoon free and evening ticketed performances. Featured are more than 14 individual bands who will perform over three afternoons and three evenings.

Blues in all shades for your soul will be featured, including Jim Byrnes’ House of Refuge, Lloyd Jones Struggle, Bill Johnson Blues Band, The Midnights, Auntie Kate and The Uncles of Funk and many more!

Price: Ticketed Shows: On sale Thursday, August 7, 2008. Jim Byrnes’ House of Refuge: Friday, August 29 – 7:30pm $22.00. Also ticket combo for both Jim Byrnes’ House of Refuge and Lloyd Jones Struggle only $30.00. Ticket combo (one ticket per show) only available through the Victoria Jazz Society office.

The Annual Blues Bash also presents three afternoons of free admission performances: Saturday, Aug. 30 12:30 – 5:00pm, Sunday, Aug. 31 12:30 – 8:00pm and Monday, Sept. 1 12:30 – 6:00pm.
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Victoria Classic Boat Festival Showcases the Most Beautiful Vessels in the World

The 31st Victoria Classic Boat Festival gets underway on Friday in Victoria’s Inner Harbour with a welcoming reception held at the Maritime Museum of BC in Bastion Square followed by the annual rowing regatta starting from the Gorge Rowing and Paddling Club. The race finishes at the Undersea Gardens in the Inner Harbour.

On Saturday, the festival continues with the popular steamboat parade and on Sunday there will be the Sailpast in which all vessels participating salute the festival’s salute vessel. The salute is made by “dipping” or lowering the boat’s ensign to one third from lower end of the hoist. (US vessels, which do not lower the U.S. flag, dip their yachting ensigns instead.) The festival’s honorary Commodores, John and Diane VanDerbeek of Seattle, will be aboard the salute vessel, HMCS ORIOLE, a 101-foot yacht and the longest serving ship in the Canadian Navy.

Victoria BC Sees Old-Fashioned Soda Shoppe Across the Street from the Fairmont Empress

Rogers’ Chocolates — a Victoria institution for more than a century — just announced the grand opening of their newest store, an old-fashioned Soda Shoppe. The store is located in the heart of downtown Victoria at 801 Government Street, just across from the Fairmont Empress Hotel.

The Soda Shoppe will be using ice cream made at the Rogers’ Chocolates factory in Victoria. Some of the other items on the menu include parfaits, malts, sundaes, floats and milkshakes as well as hot fudge and caramel sauces made at the Rogers’ Chocolates factory. The signature item is the Capital City Banana Split.

The Soda Shoppe’s interior is a mixture of past and present; including a restored soda fountain, retro bar stools, and marble counters. With the option of “for here” or “to go”, the Soda Shoppe strives to be environmentally conscious and is using glass steel and biodegradable cups and spoons made from corn.

With both their Heritage Chocolate Store and Sam’s Deli, the Soda Shoppe will be the third addition to the Rogers’ Chocolates family of stores on Government Street in their 123 year history. The Soda Shoppe operates between 10 AM and 10 PM daily.

A Walk Down Fan Tan Alley in Victoria’s Historic Chinatown

Driving Along Dallas Road in Victoria BC

“Weird Al” Yankovic This Thursday at the Royal Theatre

North America’s foremost song parodist, the inimitable Weird Al Yokovic, will appear beginning at 7:00 p.m. this Thursday, August 22, downtown at the Royal Theatre, 805 Broughton Street. Tickets, from $50 each, are available at the McPherson Box Office, #3 Centennial Square.

Now enjoying the most successful chart topping CD, single and video of his career with STRAIGHT OUTTA LYNWOOD’S “White and Nerdy.” Live, the “WEIRD AL” show is a full multi-media extravaganza, complete with video, costume changes and his full band. “Weird Al” Yankovic, the undisputed king of pop culture parody, has sold more comedy recordings than any other artist in history. In a career spanning nearly three decades, he has amassed 28 Gold and Platinum albums, 7 Gold and Platinum-certified home videos and 3 Grammy Awards (with 9 nominations).

An accomplished director, Al has helmed many of his own award-winning music videos as well as clips for Ben Folds, Jeff Foxworthy, The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, Hanson and The Black Crowes. His video for “Smells Like Nirvana,” nominated for an MTV Video Music Award in 1992, was chosen by Rolling Stone as one of the “Top 100 Music Videos Of All Time.” Al also created the critically acclaimed title sequence for the Leslie Nielsen feature film “Spy Hard.”

The centerpiece of Straight Outta Lynwood is “White & Nerdy,” a parody of Chamillionaire’s No. 1 smash hit “Ridin’.”Al directed the highly-acclaimed video clip, which features hilarious cameos by Donny Osmond, Seth Green, Judy Tenuta and Mad TV’s Keegan-Michael Keys and Jordan Peele. The “White & Nerdy” video went straight into heavy rotation on VH-1 (debuting at #5 in their Top 20 Countdown) and quickly racked up a few million hits on YouTube.

Straight Outta Lynwood also features parodies of Green Day (“Canadian Idiot”), Usher (“Confessions Part III”), Taylor Hicks (“Do I Creep You Out”) and R. Kelly (the 11-minute epic “Trapped in the Drive-Thru”), as well as the now-traditional polka medley (“Polkarama!”), which this time includes accordion-fueled renditions of hits by such artists as 50 Cent, The Black Eyed Peas, Snoop Dogg, Coldplay, Weezer, Pussycat Dolls and Kanye West.

“Don’t Download This Song,” the first song and video released from the album, is a tongue-in-cheek look at the hot-button issue of mp3 piracy, set to original music inspired by the celebrity-driven charity benefit songs from the ‘80s.

Straight Outta Lynwood debuted at #10 on the Billboard charts, making it Al’s highest charting album to date. “Weird Al” Yankovic and his band (the same talented group of musicians that has performed with him since 1982) will be embarking on their next major North American concert tour in the summer of 2008.

Johnson Street

Victoria’s Weather

Victoria BC has a temperate climate that is usually classified as Marine west coast with mild, damp winters and relatively dry and mild summers. It is sometimes classified as a Mediterranean climate (Csb), a designation that would only make residents burst out laughing.

The truth is, the weather is quite similar to that of Vancouver or Seattle only with considerably less rainfall (fully half that of Vancouver and 35% less than Seattle). The rain clouds seem to pass over Vancouver Island only to bump into the mountains around Vancouver and Seattle, causing them to deluge those cities in a way that Victoria does not typically see. Daily temperatures in Victoria rise above 30°C (86°F) on an average only for one or two days per year and fall below -5°C (23°F) on an average of only 2 nights per year. During the winter, the average daily high and low temperatures are 8.2°C (47°F) and 3.6°C (38°F), respectively. The summer months are equally mild, with an average high temperature of 19.6°C (67°F) and low of 11.3°C (52°F). Victoria does occasionally experience more extreme temperatures. The highest temperature ever recorded in Victoria was 36.3°C (97.3°F) on July 11, 2007, while the coldest temperature on record was -15.6°C (4°F) on December 29, 1968 and January 28, 1950. Victoria has not recorded a temperature below -10°C (14°F) since 1990.

Total annual precipitation is just 608 mm (24 inches) at the Gonzales weather station in Victoria, contrasted to 970mm (38 inches) in nearby Seattle (137 km/85 miles away to the southeast), and to 1,219 mm (48 inches) of rainfall in Vancouver, (100 km away). Perhaps even more dramatic is the difference in rainfalls on Vancouver Island. Port Renfrew, just 80 km from Victoria on the wet southwest coast of Vancouver Island receives 3,671 mm (145 in). Even the Victoria Airport, 25 km north of the city, receives about 45 per cent more precipitation than the city proper. One of the most striking features of Victoria’s climate is the distinct dry and rainy seasons. Nearly two thirds of the annual precipitation falls during the four wettest months, November to February. Precipitation in December, the wettest month (109 mm/4 in) is nearly eight times as high as in July, the driest month (14 mm/0.5 in). During the summer months, Victoria is the driest major city in Canada. Victoria averages just 26 cm (10 in) of snow annually. Every few decades, Victoria receives very large snowfalls, including the more than 100 cm (39 in) of snow that fell in December 1996. On the other hand, roughly one third of winters will see virtually no snow, with less than 5 cm (2 in) falling during the entire season. When snow does fall, it rarely lasts long on the ground. Victoria averages just 2-3 days per year with at least 5 cm (2 in) of snow on the ground. The rain shadow effect also means that Victoria gets more sunshine than surrounding areas. With 2,223 hours of sun annually, Victoria is one of the sunniest places in British Columbia, and gets more sunshine than most other cities in Canada except those in the southern Prairies. The benefits of Victoria’s climate are evident through the city’s gardens, which are more likely to display drought-tolerant oak trees, eucalyptus, arbutus, and even bananas, than they are likely to feature evergreen conifers, which are typically associated with the coastal Pacific Northwest environment. Victoria’s equable climate has also added to its reputation as the “City of Gardens”. With its mild temperatures and plentiful sunshine, Victoria boasts gardens that are home to many plant species rarely found elsewhere in Canada. Several species of palms, eucalyptus, and even certain varieties of bananas can be seen growing throughout the area’s gardens. The city takes pride in the many flowers that bloom during the winter and early spring, including crocuses, daffodils, early-blooming rhododendrons, cherry and plum trees. Every February there is an annual “flower count” in what for the rest of the country and most of the province is still the dead of winter. Due to its mild climate, Victoria and its surrounding area (southeastern Vancouver Island, Gulf Islands, and parts of the Lower Mainland and Sunshine Coast) is also home to many rare, native plants found nowhere else in Canada, including Quercus garryana (Garry oak), Arctostaphylos columbiana (Hairy manzanita), and Canada’s only broad leaf evergreen tree, Arbutus menziesii (Pacific madrone). Many of these endangered species exist here at the northern end of their range, and are found as far south as Central and Southern California, and even parts of Mexico.

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