Spent some time geeking out tonight and taking a deep dive on the Event Centre CPC submission. First take away from looking at the plans is just how much space on the site the parkade actually takes up. We can only dream of what cool things could have been added to the arena design had the space been available for something other than cars.
Keeping with that theme the second take away is just how much the City’s planning process is geared towards cars. I know the common joke is that our entire city is designed around the firetruck but when you look at CPC requiring more pages in a submission devoted to the turning radius of fire trucks and semi trucks than there are for detailing public realm you begin to realize just how much truth the joke is based on.
My final big takeaway is the one I'm curious to get thoughts on from other people who have looked at the drawings. To me it looks like there is a severe lack of concession spaces in the design when compared to the Saddledome. I can appreciate that the Saddledome is set up in a way that forces the majority of visitors to use the main concourse concessions and the new arena splits this more evenly between the main and upper concourses but it still seems like the new arena will offer a lot less concession spaces than the Saddledome. I can't imagine the line ups during intermission to be any shorter at these places than they are during the Flames games at the Saddledome and I think that's going to leave a lot of Flames fans feeling disappointed.
There also appears to be a loss of some concession spaces that people enjoy at the Saddledome. The Dutton's Lounge concept will be replicated in the sports bar space facing Olympic Way but the restaurant/lounge space up behind the private boxes in the Saddledome that many people flock to during games no longer seems to exist. I was hoping that experience would be upgraded in the Event Centre, especially given the cool venue Vegas has created that is part lounge, part nightclub, part viewing area in their upper section. Something similar with an amazing view looking north towards downtown would have been amazing but alas we seem to be left with two bar/lounge venues side by side facing Olympic Way for the entire arena which again doesn't appear to be an upgrade for the people who go to the games for the social experience as much of hockey.
Good news is there appears to be a lot more women's washroom facilities throughout the building and they have included on site scooter parking and a secure, indoor 100 spot bike parkade as part of the design too which gets them some bonus points. I'm curious what others with perhaps a bit more knowledge and insight think of the concession plan for the Event Centre because again to me it looks like fewer choices and fewer locations spread over two levels which will means lines just as long and still missing the opening minutes of the third period just so I can get my chocolate malt.
Good comments, I agree. I noticed the bicycle parking as well. But as if to hammer home your first point - it's literally shoved directly between two parkade ramps in the back SE corner:
What's the problem? It's pretty obvious for anyone who has ever gone anywhere by bicycle: pre and post-game traffic entering and turning literally right where you are exiting the roadway, which will be clogged with cars from surrounding parking lots and there will be no cycling infrastructure to protect you.
This hostile design issue could have been prevented if only the building has an entire side that lined up directly with the existing and future protected cycling infrastructure network and the bicycle parking could be adjacent to it .....
Here's the NW corner - the one directly on the cycle track network:
I count 24 bicycle racks. If installed properly, this will yield up to 24 bicycles. For an event centre with 20,000 capacity. Once again, note what they didn't scrimp on - a right-hand turn lane. All at the expense of sidewalk width and bicycle parking. The "zone for scooter parking" sounds like it might be useful, but perhaps we could have filled that areas with another 100 bicycle racks as well?
All these are small details in the grand scheme of things. But a glaringly hostile design and highlights car brain at work - spend infinite time scheming car circulations for an unnecessary parking garage and turning lanes for imaginary queues, all the while failing basic details and capacities for bicycles and others. Worse, car brain is self defeating - all that effort to get a turn lane to hold what - like 3 cars? That'll for sure solve post-game congestion.
"Many people won't cycle to games or concerts" - no kidding! By design we don't want them to. Shall we start taking bets on the whether the 3 car right-hand turn lane will get a protected right phase ahead of the thousands of pedestrians that will queue up on that corner?
Sorry - no coffee this morning got a bit of a grump going
