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Crazy dream ideas for Calgary

I've got an idea but it might not be that crazy. After watching all the rafters on the Bow this summer it made me think we should some type of rafter's inlet or landing built along the Bow. West Village areas seems logical or maybe East village.
What I have in mind is a small inlet or river shunt that has restaurant and public space fronting it. Think along the lines of San Antonio's Riverwalk.

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That was the original East Village proposal. A three block canal on 5th St SE. By Abugov Kaspar

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  • A water canal terminates in a feature pond, all made possible by the riverside setting. The waterway provides year-round recreational opportunities such as boating and skating; walkways lining the canal include benches and rest points, reinforcing the pedestrian orientation of the site.
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As much as I like the current incarnation of East Village, this canal would have been great.

I know it's a pipe dream but I still think a canal of some sort would be a game changer. No offense to San Antonio, but without that Riverwalk it's not a tourist hotspot.
 
My fiancee and I spent a couple of hours wandering around the East Village, Fort Calgary and St. Patrick's Island on Sunday scouting for wedding picture locations. I'll have a tonne of pictures to share when I get around to editing them. I'm not sure I'd trade in the EV or the Riverwalk as they are for a canal. They really hit them out of the ball park. Once all is said and done I think that's going to be a fantastic urban environment that will stand perfectly well on it's own without the need for something gimmicky like a canal.

Calling the canal a gimmick, is totally harsh. I just couldn't think of a better word to convey my meaning. I do think a canal somewhere would be pretty excellent. I'm just not sure which location would be most logical? Maybe somewhere on the North side of the river? Or if we're talking pipe dreams, why not the west village? Oh the cars we'll fly when the creosote is abated.
 
I have yet to try it out since the interchange work has almost finished. Near downtown all the way to Chestermere!
 
My fiancee and I spent a couple of hours wandering around the East Village, Fort Calgary and St. Patrick's Island on Sunday scouting for wedding picture locations. I'll have a tonne of pictures to share when I get around to editing them. I'm not sure I'd trade in the EV or the Riverwalk as they are for a canal. They really hit them out of the ball park. Once all is said and done I think that's going to be a fantastic urban environment that will stand perfectly well on it's own without the need for something gimmicky like a canal.

Calling the canal a gimmick, is totally harsh. I just couldn't think of a better word to convey my meaning. I do think a canal somewhere would be pretty excellent. I'm just not sure which location would be most logical? Maybe somewhere on the North side of the river? Or if we're talking pipe dreams, why not the west village? Oh the cars we'll fly when the creosote is abated.

lol....gimmicky is kind of the way to describe it, as most canals that cities have, actually functioned as a canal, and now are famous tourist attractions.

West village would work very well IMO. My ultimate dream that will never happen, would be to have a canal run from Crowchild Trail to Fort Calgary, replacing the current CP tracks....so yup never going to happen. Having a river shunt at West Village is something that seems feasible.

Ladies and Gentlemen....introducing Canal Village!

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Considering that it is possible that all of the contaminated earth underneath the river may need to be removed, removing the contamination below a secondary channel and the south side first might make sense.

Would be expensive, but the delta between returning to normal, and returning to a new layout probably not that ridiculous.
 
I was planning to ask about the creosote area. That idea might not be so crazy, but rather a way to kill two birds with one stone. I'd rather see a canal there then a new arena.
Considering that it is possible that all of the contaminated earth underneath the river may need to be removed, removing the contamination below a secondary channel and the south side first might make sense.

Would be expensive, but the delta between returning to normal, and returning to a new layout probably not that ridiculous.
 
I'm thinking that an area like the canal would be a good place for restaurants etc, and would be an instant tourist draw. The land along the proposed canal area would in theory go up in value and could be taxed accordingly.
 
Remember that new development, unless the city increases tax rates at the rate of increase of capital or land stock does not increase revenue. An important quirk.
 
Remember that new development, unless the city increases tax rates at the rate of increase of capital or land stock does not increase revenue. An important quirk.
Wouldn't the taxes increase once developers build on those parcels? I don't know a thing about municipal taxation, but that's how I thought it worked with the market rate tax system.
 
It is a pretty complicated system, let's see if I can give it a simple explanation, and perhaps Darwink can check my reasoning:

Say the City of Calgary only included 10 properties, all worth the exact same. Council decided they need to have a budget of $100, so they set the tax rate, and each property pays $10. The next year, one of the 10 properties gets developed/improved, so it is worth more. They now pay $11 per year, everyone else pays $9.89 per year. Council still gets the same $100, despite development occuring.

So essentially, it is good when a property develops, because it generally means everyone else pays a bit less, but it isn't NEW money to Council. If Council needs more than the hypothetical $100 above, they need to agree to raise taxes, and then based on everyone's property evaluation, the burden is split amongst all the properties.
 

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