Urban Development and Proposals Discussion

[haltcatchfire]

I think it only works if establishments go with patio setups like Hayden Block. The walking detour around the outside is a bit annoying but so would dodging servers if the pedestrian stretch splits the restaurant and the patio that’s being done in many spots.

I’m all for it though. The street life is better.

 

[Mountain Man]

Hayden block definitely does it right. I'm 100% good with those being more common.

 

[potatopizzafan]

I don't know how I feel about this. On one end, the expanded patio space is good for businesses and helps to bring vibrancy onto the streets but on the other end, the orange barriers really look ugly and just create a walking maze. Not to mention accessibility issues for certain people. What should have happened was what we all wanted initially with the 17th ave renovations, wider sidewalks! But as usual, our council, like previous councils, is too shortsighted. All that money was spent on renovating a mainstreet, only to still have the sidewalks the size of suburban sidewalks. Shame.

Pretty sure they havent started the sidewalk renovations yet, still lots to do on that project

 

[Cyric]

While the current setup isn't good with the orange barriers and the crappy ramps up and down from the sidewalks, making a long term commitment to allowing the expanded patios in the summer should hopefully encourage the city and/or the businesses to invest in better barriers and ramps so that there is a better pedestrian and visual experience. I can see why you would go with the cheap route if it might only be a single summer.

 

[Surrealplaces]

Hayden block definitely does it right. I'm 100% good with those being more common.

If it was done that way, then I'm all for it. Even a split with the sidewalk is good, and still much better than having a parking lane.

 

[Silence&Motion]

Maybe this is what Hayden Block is doing already, but I like this setup along Whyte Ave (from before the pandemic!!).

 

[Mountain Man]

That's pretty much exactly what Hayden Block did.

 

[Nimbus]

That's pretty much exactly what Hayden Block did.

Vendome has also had a setup like this for a few years.

 

[CBBarnett]

It’s simple. Currently we have priority of this:

1. Car throughput
2. Car storage / *NEW* pop-up patios
3. Sidewalks & pedestrian throughput
4. Physical accessibility (e.g. wheelchairs, strollers etc.)

We should be this:

1. Physical accessibility
2. Sidewalks& pedestrian throughput
3. Pop up patios
4. car storage or car throughput

It’s not hard or technically challenging or expensive - it’s just we don’t prioritize the right things. Patios and pedestrians are comrades in battle, not enemies; it’s only the gaslighting of systemic car hegemony that puts the two at odds.

 

[UrbanWarrior]

Actually, I'd be open to having the museum completely reoriented toward Indigenous history and Treaty 7. The site is important, but Fort Calgary itself is really just a blip in history. It was completely gone within a few decades of being built and none of its individual structures lasted very long. The palisades were taken down in less than a decade. I think the Fort is more meaningful as one small part of a larger story of colonization.

I believe a big part of the reason for the FC museum rebuild is to add basically half the new space as indigenous history and that side of the colonial story.

The forks of the Bow and Elbow are where, in local indigenous tradition, their gods created humankind 8,000 years ago.

 

[Surrealplaces]

Sometimes Calgary's pace of urbanization can seem like it's taking forever, but looking at these pics reminds me of how much change we've seen in the last 20 years. Especially in the first pic. The skyline 22 -23 years ago, would have started at the Nexen building on the left, and ended at the Calgary tower on the right and had gaps in between.

 

[Cowtown]

My god, that first pic is awesome. Looking at that pic it's hard to believe Calgary is a metro of 1.5M people.

 

[FCC1982]

Really is cool to see how the skyline has expanded east, south, and especially to the west - and it’s still expanding. Those tall towers west of Nexen have had a phenomenal impact.

 

[MichaelS]

A pretty significant land use redesignation application has been submitted by O2 Planning and Design in Mount Pleasant, along 16th and 17th Ave NW at 2nd Street. No details really discernable yet, other than a direct control based upon the MU-1 district:

DMAP

 

[Atticus]

I count 27 high rise residential projects in that first photo that have been built in the last 20 years, and two more still under construction. Another 5 or so have been built, but are behind a building aren't visible in the photo. And that doesn't even include East Village or Eau Claire. They are all in the Beltline! (including WV towers which are technically downtown and the George which is lower Mount Royal)

Sometimes Calgary's pace of urbanization can seem like it's taking forever, but looking at these pics reminds me of how much change we've seen in the last 20 years. Especially in the first pic. The skyline 22 -23 years ago, would have started at the Nexen building on the left, and ended at the Calgary tower on the right and had gaps in between.