CBBarnett
Senior Member
That's the step up in scale for next level of urbanism for Marda Loop. If done right, will be very transformative, particularly given the keystone role that parcel plays in the whole neighbourhood. Will be exciting to watch!
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Urban Development and Proposals Discussion
- Thread starter Surrealplaces
- Start date
adamyyc
Active Member
Now the community needs to get on board with walking instead of driving.
CBBarnett
Senior Member
Walking is one of those weird things where the complaining (typically online) doesn't seem to match what's going on on the ground. Anecdotally, everyone I know that has moved to the area in recent years did it because they can get a modern infill home that can walk to all sorts of daily stuff - this is the competitive advantage over any other area with expensive infills in the SW that hasn't been matched yet. Most of these people still drive and use cars too, but were very attracted to the options that a place like Marda Loop has started to provide.
Again, totally anecdotal, but my observation from being in the Marda Loop area regularly the past decade the big difference is the number of people wandering around, not the amount of traffic. This matches the booming retail scene, with several times the number of shops within walking distance as even a decade ago.
Especially noticeable is the amount of strollers - I can't recall seeing a higher concentration of walkers with strollers on a daily basis in Calgary outside of casual river walks on weekend.
So the community comments section can say what they want, but it's kind of ignorant to change that has already happened, and will continue to happen regardless of how they feel about it. And all this is without any completed attempts to improve walkability in design or streetscapes - just imagine when that's all complete with a few more major projects and the Main Streets work.
adamyyc
Active Member
I agree with you, anectdotally, that there are more people walking in the neighbourhood (at least since I moved here 6 years ago). I’m one of those stroller-pushing people in Marda Loop that you’re talking about. I only drive to take my kids to daycare (and only because it’s significantly cheaper in Killarney than Marda Loop).
There is still a large contingent of people in the neighbourhood who’d rather see the area remain as a strip-mall/car-centric neighbourhood than transform into the pedestrian-friendly neighbourhood that is is becoming. This is evident by the number of comments the City received regarding parking as part of Main Streets. These people can’t see the forest for the trees.
I know a few people who are moving from the neighbourhood because of traffic, construction, parking, etc. and are choosing to move to outer burbs because they prefer to live on a cul-de-sac and drive everywhere. They drive to the grocery store now despite living ~500 m away. That’s their prerogative I guess.
Once this contingent has turned over, and properties with surface lots have been redeveloped (Co-Op development, Ace Liquor Stor property, etc.), and Main Streets construction has been completed, the number of pedestrians and cyclists in the neighbourhood will explode.
When we moved to Calgary, we wanted to live in a walkable community similar to ones we lived in in Toronto. Since we moved here, the walkability of the neighbourhood has improved.
But, anecdotally, the traffic has also gotten worse. Now I can’t say for certain if volume has increased, because I don’t think the City has done/published any data recently (this data is likely in the numerous traffic studies completed by developers), but it “feels” like more vehicles. Construction has definitely played a part in it feeling like more traffic in the neighbourhood too.
I was one of those people who moved to Marda Loop to have a place that wasn't an apartment, was in walking distance to amenities, and was close to downtown with a commute on a single bus. I lived in a townhouse in Altadore with a tiny yard from 2006-12, and a detached infill in Richmond from 2012-2021.
Even in 2006, I was near multiple coffee shops, the Garrison Woods safeway, the registry/post office, Original Joe's, etc.
I'm a different area now that ticks those boxes, while giving me a larger yard and walking distance to schools up to grade 9, and being near river pathways. I do miss ML, but mainly because of the greater variety of things/people/architecture with a 30 minute walk, and because there's a definite downside to owning a 70 year old house compared to a 25 year old infill. Still, I don't regret moving.
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Silence&Motion
Senior Member
Hello fellow stroller-pushing Marda Looper who moved here from Toronto!
I moved to Marda Loop in 2015 and casually referred to it as "the suburbs", which offended a lot of locals (but, in 2015, it basically was the suburbs). It's amazing how much it has changed in the past decade. We used to be the only ones pushing a stroller around. Now the sidewalks are packed. In part, I think this is a function of all the new amenities that are easier to access on foot. Want to go to François' or La Hacienda? Finding parking is not impossible, but if you live within a 15 minute walk, it's easier to just leave the car at home. That's quite different from the older strip-mall based restaurants like Merchant's or Nho Saigon, where you had a good chance of being able to pull your car right up to the front door. Of course, with construction, even they are difficult to get to by car now.
Last summer, I was at Original Joe's with some friends, and a couple pulled up to the table next to us, and some friends of theirs arrived. The couple used to live in the neighborhood but moved out to Royal Oak and were talking to their friends about it. They were lamenting the move, and doing a lot of griping about it, and said a few times how much they missed Marda Loop. The move might have been financial or something, I don't know, but either, they were regretting the move.
IceCreamMan
Active Member
Just a fun FYI - the former Red Cross building in the Beltline is getting a complete renewal very soon. Unsure if this will include significant envelope work on the outside, but it is a full base building renewal and interior fit-out.
outoftheice
Active Member
Eau Claire officially closing on May 31st. Of note is the fact that the site will be used for construction staging and laydown for the Green Line. Give Green Line has a 6 year construction timeline, I don't think we'll be seeing development moving forward here for ages.
Joborule
Active Member
Not sure if Arlington Street's "High Street" latest render has been posted on this forum yet?
www.arlingtonstreet.ca
Vincent - Arlington Group
Vincent Vincent on 17th Ave is one of the most centralized locations for business and retail in Calgary. YEAR 2025 STOREYS 6 UNITS 122 One of the most high profile and important retail sites on 17th Ave. Address 723 & 727 17 Ave […]
www.arlingtonstreet.ca
I think that's Alumni/Blanco, a small parking lot, and the bank next door, but NOT Bussin on the corner?
Either way, it will suck some life out of 17th for a while, which is too bad. This is not like Enzo which replaced a jeweller and an oversized restaurant.
Either way, it will suck some life out of 17th for a while, which is too bad. This is not like Enzo which replaced a jeweller and an oversized restaurant.
outoftheice
Active Member
Hopefully not Blanco. It would be nice if 17th can preserve some variety in built form as Arlington slowly builds out their 6 story buildings everywhere along the avenue.
723 is Blanco, and the other end of the same building is Alumni at 725. So unfortunately I think those businesses are moving or gone. But I am not clear whether 715, Bussin, is also coming down.
potatopizzafan
Active Member
Personally, I'll be chaining myself to Alumni
haltcatchfire
Senior Member
That material change for one bay at the corner is weird.