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Urban Development and Proposals Discussion

Surrealplaces said:
Possibly an unpopular opinion, but every time I pass by Fort Calgary, I can't help but think the land could be better utilized. The pathways through there (both cycle and pedestrian) are busy all day every day of the week, but the park is always empty. There is a lot of park space, and I can't help think some of it could be developed. Not all of it, but some of it. Developing some of the area could help fill in the gap between downtown and Inglewood, and allow the possibility of soem retail facing the pathway seeing as the city has missed out on that opportunity in other areas. Thoughts?

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More like a popular opinion. I know many others who have expressed the same. It’s a waste of land in a great location. Either turn it into a proper park or develop some of it.
 
Yeah, I don't think its an unpopular opinion at all...I think most would agree with you that the land around Fort Calgary is a complete waste right now. I believe it should remain some sort of public park or activity space, but needs to be elevated beyond the bald-ass prairie it currently is. It can be anything...a better landscaped park, community garden, a sports soccer field, running track, basketball/tennis/pickleball courts, restaurants/patios... a mix of all of these. Or go all in on the Fort Calgary/Indigenous history theme and really build it out to be a historical attraction.

At the very least we should plant more trees. And when we're done, move onto Nose Hill and plant the crap out of that with trees too. Tree all the things!
 
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Surrealplaces said:
It would be much better with trees and might get used more. The problem as it stands now, is it's a huge bare section of grass, and not even good quality grass. There's almost nothing useful about it.

What I'd like to see is a few small buildings along the path between Fort Calgary and the pathway, sort of small village of building 1-4 storeys. It could be built and would still leave lots of room for festivals, etc..
The blue areas could be patio space. It would have the potential to be an awesome hangout spot. The pathway from Louise Bridge to Inglewood could become Calgary's version of the San Antonio river path.
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Great idea. I would also add buildings along the interfaces with both 6th St and 9th Ave, and eliminate the parking lots.
 
Surrealplaces said:
Possibly an unpopular opinion, but every time I pass by Fort Calgary, I can't help but think the land could be better utilized. The pathways through there (both cycle and pedestrian) are busy all day every day of the week, but the park is always empty. There is a lot of park space, and I can't help think some of it could be developed. Not all of it, but some of it. Developing some of the area could help fill in the gap between downtown and Inglewood, and allow the possibility of soem retail facing the pathway seeing as the city has missed out on that opportunity in other areas. Thoughts?

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Agreed
 
The area at the confluence will perhaps develop with infrastructure to support a permeant Indigenous gathering place (does that mean a building? utilities to support a seasonal camp? and ceremonies -- who knows!), or it will stay as is until it does so. Fort Calgary's various redevelopment projects are stale.

This is a very sensitive site, perhaps the most sensitive site owned by the City.
 
Would love to see a permanent outdoor stage for big concerts and festival like budweiser stage in Toronto

1690388856677.png
 
darwink said:
The area at the confluence will perhaps develop with infrastructure to support a permeant Indigenous gathering place (does that mean a building? utilities to support a seasonal camp? and ceremonies -- who knows!), or it will stay as is until it does so. Fort Calgary's various redevelopment projects are stale.

This is a very sensitive site, perhaps the most sensitive site owned by the City.
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It is also below flood plain and exposed to flooding on two sides, and was used as a rail yard - unsure if environmental remediation would be required
 
DougB said:
It is also below flood plain and exposed to flooding on two sides, and was used as a rail yard - unsure if environmental remediation would be required
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When it was converted to the historic site in the 70s soil was removed down 5-6 metres as part of a remediation/archeology project and filled. Source: was a consultant on a project on site and this was covered in an old Calgary Herald article.
 
I went on a Fort Calgary tour years ago, and they pointed out a historic embankment for the tracks that you can still see. It's basically an earthen ramp wide enough for train tracks.

Did they work around that when excavating, or is it as fake as the fort itself?
 
badc0ffee said:
I went on a Fort Calgary tour years ago, and they pointed out a historic embankment for the tracks that you can still see. It's basically an earthen ramp wide enough for train tracks.

Did they work around that when excavating, or is it as fake as the fort itself?
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Its fake.

Here is the rail at what should be maximum rail buildout (~1925):
1690396536949.png


The mound following the middle track was added in the year 2000. Here is 1999:
1690396737284.png

Here is 2004 :
1690396774576.png
 
I believe that the embankment was there originally, but I don't see how what they showed me on the tour is the same embankment if they excavated the site to 5-6 metres deep.

I'm inclined to believe they didn't actually excavate a lot of the site. It wouldn't make sense to rebuild an earthen embankment and claim it had any historical value. But I could be wrong.
 
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