Urban living in Edmonton

[Boris2k7]

Originally Posted by s4.audios

I just recently moved into Century on 104 Street and I love it. If you want the best downtown experience, 104 is currently that IMO. And if you are working on 101 Street, it will be the shortest walk to work you can find.

Icon buildings are nice but you will find cheaper rates in the Century. Here's a one bedroom in the Century..

https://edmonton.rentfaster.ca/edmon...ntury-on-30081

Frankly, I think that $1600 for a 1 bedroom plus parking stall is absolutely nuts.

Been looking around today and am pretty appalled. It seems like in Edmonton you are either paying way too much for relatively little or you are entirely at the mercy of some slum lord.

[s211]

Originally Posted by ssiguy

Edmonton should make a solid decision and spend money on ONE street and stick with it. Go all out and create a total pedestrian street with give incentives for businesses to reopen their street frontage, give preferences to restaurants and cafes, only allow development that has retail at street level {banks need not apply} and create a real "strip".

That used to be Jasper Avenue, before Edmonton abandoned it and went full-suburban, instead getting its rocks off on 104th.

[Boris2k7]

Okay, so sorry guys. I should've eaten a snickers yesterday. Was a bit grouchy with the results of yesterday's search but had much better luck today. Prepared to sign a lease for an apartment near 98th ave and 106th st. Saw a couple guys snorting lines of coke around the corner but I've lived in Beltline so I'm kinda used to that neighbourhood flavour.

[urbanroo]

Originally Posted by ssiguy

Edmonton actually has a decent downtown population and of course that will only increase.

The problem with Edmonton is not the people as much as the urban form. Edmonton's urban form is unique in Canada. There is not one "complete" street in the entire downtown. You walk along one block and see a restaurant, beside an office building with a solid concrete wall, beside a parkade, beside a bank, beside a store, beside a parking lot, beside an entry to a mall.................there is not one street with a constant urban form. This disjointed urban fabric makes for a sterile environment and makes for a higher perceived level of danger.

There is no where to go downtown to "sit and people watch".

Edmonton should make a solid decision and spend money on ONE street and stick with it. Go all out and create a total pedestrian street with give incentives for businesses to reopen their street frontage, give preferences to restaurants and cafes, only allow development that has retail at street level {banks need not apply} and create a real "strip".

I'm not necessarily sure about "unique in Canada" but that is my general impression. Downtown's urban fabric is badly scarred mostly by surface parking lots--and incredibly ugly gravel ones at that. I wonder about the history of some of this and would love to know more. I mean, what's the deal with 106 street, especially between Jasper Ave and 102? It is so central and yet there's barely a single building on it. And who is impark and how are they able to get away with not beautifying their lots? If there's going to be a bunch of surface parking lots in the middle of Canada's 5th largest city, couldn't there at least be nice wrought iron fences around them, some planters and flowers etc. and couldn't they at least be properly paved and maintained? Sorry for the newbie questions!

[urbanroo]

^ Plus, I'm not sure I mind the mixed uses. I don't know if I'd want all the restaurants concentrated on one street, all the banks on another, etc. By complete street, I feel it would be nice to have streets with continuous midrise/highrise buildings and storefronts all the way down without any breaks (except perhaps for a park, but not for a parking lot or strip mall, or Boston Pizza that would look more in place in South Edmonton Common).

[ue]

Originally Posted by urbanroo

I'm not necessarily sure about "unique in Canada" but that is my general impression. Downtown's urban fabric is badly scarred mostly by surface parking lots--and incredibly ugly gravel ones at that. I wonder about the history of some of this and would love to know more. I mean, what's the deal with 106 street, especially between Jasper Ave and 102? It is so central and yet there's barely a single building on it. And who is impark and how are they able to get away with not beautifying their lots? If there's going to be a bunch of surface parking lots in the middle of Canada's 5th largest city, couldn't there at least be nice wrought iron fences around them, some planters and flowers etc. and couldn't they at least be properly paved and maintained? Sorry for the newbie questions!

The story I'd been told is that back in the '70s, there were ambitious plans for the vast swaths of parking lots that now occupy the Warehouse District and Boyle Street. But then the economy went bust in the '80s and while the buildings had already been torn down, nothing had taken its place and there was no longer demand for the new "community revitalizations". So parking lots!

I'm not sure why Calgary's downtown, which was subject to the same boom-and-bust cycle as us, has a more intact pre-war fabric downtown. Winnipeg I get... they tore down a lot and have a lot of parking lots, but had a lot more to begin with, so they still have arguably the best pre-war fabric in Western Canada.

[Harrij]

Jasper Ave is pretty continuous from 100 St to 106 st. And then it drops off that. It's not perfect but it's a decent mix of street level retail, parks and atriums.

[Boris2k7]

Originally Posted by ue

The story I'd been told is that back in the '70s, there were ambitious plans for the vast swaths of parking lots that now occupy the Warehouse District and Boyle Street. But then the economy went bust in the '80s and while the buildings had already been torn down, nothing had taken its place and there was no longer demand for the new "community revitalizations". So parking lots!

I'm not sure why Calgary's downtown, which was subject to the same boom-and-bust cycle as us, has a more intact pre-war fabric downtown. Winnipeg I get... they tore down a lot and have a lot of parking lots, but had a lot more to begin with, so they still have arguably the best pre-war fabric in Western Canada.

Well, the Stephen Avenue Mall (the outdoor pedestrian part) was established and protected by Bylaw 52M87, which was signed into law by Mayor Ralph Klein in December of 1987. The buildings on the mall were restored as part of the Stephen Avenue Heritage Area Program between about 1991 and 2000. I think it was fortunate that the oil crash happened when it did, or that stretch of Stephen Ave may have met the wrecking ball. The rest of the historic structures scattered around downtown Calgary were the result of individual ownership decisions. A lot of the heritage inventory in Alberta wasn't designated until the early 2000's.

The Stephen Avenue Heritage Area Program was a key initiative years ago in kick-starting the enhancement, restoration, rehabilitation and economic reuse of heritage buildings. It was a jointly funded, municipal, provincial and private sector program between the City, Alberta Community Development through the Alberta Historical Resources Foundation and 32 private property owners within the program boundary, providing matching grants for the restoration of heritage facades.

From 1991 to 2000, there were 29 facades restored and buildings rehabilitated as well as 50 new business starts on Stephen Avenue.

http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/...6-aac5f8e9d367

[s211]

Originally Posted by urbanroo

And who is impark and how are they able to get away with not beautifying their lots? If there's going to be a bunch of surface parking lots in the middle of Canada's 5th largest city, couldn't there at least be nice wrought iron fences around them, some planters and flowers etc. and couldn't they at least be properly paved and maintained? Sorry for the newbie questions!

Impark is a parking lot manager, and nothing more. They're not the owner. Think of them as a property manager for a building, but they only manage parking lots. Blame the parking lot owners for giving much of downtown Edmonton that Chernobyl look, and the civic leadership for giving sweet d!ck all about what face downtown Edmonton presents to those unfortunate enough to look at it.

[Coldrsx]

^bingo.

All of our major cities has massive scars from the 70s and 80s, parking was king! Edmonton is eating up its surface lots at a decent pace now, but it was not all that long ago that Tor and Van had the same issue, even Calgary until more recently.

[urbanroo]

Originally Posted by Coldrsx

^bingo.

All of our major cities has massive scars from the 70s and 80s, parking was king! Edmonton is eating up its surface lots at a decent pace now, but it was not all that long ago that Tor and Van had the same issue, even Calgary until more recently.

Heck, even people in Chicago whine about surface parking lots and how you'd never see that in Manhattan! The thing that gets me most of all is how decrepit so many of them look here in Edmonton. A lot are simply gravel with weeds growing everywhere. Has the city council no pride in the way they look? If parking is king, you'd think at least they could be done up a bit.

[ciudad_del_norte]

Just curious, what types of mechanisms would people like to see council/leadership use to improve the state of the parking lots?

[240glt]

I'm sure the city already has the tools. But like with issues related to problem housing, the city chooses not to enforce the rules it has already set forth

[Coldrsx]

The surface lots that are existing are potentially now non-confirming as we do not allow non-accessory Downtown any longer and any surface lot that is constructed must be hard surfaced, well lit, landscaped and draining properly.

[ssiguy]

Edmonton certainly has a lot of parking lots but when they eventually get filled up it won't make too much of a difference.

Edmonton has so many buildings that are solid walls facing the sidewalks, disjointed streets, parking arcades, ugly commercial buildings and a thoroughly sterile urban form.
There is no a single block in Edmonton that is complete with just store fronts. There is no continuity to the streets and it gives the city a very disjointed feel. It makes the city very pedestrian un-friendly and also makes it seem more dangerous.

Calgary doesn't have this problem at all due to Stephen Ave which is without a doubt Canada's most successful pedestrian-only thoroughfare. This is something that Edmonton should try to emulate and Edmonton has the ability to on Jasper as it has a subway underneath it.

Downtown Edmonton has to literally get it's act "together" so that it's streets are viewed as a way to get somewhere as opposed to destination in their own right.

[Daveography]

^ You keep reiterating this over and over while ignoring the positive steps that have already been taken and continue to improve the streetscape and pedestrian experience.

Yes, we get it, there's work to do. But the way you keep repeating yourself I don't think you realize that we're doing exactly what you keep trying to tell us we should be doing.

[Mikemike]

^^ You haven't looked very closely. There are blocks that are complete with storefronts on a few different strips, just not on jasper ave. Whyte, 118ave, 97st, 124st, 109st and stony plain road all have complete blocks. Jasper, 107ave, 111ave, 95st and more have complete block faces, and many more where the only missing bit is a narrow vacant lot.

Yes, we have gaps, we have monolithic buildings, and we have concrete walls, unfortunate setbacks and parkades. Many are here for the long haul, and that's too bad.

And no, having one four-block long pedestrian street with complete block faces in no way cancels out every other block in Calgary that has the exact same problems as Edmonton has.

[rapid_business]

Originally Posted by Coldrsx

Check out McKay, 104st-106st from 100ave-98ave, lots of choices and a great Downtown but not Downtown hood, tis where I live.

Expensive, but awesome views and location

http://rentedmontonhouse.ca/

[SpongeG]

speaking of parking, someone should build a big multilevel one in chinatown, that area is nuts on a saturday with people squeezing or waiting for a spot, blocking traffic etc.

put retail on the bottom, parking above

[Coldrsx]

That was the plan for the expansion behind pacific rim mall, but it never happened.