Great Canadian Skywalks!

[isaidso]

Originally Posted by Chadillaccc

The thread is skywalks, for like fully covered bridges between buildings, not sidewalks. The one you posted is really nice though. The Chateau Laurier looks gorgeous too.

Ooops.

[khabibulin]

Originally Posted by isaidso

Ooops.

While this example, found by clicking on the link below, does not meet the definition as understood by most on this site, it will indeed become Canada's greatest skywalk when it opens next year.



http://glacierskywalk.ca/

[SignalHillHiker]

St. John's has a few downtown - but completely average.

The only one we have that's at all unusual is the largest at the Memorial University of Newfoundland's campus, which typically relies on the MUNnel (underground) tunnel system.

It's a massive skywalk that contains the food court, cafeteria-style seating, and the chain restaurants like Booster Juice, etc. And it crosses the Prince Philip Parkway, which is one of the busiest commuter routes in the city (part of the inner ring road system).

Here's a view of the skywalk from Google StreetView:

[MTLskyline]

Most of the buildings surrounding the Longueuil metro station and bus terminus are connected by skywalks.


http://www.tripadvisor.fr/LocationPh...il_Quebec.html


http://fr.structurae.de/structures/d...fm?id=s0028188


IMG_1625 by jaym_bc, on Flickr

[Chadillaccc]

I should do a phototour of Calgary's +15 network as we have the 2nd longest skywalk system in the world, or so I've read! I thought it was the larges at 10 miles, but I guess not.


Edit: Here's an example




Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plus_15

[Rusty van Reddick]

This +15/30 and the skyscrapers around it give that block an interesting interior courtyard feeling even though it's outside- nice frame for the tail end of Calgary Pride two days ago

[Chadillaccc]

You must have seen us marching!

[J.OT13]

Originally Posted by Chadillaccc

I should do a phototour of Calgary's +15 network as we have the 2nd longest skywalk system in the world, or so I've read! I thought it was the larges at 10 miles, but I guess not.

According to Wikipedia, there are two Skywalk systems that beat Calgary's; Minneapolis (18 km)


and Mumbai (50+ km). I certainly can't speak for Mumbai, but I don't think it is the same kind of thing.

[Chadillaccc]

I doubt Mumbai's is 50 km of covered and climate controlled walkways. Maybe elevated walkways.


That's the one though, Minneapolis. I'm just glad ours is growing faster! From what I hear though, the city is starting to reneg on its suppor for the +15 network, as they want to see the street traffic increase over the use of the +15s. I think the skywalks are a great thing in winter, especially winter cities like Minneapolis and Calgary, but I agree that stree level, in summer at least, should take priority.


Edit: I read a bit about Mumbai's system. It shouldn't be compared with core-based systems like Calgary's and Minneapolis, all of the walkways are not connected. They span out from individual stations along the Mumbai Metropolitan commuter rail system. Very impressive, but not the same thing, nor is it completely connected.

[Beedok]

Originally Posted by Chadillaccc

I think the skywalks are a great thing in winter, especially winter cities like Minneapolis and Calgary, but I agree that stree level, in summer at least, should take priority.

Why? If people are walking, then let them walk. Skywalks are nicer than crossing streets. Also in summer the heat is just as bad as the cold of winter, if not worse. Heat is oppressive.

[SignalHillHiker]

We had to stop by MUN tonight to put up some posters - so I took a quick panorama of the interior of the skywalk I posted above:

[Chadillaccc]

Originally Posted by Beedok

Why? If people are walking, then let them walk. Skywalks are nicer than crossing streets. Also in summer the heat is just as bad as the cold of winter, if not worse. Heat is oppressive.

Heat is almost never oppressive here. This summer was the worst for humidity that most people here can remember, and it wasn't bad at all (me being an Ontarian). Summers are dry and warm, I'd imagine it's maybe 2 - 5 days a year that it's uncomfortable (30+). Minneapolis is very humid though I've heard, so it works for them in both extremes. I just wish we had a way to kind of close them down or encourage street walking in the summer just to give street life a boost. Not to say our street level activity is lacking for a city our size, it just could obviously be better.

[Innsertnamehere]

I know that for Toronto, the PATH has become essential to ensuring that the streets are not overflowing with pedestrians.. in areas where it exists, there would not be enough room for all the pedestrians flowing in and out of the core every day, especially around Union Station. I don't know if this is the same thing for Minneapolis or Calgary, but the PATH is key for Toronto to ensure that people aren't constantly getting run over after falling onto the street due to the lack of space on the sidewalk.

[Chadillaccc]

It is integral, but not so much as PATH is for Toronto. But now that you mention that, I guess one day it will absolutely serve the purpose of alleviating sidewalk traffic, as Calgary's sidewalks are almost as narrow as DT Toronto's.

[Rusty van Reddick]

Originally Posted by Beedok

Why? If people are walking, then let them walk. Skywalks are nicer than crossing streets. Also in summer the heat is just as bad as the cold of winter, if not worse. Heat is oppressive.

Nobody is prevented from walking outside in Calgary, and on nice days Stephen Ave is absolutely clotted with tens of thousands of pedestrians- it's a pedestrian mall after all. I spoke to an architect in Toronto a few years ago who castigated Calgary for having "no urban form" and because we supposedly REMOVED THE SIDEWALKS and built the skywalks. I told him he was full of shit of course and asked if he'd ever been to Calgary.

Yes, he says. In 1967. And he has "no interest" in visiting it again. And I'd do well not to have to be right all the time, and that was the end of the conversation. The fucking asshole.

Heat in Calgary is almost never "oppressive."

[Chadillaccc]

Lmao! Calgary was the size of Windsor in 1967!!!

[J.OT13]

Toronto seems to be in "too big to fail" territory at this point. This applies to having a vast network of underground retail and walkways, adding multiple new entertainment areas or a downtown casino (not sure why they bailed out other than the money factor; then again, why would you refuse 50 million a year). I would also place Montreal in the same category, at least when it comes to RESO's effect on downtown.

I have heard stories about Calgary's downtown streets being fairly dead partly due to the skywalk system. I don't know how it effects other cities with similar (although much smaller) systems like Winnipeg.

Ottawa lags behind in terms of an indoor city yet parts of downtown are still dead after 5pm. The central business district is nearly 100% offices. We have a few points of interest on Sparks Street, mainly touristy shops, restaurants and pubs. Efforts are being made to livin' up the place with more restaurants and pubs on Sparks as well as more residential in the CBD.

Back to the walkway question, although the City has few plans for walkways (and no plans for City owned walkways) there is a concern about overcrowded sidewalks once the Confederation line opens; the system will go from having 8 Transitway bus stops to 2 subway stations (with 2 entrances each on Queen) in the CBD. The City is mostly concentrating on plans to widen sidewalks but they also want to connect to Place de Ville's existing underground concourse (at Lyon Station, connecting 1.1 million square feet of office space in 5 buildings and 2 hotel totaling 900 rooms) and connecting to the Sun Life Centre (Parliament Station, about 1 million square feet of office space in 2 buildings). Other developers such as Morguard have expressed interest in connecting to the subway (along Queen Street, they own a 328 hotel and three office towers totaling 700,000 square feet).

Of course, Rideau Station will have a direct connection to the Rideau Centre complex wich itself is directly connected to Hudson's Bay (adding up the RC and HBC, a total of one million square feet of retail), 2 office buildings (900,000 sqft), the Westin (496 rooms) and the Convention Centre (192,000 square feet). I'm hoping the NAC across the canal might also be connected.

So to sum up, according to the current plans, 14 buildings will have direct indoor connection to the downtown subway portion, or 3 million square feet of office space, 1.5 million square feet of retail, 1400 hotel rooms and the Ottawa Convention Centre in 3 different indoor cities.

How much space (office, retail, hotel rooms, residential) are connected in other city's indoor networks?

[Chadillaccc]

Here's a photo I snapped at lunch today of 4 of Calgary's many skywalks, the photo is aptly taken from a skywalk itself. Taken from The CORE, Calgary's version of the Eaton Centre.


IMG_20130905_124844 by Chadillaccc, on Flickr

[Doug]

Originally Posted by Rusty van Reddick

Nobody is prevented from walking outside in Calgary, and on nice days Stephen Ave is absolutely clotted with tens of thousands of pedestrians- it's a pedestrian mall after all. I spoke to an architect in Toronto a few years ago who castigated Calgary for having "no urban form" and because we supposedly REMOVED THE SIDEWALKS and built the skywalks. I told him he was full of shit of course and asked if he'd ever been to Calgary.

Yes, he says. In 1967. And he has "no interest" in visiting it again. And I'd do well not to have to be right all the time, and that was the end of the conversation. The fucking asshole.

Heat in Calgary is almost never "oppressive."

Most of 1967 era downtown Calgary, save for stretches of 8th and 7th Avenues, was utilitarian single family housing, railway tracks and warehouses. The street life was of a small prairie town. The Calgary of today has no connection to that past.

[J.OT13]

Originally Posted by Rusty van Reddick

Nobody is prevented from walking outside in Calgary, and on nice days Stephen Ave is absolutely clotted with tens of thousands of pedestrians- it's a pedestrian mall after all. I spoke to an architect in Toronto a few years ago who castigated Calgary for having "no urban form" and because we supposedly REMOVED THE SIDEWALKS and built the skywalks. I told him he was full of shit of course and asked if he'd ever been to Calgary.

Yes, he says. In 1967. And he has "no interest" in visiting it again. And I'd do well not to have to be right all the time, and that was the end of the conversation. The fucking asshole.

Heat in Calgary is almost never "oppressive."

What an ass! "I went there 46 years ago so I know what I'm talking about".