Public Realm in Canadian Cities - Developments - Page 66

MonctonRad · #**1301** Posted **Nov 14, 2025, 2:45 PM**

Visioning exercise for riverfront redevelopment in downtown Moncton:

The park already exists, but would be revamped to include more activities for people to do rather than just walk their dogs or ride their bikes. Some things like the RCMP Memorial Garden and the skatepark are already there.

The plans show some things like the Gateway Towers in the foreground that are now under construction, and, a major development by Ashford which is in the final planning stages.

The black wedge shaped building right on the riverfront with a plaza projecting over the shoreline is an aspirational new performing arts centre with space either for an art gallery or relocated city library as well. An outdoor performance venue with a permanent stage will be located immediately adjacent to this building.

This was a city commissioned visioning exercise. It was presented last week at an open house that I attended.

J.OT13 · #**1302** Posted **Nov 14, 2025, 6:30 PM**

The NCC has recently redone Westboro Beach in Ottawa. It will be accessible by O-Train in a few years with Kitchi Sibi Station half a kilometer away.

Pictures form hoggytime on Skyrise.

These huts were designed by Jim Strutt in 1966 and integrated in the expanded pavilion.

https://ottawa.skyrisecities.com/forum/threads/westboro-beach-area-redevelopment-project.42682/

A few more from the NCC website.

https://ncc-ccn.gc.ca/places/westboro-beach

SpongeG · #**1303** Posted **Nov 14, 2025, 9:28 PM**

new park in downtown Edmonton now open

4,954 views 7 Nov 2025
O-day’min Park has been 15 years in the making. The city invested millions in hopes it would bring investment to a downtown dead zone. CBC asked developers if the initiative was successful.

• Video Link

SpongeG · #**1304** Posted **Nov 14, 2025, 9:30 PM**

is it a manmade beach or natural?

kwoldtimer · #**1305** Posted **Nov 15, 2025, 10:46 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by J.OT13

The NCC has recently redone Westboro Beach in Ottawa. It will be accessible by O-Train in a few years with Kitchi Sibi Station half a kilometer away.

Pictures form hoggytime on Skyrise.

These huts were designed by Jim Strutt in 1966 and integrated in the expanded pavilion.

https://ottawa.skyrisecities.com/forum/threads/westboro-beach-area-redevelopment-project.42682/

A few more from the NCC website.

https://ncc-ccn.gc.ca/places/westboro-beach

It's a nice project, but Ottawa needs to do a lot more to embrace its river/canal fronts.

J.OT13 · #**1306** Posted **Nov 17, 2025, 4:52 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by SpongeG

is it a manmade beach or natural?

I think it's natural, but I'm not familiar enough with the history to say for sure.

Quote:

Originally Posted by kwoldtimer

It's a nice project, but Ottawa needs to do a lot more to embrace its river/canal fronts.

The NCC has taken a lead on that with projects like this, Kiweki Point and the NCC River House. They have other projects currently under construction like the Lady Grey Drive project and a new dock by the river below Major's Hill Park.

LeBreton will have a park on Nepean Inlet and the Aqueduct Entertainment District (those are further down the pipeline).

The City is working on something at Mooney's Bay.

Some pretty significant progress overall in the past decade.

davidivivid · #**1307** Posted **Mar 12, 2026, 12:24 AM**

Quai Paquet in Lévis

shappy · #**1308** Posted **May 14, 2026, 5:28 AM**

Toronto - Draper St. and Draper Park

This has been open for a while but I don't think anything has been posted. Draper St reconstruction with brick pavers and park connecting the street to the Well development (seen in the 3rd pic below).

https://www.instagram.com/shaqpeaz/

source

TorontoDrew · #**1309** Posted **May 14, 2026, 7:06 PM**

The Ottawa park looks great! Love everything about it. The Quai Paquet in Lévis is near perfect, all it needs by the loungers are table to put your drinks on and you could lounge there all day. the Draper Street reno and park look great, I believe that cat statue is in honor of a local cat that still lives on the street (maybe still lives).

Draper Street Kitty by Marcanadian, on Flickr

FrAnKs · #**1310** Posted **May 14, 2026, 11:36 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by shappy

Toronto - Draper St. and Draper Park

This has been open for a while but I don't think anything has been posted. Draper St reconstruction with brick pavers and park connecting the street to the Well development (seen in the 3rd pic below).

https://www.instagram.com/shaqpeaz/

source

I really love this! 👌

WhipperSnapper · #**1311** Posted **May 15, 2026, 7:24 PM**

I see a sandy beach so more wooden "boardwalks" and less stone pavers would have been nice. Dig those tents.

The Edmonton park is a pretty typical post 2000 park design that creates small, less practical compartments than park designs from a hundred years ago. I'm sure it will be very pretty for a stroll but, I have my doubts it will be as multi-functional for other park activities than strolling. (In the heart of the concrete jungle, that is more important than pretty landscape design)

J.OT13 · #**1312** Posted **May 24, 2026, 1:16 AM**

Not quite complete, but here's a sneak peak at the park atop the rebuilt Federal District Energy Plant near the Supreme Court.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ponyboycurtis

Man... this spot .. might be nicer than Kiwiki Point.

It's not open yet but I just nudged the fence earlier.

I have to wonder if they reused some of the roof cladding from Parliament Hill ? Very cool effect in its current state. Note the already shattered safety glass on the roof.

Echoes · #**1313** Posted **May 25, 2026, 3:05 PM**

That's pretty great.

zoomer · #**1314** Posted **May 25, 2026, 5:31 PM**

It's a great project, I worry about all the glass canopies and railings in today's society. I think of the Calgary's Peace Bridge which had to give up on their glass.

J.OT13 · #**1315** Posted **May 25, 2026, 6:14 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by zoomer

It's a great project, I worry about all the glass canopies and railings in today's society. I think of the Calgary's Peace Bridge which had to give up on their glass.

Yeah, there are often broken panes of glass already, very much like our O-Train Stations. On the O-Train, the lesson was learned (or we valued engineered into something that was an accidental lesson learned) because the glass on the Stage 2 stations are simpler curtain wall systems and railings are now metal.

someone123 · #**1316** Posted **May 25, 2026, 8:22 PM**

This is just a small one but it's a good example of subtle changes that add up over time. Brunswick St in Halifax was redone as a "complete street" with protected bike lane and as part of that work, one of the corners of the Citadel was redone and the slip lane was replaced with a small plaza and some landscaping.

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A lot of quasi-freeway car infrastructure was added to areas like this around the 70s. I'm not sure it makes that much difference for commuters, but it really degraded the pedestrian environment.

There is some new public art by the town clock too:

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It's nice enough but I've always found this walkway and asphalt path kind of cheap looking for what it is, as well as the generic metal barriers around the roadway there.

I have lost track of it but there was a drawing from the early 1900s of a plan for a double curved granite staircase and plaza that would have gone up to the clock. It would have been like a second phase from the Grand Parade work that happened around 1890:

Source