Jasper Ave. 'grenades' face wrecking ball
$39 million downtown avenue remake could include end of medians
Gordon Kent
Edmonton Journal
Friday, October 09, 2009
A $39-million plan to return Jasper Avenue to its glory days as Edmonton's main street could include tearing out the controversial medians put in 20 years ago.
The concrete-and-steel structures were intended to beautify the avenue when they were installed in the late 1980s, but many people thought they were ugly and intrusive, with one council critic calling them "bunkers with hand grenades at each end."
As the city looks at ways to make Jasper a pedestrian magnet, one idea is to take out these aging structures, opening the possibility that parades could run along the street again, urban designer Kristin Chrzanowski said Thursday.
"I don't think they have helped very much. They have disrupted the ability to use it as a public space," she said.
"If they stayed, they would have to be modernized. Right now they're pretty much empty planters with globes on them."
The vision for the Jasper Avenue area between 97th Street and 111th Street is of a bustling thoroughfare with cafes, shops and restaurants, wider sidewalks on the sunlit north side, curb lanes for cyclists, and more trees and benches, Chrzanowski said. "We're looking at everything from how to change the way traffic flows to dealing with surface parking lots, business activity on the street and bringing in people to live downtown, because you can't support those businesses without people going to them."
The project grew out of plans to refurbish the roof of the Central LRT station in 2012, work that will already disrupt some roads, Chrzanowski said.
Planners used this opportunity to consider ways of improving Jasper Avenue at the same time so it won't just be a route for traffic, she said.
The idea is to boost the downtown population and reduce sprawl, as well as creating a potential tourist attraction. "(We want)one definitive street for Edmonton that says 'this is what we are and who we are.' "
The estimated budget for the revitalization would cover curbs, lights, paving, furniture and trees, but doesn't include roadwork and upgrades on two blocks around the Central LRT station, according to a report.
Coun. Tony Caterina likes the concept, although he isn't sure it goes far enough.
He owned Michael's Clothiers on 101st Street north of Jasper in 1975-76, a time when he said independents ruled the downtown retail industry.
But the growth of suburban malls and the pedway system means many shoppers now won't go outside in bad weather, Caterina said.
"The pedway system is there. Certainly, we're not going to get rid of that, but there probably needs to be better planning for the buildings that are going up. The main floor has to be commercial, more so."
While Caterina said Jasper needs revitalization, his experience in the retail trade during downtown's heyday indicates upgrades alone won't be enough to bring the good times back. "They should be concentrating on getting merchants back on the street so people have a reason to be outside, and not just in the pedway system," he said.
"To bring people back on the street, you need something for people to attract them -clothiers and shoe shops."
The plan will be discussed Wednesday by city council. There were workshops on the scheme last April and June, with the next public meeting scheduled for Nov. 12.
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© The Edmonton Journal 2009
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