Okotoks/Milton Equivalents

[niwell]

Milton does at least have a small historic downtown strip. It's undersized for how populated the area has become, but it's relatively functional having some bars/restaurants/other independent shops. Like other stranded historic areas it lacks a proper grocery store and kinda far from the GO station (by walking, it's an easy drive...)

https://goo.gl/maps/dPpe1eBzgu34iNns5

https://goo.gl/maps/m3vqUZc739cwascU7


As a kid I remember thinking Okotoks "downtown" seemed ok but checking now it's quite tiny and a bit suburban looking. Which isn't uncommon for small town Western Canada of course.

https://goo.gl/maps/u4yxqVfoZEGtKC3Y7

https://goo.gl/maps/mB5aYZopbphqXLi2A

[MolsonExport]

Montreal, Missouri, population 119.
Eat your heart out.

[MolsonExport]

Originally Posted by niwell

Milton does at least have a small historic downtown strip. It's undersized for how populated the area has become, but it's relatively functional having some bars/restaurants/other independent shops. Like other stranded historic areas it lacks a proper grocery store and kinda far from the GO station (by walking, it's an easy drive...)

https://goo.gl/maps/dPpe1eBzgu34iNns5

https://goo.gl/maps/m3vqUZc739cwascU7


As a kid I remember thinking Okotoks "downtown" seemed ok but checking now it's quite tiny and a bit suburban looking. Which isn't uncommon for small town Western Canada of course.

https://goo.gl/maps/u4yxqVfoZEGtKC3Y7

https://goo.gl/maps/mB5aYZopbphqXLi2A

Okotoks downtown << Milton's downtown.

[Denscity]

Originally Posted by Architype

Yes there is, Newfoundland has a West Coast on the East Coast.
Vancouver Island has an East Coast on the West Coast.

___________________________________________________


For comparison, there are a number of videos on Okotoks & Milton.


Okotoks Pros & Cons - Is Okotoks a Good City to Live in 2022?
• Video Link

PROS and CONS of Living in Milton Ontario Canada
• Video Link

I think you knew what I meant lol?

[O-tacular]

Originally Posted by niwell

Milton does at least have a small historic downtown strip. It's undersized for how populated the area has become, but it's relatively functional having some bars/restaurants/other independent shops. Like other stranded historic areas it lacks a proper grocery store and kinda far from the GO station (by walking, it's an easy drive...)

https://goo.gl/maps/dPpe1eBzgu34iNns5

https://goo.gl/maps/m3vqUZc739cwascU7


As a kid I remember thinking Okotoks "downtown" seemed ok but checking now it's quite tiny and a bit suburban looking. Which isn't uncommon for small town Western Canada of course.

https://goo.gl/maps/u4yxqVfoZEGtKC3Y7

https://goo.gl/maps/mB5aYZopbphqXLi2A

I don't think Milton can compete with this level of vibrancy!

https://www.google.com/maps/@50.7211...7i16384!8i8192

https://www.google.com/maps/@50.7209...7i16384!8i8192

[Architype]

Originally Posted by Denscity

I think you knew what I meant lol?

Yes, but got you on an important technicality. IMO though Corner Brook & area could be seen as similar to the Canadian West Coast, and I guess New Westminster could stand in as an Eastern city in a movie with editing.

[MolsonExport]

Originally Posted by O-tacular

I don't think Milton can compete with this level of vibrancy!

https://www.google.com/maps/@50.7211...7i16384!8i8192

https://www.google.com/maps/@50.7209...7i16384!8i8192

That's nothing. You want vibrancy? I'll give you vibrancy.
https://www.google.com/maps/@51.6268...7i16384!8i8192

https://scontent.fykz1-1.fna.fbcdn.n...vg&oe=63A377BE

[Doady]

Milton is a mini-Brampton, with a tiny downtown, and no ambition to build upon that. But Milton at least allowed for more diverse housing, much more multifamily including apartments, very different from Brampton where there is strong opposition against even townhouse developments. And of course there was Brampton's rejection of the Hurontario LRT to its downtown. With the exploding ridership of the Derry buses in Mississauga, I can't help but wonder about the possibility of conversion to light rail one day, and I doubt Milton would reject a Derry LRT into their downtown.

Based on a glance, Okotoks seems more comparable to Bolton, very small and isolated, no real transit system, river through the centre of it. But for such a small place, the way that river divides Okotoks in half is extreme, which will interfere a lot with non-car transportation. The downtown only has one major corridor, east-west only. It's weird that they didn't build a bridge across the river to make the Veteran's Way through downtown their main north-south corridor but instead chose the north-south highway bypassing around the downtown. Milton is actually very different from Okotoks just by being much more cohesive and having a downtown not so isolated. I'm not sure there is another town of 30,000 in Canada so divided like that. Again, lack of ambition.

[O-tacular]

The cowboy should have Chad's face.

[Hali87]

NB isn't very much like the well-known coastal cities on the West Coast but the BC Interior is a lot like NB in a lot of ways. Fredericton in particular reminds me of a typical Interior town/city, in terms of its layout, setting, scale, climate (like the "wet" valleys, not the "dry" ones), lifestyle, and political attitudes. Prince George is a lot like Edmundston + Moncton. Dieppe is like a Francophone Vernon. Kelowna and Abbotsford are each a lot like Moncton in their own ways.

In California, maybe the Sacramento - Fresno corridor? If anything I think Oregon (w/wo Idaho) would a way closer match than any part of California.

On a different level, Lafayette, LA (apparently the main "Cajun city") looks strikingly similar to Moncton, with hints of Fredericton:

https://goo.gl/maps/ojHYXZuviXFYTYH47
https://goo.gl/maps/9khuKeEsmLD9P8nW9
https://goo.gl/maps/dnNNpndSML44BCG37
https://goo.gl/maps/Akafebbk3GdMDr1U7
https://goo.gl/maps/9CsgCJX1biNKVAUg8
https://goo.gl/maps/bbYtC7wjoaDxyz7s6

Baton Rouge also looks a lot like Moncton:

https://goo.gl/maps/jNNfRhR9J4d9Y8g87
https://goo.gl/maps/U38qiw4koQitNxtKA
https://goo.gl/maps/CKKP2EhPjkG2x2WZ8
https://goo.gl/maps/phejtV7sRHHVFxsW9
https://goo.gl/maps/RBgNiTHCRDT6DD1s5

[urbandreamer]

I almost spent the night in Okotoks Lions campground; instead I spent it in Turner Valley's municipal campground: I was very tired that day and pissed to discover a baseball game right in front of my site kept me awake until 11pm - local "hicks" blasting country music; then a redneck in a 5th wheel trailer pulled up at midnight and had a roaring fire until 2am. So yeah my impression of the area isn't so great ha. (And I gotta say all Albertan camp grounds were substandard, with rundown pay showers, gross toilets etc. In the middle of nowhere Manitoba, perhaps tolerable, but in a wealthy oil province unacceptable. Alberta is very strange: you go from suburban Edmonton or Calgary to middle of nowhere ranches/reservations within minutes. Coming from a Southern Ontario perspective, it feels alienating.)

Looking over my Okotoks photos, I can see a bit of Northern California vibes.

[905er]

Originally Posted by Doady

Milton is a mini-Brampton, with a tiny downtown, and no ambition to build upon that. But Milton at least allowed for more diverse housing, much more multifamily including apartments, very different from Brampton where there is strong opposition against even townhouse developments. And of course there was Brampton's rejection of the Hurontario LRT to its downtown. With the exploding ridership of the Derry buses in Mississauga, I can't help but wonder about the possibility of conversion to light rail one day, and I doubt Milton would reject a Derry LRT into their downtown.

Based on a glance, Okotoks seems more comparable to Bolton, very small and isolated, no real transit system, river through the centre of it. But for such a small place, the way that river divides Okotoks in half is extreme, which will interfere a lot with non-car transportation. The downtown only has one major corridor, east-west only. It's weird that they didn't build a bridge across the river to make the Veteran's Way through downtown their main north-south corridor but instead chose the north-south highway bypassing around the downtown. Milton is actually very different from Okotoks just by being much more cohesive and having a downtown not so isolated. I'm not sure there is another town of 30,000 in Canada so divided like that. Again, lack of ambition.

Brampton's downtown is actually inferior to smaller Milton's downtown.. if you look at the Milton mile and see what it has to offer, it is far more than anything you will find in downtown Brampton. As a resident of Brampton myself I just see a run down downtown with almost nothing of interest to offer ... it has the potential but it is run down... it's vacant store fronts... random pawn shops and almost zero dining options.

[Loco101]

Originally Posted by MolsonExport

That's nothing. You want vibrancy? I'll give you vibrancy.
https://www.google.com/maps/@51.6268...7i16384!8i8192

https://scontent.fykz1-1.fna.fbcdn.n...vg&oe=63A377BE

On the first one, just pan a little bit to the left and see the wide selection of lodging available in Hanna!

[megadude]

Originally Posted by 905er

Brampton's downtown is actually inferior to smaller Milton's downtown.. if you look at the Milton mile and see what it has to offer, it is far more than anything you will find in downtown Brampton. As a resident of Brampton myself I just see a run down downtown with almost nothing of interest to offer ... it has the potential but it is run down... it's vacant store fronts... random pawn shops and almost zero dining options.

I'm as disappointed in DT Brampton as anyone, but it does have a couple of things you can't find in Milton. I am underwhelmed by DT Milton too. Has some charming aspects to it but it ain't exactly Oakville or Burlington. Been there three times in the past year, including three weeks ago for their Trick or Treat festival down the main street. I don't like how Milton's DT just ends abruptly on each side. Now, if I had to live in Mitlon, it would be in one of the charming houses in the Downtown (or one of the semi-rural properties along the border with Oakville). Not as many of those as in some other downtowns but the housing stock there is definitely better than Brampton's. Overall, I do agree Milton's DT is a more pleasant experience than Brampton's.

At least Brampton has Rose Theatre at Garden Square and Gage Park.




https://www.canindia.com/brampton-se...-street-areas/


https://www.mtlblog.com/montreal/thi...n-stars-hollow


https://www.nakdesignstrategies.com/projects/gage-park/


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gage_Park,_Brampton

[harls]

4 pages, cripes.

[MolsonExport]

Woot?

[O-tacular]

Does Milton have a TV show filmed there? Okotoks has (S)Heartland.

Also it has this cool cafe:







Okotoks for the win!

[O-tacular]

Originally Posted by Loco101

On the first one, just pan a little bit to the left and see the wide selection of lodging available in Hanna!

Looks like their former main hotel has been demoed:





The other major industry in Hanna was the coal mine, but that's been phased out by Atco so its' likely to become even more of a ghost town. Now it's only export will be Chad Kroeger's constipated voice on the radio.

[MolsonExport]

^Look at this Photograph!