Hello and I hope all are well. I am born in Edmonton in the later 60s. Grew up in the 70s and 80s here. I grew up very close to downtown and I have always considered myself to be a downtown person. The writer of the letter to the editor is correct when they state that Edmonton’s downtown used to be busier than it is now. But remember there was no Kingsway Garden Mall a mere 12 blocks away from the core. West Edmonton Mall had only phase one. The city didn’t stretch out to the Southwest and all other directions as it does now with power centres and malls everywhere. Department stores were very popular back then and they are not so now. I don’t know if we can blame the Alberta government for the “state“ of downtown but I do know that there is a prevailing sense of favoritism to Calgary. Be that as it may I know the city has also made terrible mistakes in allowing so many older buildings to be torn down and left as parking lots; some lasting for decades to this very day. Eaton Centre was another “disaster“ that I remember. I laugh when I see pictures of the proposed towers that were supposed to be part of the redevelopment but of course never happened. We lost the old Greyhound bus station and the beautiful old Eaton store to that awful stucco building that stands to this day. I cannot for the life of me explain why they would tear down the Marshall Wells building to build that crappy greyhound bus terminal. We lost the Eaton‘s warehouse which at one time was the Rollerdrome and then Fannie’s Fabrics. Of course the Tegler building, the courthouse, the post office, and all sorts of lovely little brick buildings west of 105 Street. And why on gods green earth would they tear down the Strand theater to build the IPL tower which is so bloody ugly. I will never understand that. I do remember that Edmonton‘s downtown started to lose momentum in the early 80s just after Edmonton Centre and Manulife went up. I suppose this was the time of the national energy program and the oil price crash. In any event I remember it going from boom to bust. One day there were full page articles in the Edmonton Journal about Edmonton Centre and the bright future of the core and the next day everything just seem to stop. In my recollection Edmonton downtown has never fully recovered from this. I did move away from the city in 1996 and returned in 2018 and I have to say I was very pleased with the state of downtown in 2018. There were lots of people living downtown and more restaurants and more activities. For example the farmers market on 104 street as well as the ice district. Then came the pandemic and everything went to hell. It is true the state of downtown is not good right now. It is true that riding the LRT can be a terrible experience given all the unhoused and problems that we all know about. But we must all keep in mind that these issues are not just affecting Edmonton. I was in Calgary recently and saw the same type of disorder that I see downtown here. Also reading the papers from Vancouver, where I lived for 16 years, we see they are also struggling with the effects of the pandemic and how it has increased disorder. But just last night, and there was no game last night, we went to Tres Carnales and the lounge just beside it on 104 Street and both places were packed and there were lots of people walking around and many restaurants were very full. The new ice district plaza as it nears completion also looks terrific. There is lots of cheap parking downtown so I am not sure what the writer of the letter is referring to. And I think making sidewalks bigger to provide a more urban feel to the core is also a good idea. And when they finally finish redoing Jasper Avenue from 97th Street to 124th St. that will also help. In Oliver there are multiple apartment buildings going up as we speak and we do know that there are three high-rise projects going up at the moment downtown. Plus they are even going to build a new office tower! This will bring more people to the core. I remember when I left in 1996 there was absolutely nothing happening. So I feel the city has made huge strides since that day. All this to say that I am very bullish for our downtown core. We have been through a lot over the last few years but I do feel we are moving in the right direction. Sorry for the long posting.
