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Downtown

A really unique night at the Don Wheaton Family YMCA that transformed it into a nightclub, lounge and mini-nordic spa on the roof. They are working to bring it back as a key community hub and are looking at adding a nordic spa-like element on the roof and working to bring more community events to the space.

Great to see!

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IanO said:
www.edmontonchamber.com

Thousands Public Servants Return Downtown Monday: A Game-Changer for Local Businesses

Starting Monday, 12,600 Alberta government employees are returning to work downtown five days a week, and Edmonton's business community couldn't be more excited to welcome them back.
www.edmontonchamber.com www.edmontonchamber.com
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I can see several surface level parking lots from my 9th floor office view, and it seems a bit more occupancy, but by no means close to full and some still mostly empty.

Hopefully that means more transit use. I live in Ritchie now and bike to work where previously I walked.
 
TAS said:
I can see several surface level parking lots from my 9th floor office view, and it seems a bit more occupancy, but by no means close to full and some still mostly empty.

Hopefully that means more transit use. I live in Ritchie now and bike to work where previously I walked.
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We won't know till we see the LRT numbers, but it's probably going to take some time for some who were driving to switch over to transit full time. Nothing convinces you to take the LRT more than getting stuck at traffic for 1.5 hours in both directions.

Anecdotally, the trains were much busier today for me.
 
Kosy123 said:
We won't know till we see the LRT numbers, but it's probably going to take some time for some who were driving to switch over to transit full time. Nothing convinces you to take the LRT more than getting stuck at traffic for 1.5 hours in both directions.

Anecdotally, the trains were much busier today for me.
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Honestly, I would consider working DT again if the Valley Line West was up. Getting to Downtown by car is just too much of a headache currently.
 
The fact the city is not a part of this is hypocritical. It's especially galling in that, it's been city hall that's been talking about revitalization non-stop for decades. Is the message from city hall 'you do it, I won't'??

It was disappointing to hear the mayor on the news this morning, coming up with a lame excuse on repeat about why he doesn't feel city employees should be a part of revitalization efforts, five days a week. Shameful.

The next time they bellyache about supporting DT, I will just shake my head 'no thanks'.
 
whattheheck said:
The fact the city is not a part of this is hypocritical. It's especially galling in that, it's been city hall that's been talking about revitalization non-stop for decades. Is the message from city hall 'you do it, I won't'??

It was disappointing to hear the mayor on the news this morning, coming up with a lame excuse on repeat about why he doesn't feel city employees should be a part of revitalization efforts, five days a week. Shameful.

The next time they bellyache about supporting DT, I will just shake my head 'no thanks'.
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Unfortunately, a lot of what the city does is at cross purposes with improving downtown or not helpful. For instance, they extended paid parking days and hours, then got rid of the machines that were easier some people to use.

There are no regular police patrols in the parts of downtown I normally go and LRT construction has made it harder to access. The delay in LRT construction was one of the reasons City Centre Mall had the difficulties it did.
 
whattheheck said:
The fact the city is not a part of this is hypocritical. It's especially galling in that, it's been city hall that's been talking about revitalization non-stop for decades. Is the message from city hall 'you do it, I won't'??

It was disappointing to hear the mayor on the news this morning, coming up with a lame excuse on repeat about why he doesn't feel city employees should be a part of revitalization efforts, five days a week. Shameful.

The next time they bellyache about supporting DT, I will just shake my head 'no thanks'.
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What if those employees are all 'forced' to come to the office 5 days a week, but all of them pack their own lunch and do not drive (i.e. transit, bike, walk, etc.) and just stay in their office all day from 9 to 5. Is that 'revitalization'? Just playing Devil's Advocate here, as I know for sure some will inevitably drive and buy lunch, but we all know the ultimate goal here is to make Downtown businesses money (even those dirtbags at Impark lol).
 
whattheheck said:
The fact the city is not a part of this is hypocritical. It's especially galling in that, it's been city hall that's been talking about revitalization non-stop for decades. Is the message from city hall 'you do it, I won't'??

It was disappointing to hear the mayor on the news this morning, coming up with a lame excuse on repeat about why he doesn't feel city employees should be a part of revitalization efforts, five days a week. Shameful.

The next time they bellyache about supporting DT, I will just shake my head 'no thanks'.
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Saw a post this morning along the lines of "The mayor said what we need to revitalize DT is a stronger supply of housing to have people live there, not RTO for City employees. Wouldn't having people work Downtown cause more people to live Downtown?"

It's kinda sticking with me. I frequently see the comment "If you mandate RTO, people will quit!", but... that's fine? Unemployment is high enough that people would snap up those jobs in a minute, and if they leave for "greener pastures" that still offer hybrid/remote work, they would find out that there isn't a huge demand for people who refuse to work in-person.
 
Avenuer said:
What if those employees are all 'forced' to come to the office 5 days a week, but all of them pack their own lunch and do not drive (i.e. transit, bike, walk, etc.) and just stay in their office all day from 9 to 5. Is that 'revitalization'? Just playing Devil's Advocate here, as I know for sure some will inevitably drive and buy lunch, but we all know the ultimate goal here is to make Downtown businesses money (even those dirtbags at Impark lol).
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hey, it sure is! you don't think thousands more people on transit will help with revitalization efforts?! of course it will. more people = less social disorder. one point for revitalization.

full trains = another win for revitalization because, at the psychological level, taxpayers will see full trains. It will look busy and big city and that will change PERCEPTIONS of transit, of DT. Another win for the psychology of revitalization. (And also would not you want full trains, so it can be used as a talking point to get more funding for more LRT?)

Think what tourists and investors will think of our city when they will see a full DT of people working, going back and forth on sidewalks, coming out of busy trains etc. They will think 'hey, maybe this is a city worth investing in.'

And all this, even if as you say 'What if those employees are all 'forced' to come to the office 5 days a week, but all of them pack their own lunch and do not drive (i.e. transit, bike, walk, etc.) and just stay in their office all day from 9 to 5. Is that 'revitalization'?

So, yes. Let the employees stay at their desks all day, eat home cooked meals. But I will be happy to see them on trains, I will be cheer on more people in DT Edmonton, people who are not zombies.
 
whattheheck said:
The fact the city is not a part of this is hypocritical. It's especially galling in that, it's been city hall that's been talking about revitalization non-stop for decades. Is the message from city hall 'you do it, I won't'??

It was disappointing to hear the mayor on the news this morning, coming up with a lame excuse on repeat about why he doesn't feel city employees should be a part of revitalization efforts, five days a week. Shameful.

The next time they bellyache about supporting DT, I will just shake my head 'no thanks'.
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The city is not part of this? Don't city staff come in 3x/wk? That seems pretty significant and certainly not nothing.

And city has put tax dollars in incentivizing student housing, building a new park and more to come.
 
policyenthusiast said:
Saw a post this morning along the lines of "The mayor said what we need to revitalize DT is a stronger supply of housing to have people live there, not RTO for City employees. Wouldn't having people work Downtown cause more people to live Downtown?"

It's kinda sticking with me. I frequently see the comment "If you mandate RTO, people will quit!", but... that's fine? Unemployment is high enough that people would snap up those jobs in a minute, and if they leave for "greener pastures" that still offer hybrid/remote work, they would find out that there isn't a huge demand for people who refuse to work in-person.
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Yeah! Who cares about their quality of life if you can just replace them!

/s
 
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