Walterdale Bridge Replacement | ?m | ?s | City of Edmonton | DIALOG

IanO said:
As in the view Kenneth, the view.

But point noted.
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minus the beach and english bay and the ships and the strait of georgia and kits point and the south peninsula and vancouver island and stanley park...

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but point noted. :)
 
@kcantor Okay... great for Vancouver. What am I supposed to take from your posts, that Edmonton isn't Vancouver? I think we already knew that, and I can appreciate things that make our city nice while also liking Vancouver. We can agree that there's things Edmonton can take notes on definitely (as mentioned above), but not having a beach/being by the ocean is a very irrelevant thing to focus on imo, and if that's really a focal point for someone then we'll never be good enough in their eyes anyway. Let's focus on what we can learn from other cities and apply it to out own location/context.
 
Platinum107 said:
@kcantor Okay... great for Vancouver. What am I supposed to take from your posts, that Edmonton isn't Vancouver? I think we already knew that, and I can appreciate things that make our city nice while also liking Vancouver. We can agree that there's things Edmonton can take notes on definitely (as mentioned above), but not having a beach/being by the ocean is a very irrelevant thing to focus on imo, and if that's really a focal point for someone then we'll never be good enough in their eyes anyway. Let's focus on what we can learn from other cities and apply it to out own location/context.
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i think you might be misunderstanding my point. i was born in vancouver and had the opportunity to move to edmonton twice in my career and took it happily both times. if hadn't been for the national energy program and 20% interest rates it only would have been one move because i love this city. i love it for the quality of its people and for the life style it affords its residents and for what it is. i love the river valley and the ravine system and how much sunshine we get.

my point is that i love edmonton and what it has to offer for what it is and for what those things are. they are beautiful in their own right and we don't need to defend them or justify them by saying "this is our english bay" or "this is our central park" or "this is our st. lawrence market" or "this is our byward market" or "this is our la live" or “this is our forks".

all of those comparisons are a defensive striving to be something else or better than we think we are. it says we're not as good as other places and what they give to their citizens instead of celebrating what we are and what we have because when we do that we have the potential to be as good or better than anywhere else in the world, particularly when taken in the aggregate.

i love english bay in the sunshine although my favourite beach is probably spanish banks west. but would i move back there? in the aggregate i'm happier here even if danzer's folly isn't english bay and even if it isn't my cup of tea. i love that people enjoy that vantage point and are starting to make good use of it and i can celebrate that for what it is. i hope it will see them enjoy the aboriginal art park on the other side of the street and - one day - whatever we turn the power plant into. it's just not "our english bay" and shouldn't be looked at in that light because anybody that knows english bay knows how foolish and insecure that makes us look.

and that's what i hope you get from my posts.
 
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kcantor said:
i think you might be misunderstanding my point. i was born in vancouver and had the opportunity to move to edmonton twice in my career and took it happily both times. if hadn't been for the national energy program and 20% interest rates it only would have been one move because i love this city. i love it for the quality of its people and for the life style it affords its residents and for what it is. i love the river valley and the ravine system and how much sunshine we get.

my point is that i love edmonton and what it has to offer for what it is and for what those things are. they are beautiful in their own right and we don't need to defend them or justify them by saying "this is our english bay" or "this is our central park" or "this is our st. lawrence market" or "this is our byward market" or "this is our la live" or “this is our forks".

all of those comparisons are a defensive striving to be something else or better than we think we are. it says we're not as good as other places and what they give to their citizens instead of celebrating what we are and what we have because when we do that we have the potential to be as good or better than anywhere else in the world, particularly when taken in the aggregate.

i love english bay in the sunshine although my favourite beach is probably spanish banks west. but would i move back there? in the aggregate i'm happier here even if danzer's folly isn't english bay and even if it isn't my cup of tea. i love that people enjoy that vantage point and are starting to make good use of it and i can celebrate that for what it is. i hope it will see them enjoy the aboriginal art park on the other side of the street and - one day - whatever we turn the power plant into. it's just not "our english bay" and shouldn't be looked at in that light because anybody that knows english bay knows how foolish and insecure that makes us look.

and that's what i hope you get from my posts.
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I gotta disagree with ya man. Comparing things doesn't always equate to keeping up with the Jones' (or Kardashians for you young bucks). It's actually used as a point of pride when attempting to showcase Edmonton's under-recognized charms. People outside the city don't know we have a mammoth River Valley Parks system that dwarfs all other urban park systems, so we compare it against something big and say it's our Stanley Park or our Central Park. I'd say it's not a scalpel, but a blunt instrument used to enlighten people to our largely undermarketed qualities.
 
kcantor said:
all you need for an urban/skyline view is to turn around. :)

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and all you need to stroll through that urban environment is to cross the street. :)

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Good for those who like Vancouver. The city doesn't appeal to me on a personal level, so I tend to be very blasè about it.
As much as we have to learn from their experience and that city has its merits in creating a fairly healthy urban environment, I see here the potential to be just as attractive, if steered in the right direction.
I don't like the comparisons more than you do, but I'm with @Platinum107 on this: relating our attractions to others that are more famous and recognized is good to promote the city to outsiders.
 
Stevey_G said:
I gotta disagree with ya man. Comparing things doesn't always equate to keeping up with the Jones' (or Kardashians for you young bucks). It's actually used as a point of pride when attempting to showcase Edmonton's under-recognized charms. People outside the city don't know we have a mammoth River Valley Parks system that dwarfs all other urban park systems, so we compare it against something big and say it's our Stanley Park or our Central Park. I'd say it's not a scalpel, but a blunt instrument used to enlighten people to our largely undermarketed qualities.
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you will be neither the first or the last to disagree with me and i am going to continue to disagree with you on this one.

if you are going to make comparisons, there needs to be some validity to it. we can do that with our river valley. you can also use comparisons as aspirational examples, ie we would like the development of and around the power plant to be like granville island or the forks. but saying that today, saying the power plant and the area around it “is our granville island” or “is our forks” simply makes us look foolish. i’m glad danzer’s folly is becoming a bit of an under recognized charm within our river valley park system and we should certainly be promoting and marketing that. but it’s no english bay and i doubt that’s what we should even be aspiring to here. something like little mountain in queen elizabeth park overlooking the ball park - an equally charming location with an enchanting urban view - perhaps, but still not english bay. one of the keys to success is setting yourself up for success because success breeds success and recognition. it’s like our use of the term “world class” for things that aren’t. that doesn’t mean they shouldn’t still be exceptional.
 
One of Edmonton's new hot spots is Ezio Faraone Park. It was always a fairly popular spot but I have never seen it close to the volume of people these last several weeks.
In one aspect it's like a mini Venice Beach in terms of all the people working out and the trainers or people playing catch or kicking the soccer ball around. The last few nights some musicians have been playing live music.
Very eclectic.
No beach or ocean but you've got the river valley below and the high level and walterdale bridges in view, the leg to the east and some of Edmonton's best sunsets to the west. And when it's operating, you've got the streetcar.
 
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