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Misc. Infrastructure Projects

CplKlinger said:
A few weeks ago, I checked out the new park beside the Kathleen Andrews garage. It's cool to get so close to the smoke stack, and the plaques along the trail in the park have some neat historical info and pictures about the area. My biggest complaint is that there's a fairly strong smell of diesel in the air, due to its proximity to the garage. Access is also very poor for non-residents, and it'll certainly be easier to access once the Fort Road expansion is done and the new pedestrian connections are opened. As of now, I had to park at the Hughes gas station and walk along where I guessed the sidewalk was. It turns out I guessed right, but the darn sidewalk is so narrow that I had no way of telling it was there when it was covered with snow. My other option was to park in the neighbourhood on the other side of the CN tracks and walk from there. Either way, I'd be using a very bad sidewalk to get to the park.

If you're willing to make that walk, you should do it. It's a nice little park, and I look forward to visiting again when the snow is gone and I can enjoy some greenery!
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Park looks great! Was there no visitor parking at the garage that park-goes could utililize?
 
Avenuer said:
Park looks great! Was there no visitor parking at the garage that park-goes could utililize?
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I actually didn't check, but that's a good point. Perhaps I should have; I just assumed that the parking was for garage employees and visitors only. There wasn't any signage indicating one way or the other.
 
The Fort Centre Park, which will be located immediately to the right of the Highway 15 bridge (on Fort Saskatchewan's side), will be delayed by a year. Council approved $80,000 for design work by a 4-3 margin, but the budget for construction was originally going to be placed in the 2022 budget debate. Council voted to move this vote to 2023, so that such a large decision does not need to be made right after the municipal elections of next October.

This park has been in the works since the 1990s, but hasn't moved ahead until the last few years when work on the new bridge started. The province is paying for dirt from the site to be excavated for the twinning project, which will save Fort Sask ~$800,000 on constructing storm ponds for the park. The opponents of the project on councilor, chiefly Brian Kelly (who is basically a more polite Mike Nickel, and views everything in terms of dollars and cost/benefit analysis), do not think that the park is needed.

Kelly actually proposed redirecting the $80,000 for design work towards a study that would review the state of every park within the city and whether they were adequate. This proposal was voted down by councilors who felt that $80,000 would not be enough for such a vast study, and it would take much longer than drafting a design for the Fort Centre Park.

You can learn more about the park, including its location and the design proposals that are under consideration, here. As you'll see, there are two different visions for the park: One which leaves it as a more natural area for pedestrians, and another which sees it more developed to act as a recreational hub of sorts. I personally prefer option one, since I want our river valley to remain as undisturbed as possible.

 
Here's the north bank of the Saskatchewan, showing the Highlands, Bellevue, and Virginia Park:
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I'm weeks behind in this thread, but thanks, _Citizen_Dane_, for the old photos. I had lived in one of the annexed houses near Concordia that was demolished for the Capilano Freeway. Interesting to see the old drive-in on 112 avenue in that photo -- it's long gone.
 
TimETown said:
I'm weeks behind in this thread, but thanks, _Citizen_Dane_, for the old photos. I had lived in one of the annexed houses near Concordia that was demolished for the Capilano Freeway. Interesting to see the old drive-in on 112 avenue in that photo -- it's long gone.
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I had no idea that there was a drive-in theatre within the built-up area of the city at the time!
 
There were several drive in theatres within the City boundaries back in the day when you weren't considered to be a devil for owning a car -- best place to watch horror movies (House of Wax, Curse of the Werewolf, The Mummy, etc.). I would like some enterprising developer to create a podium-top outdoor sit-in theatre (bring-your-own blanket to set against an all-weather curved form for seating rows)
 
There were a couple of Drive in Theaters. (5 or 6 at one point). Most were in Industrial parks but a few were on the edges of residential. One just north of 137th ave about where the Leons is now. and to the west of Speedway. There was one in Jasper Place if I recall. (father took us to see HELP at that one). One of my favorites was St Albert Drive in. Right in the neighborhood. You could sit on a friends back deck and watch a movie. Just had to make up dialogue.
 
I wasn't able to snap a pic but for the last few weeks massive towers (tall, skinny, cylindrical, dark coloured exterior - likely telecommunication) have been going up on the north side of Whitemud Drive (between 149st and the footbridge past 178st) and it looks like they plan to install more further west. Does anyone have any information on these behemoth's?
 
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For the architecture/cinema nerd in all of us a few links... https://movie-theatre.org/ https://www.cinematour.com/main.php http://cinematreasures.org/theaters/canada/alberta/edmonton

My only personal experience with a Drive-In theatre was at Skyview on 137 Ave NW of 127 St where Leon's is now. Saw Event Horizon in 1998 there just a few weeks before it closed. Fog rolled in during the last half of the film giving it a really eerie feeling... Perfect atmospheric timing! Can't get that inside!
 
At most drive-ins they used to have "Dusk-to-Dawn" events that would have 5 feature length films back-to-back. The popcorn was great, the hot-dogs were so-so, the hamburgers were awful, and the sodas were watered down. I suspect that more people lost their virginity at these events than at any other collective at any other time. Lots of fogged up windshields on the way to and from the confectionery shack. Lots of "if this vehicle is rockin' don't come knockin'" warnings. It was a different time!
 
Dang! I love those! I really hope that the temporary revival of Drive In's during this year comes back, especially at Wal-mart. I joked a few years ago that they really should be the one's to lead the charge since they have large under-used footprints after dark. And then of course they did! Now let's just hope they make it a thing and jump into the permanent exhibition market... Lord knows nobody else is chomping at the bit to ENTER anything but the streaming biz these days... The closest I ever got to that was the all-night midnight movie marathon at the Edmonton International Film Fest back in 2008... So hysterically tired after not sleeping well the night before I actually took a nap on the platform at Central Station waiting for my train... That was the first and hopefully last time that I'll ever need to do that! Worth it though... Incidentally I always pass on the good word about Midnight Meat Train and Mad Cow Girl... Just two of the better ones in that 5-films in a row line up! ;-)
 

Breaking ground on Highway 19 west twinning​

March 29, 2021 Media inquiries
Twinning will reduce the chances of a head-on collision for the nearly 10,000 commuter and commercial vehicles that travel Highway 19 each day.
The 3.5-kilometre twinning project will improve the movement of goods to major highways, rail services and the Edmonton International Airport while creating approximately 400 jobs when they’re needed most.
The federal government is providing $27.7 million to Phase 2 of the Highway 19 twinning project.
 
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