Neighbourhood Renewal

[JuliallThat]

That's a fantastic write up.
I think about this all the time, but especially on relatively quiet "arterials" in my area like 86 St south of Fort Rd, or 111/112 Ave through Norwood up to Borden Park. There's so much potential in these spaces, and the traffic volumes really aren't even very high! And yet they persist as oppressive roads whose future is quietly glossed over while we rebuild these neighbourhoods behind the scenes around them. It's not even just for the locals, these roads are the gateways, they're the welcome signs that most people see - but if 111 Ave is your first impression, you're never going to look any further. It's a travesty.

 

[_urbanite]

I agree with every word, comma and space of this article.

D-bag (I know this guy personally) buys house in inner city neighborhood in a city with no north/south freeways through its core and then expects traffic to disappear and be re-routed away from his mature neighborhood oasis.

Should've bought in the 'burbs if you want peace and quiet and no traffic.


This is like buying a house in the 'burbs with no public amenities nearby and then complaining about the lack of public amenities nearby

 

[ChazYEG]

D-bag (I know this guy personally) buys house in inner city neighborhood in a city with no north/south freeways through its core and then expects traffic to disappear and be re-routed away from his mature neighborhood oasis.

Should've bought in the 'burbs if you want peace and quiet and no traffic.


This is like buying a house in the 'burbs with no public amenities nearby and then complaining about the lack of public amenities nearby

I don't agree with a single word of what you just said.

One of the best impacts of NOT having freeways crossing the core is that we can actually have vibrant, people oriented neighbourhoods in places that are not the suburbs. And note here that we are not talking about the downtown core, we're talking about streets like 95st, for example.

This is also one way to curb the car-dependancy we currently have, since it might end up being faster and more comfortable using transit to move past the suburban hellscape of gazillion-lane freeways that cut most inner neighbourhoods in cities all across North America from the rest of the world and created the tragic sea of surface lots and dead streets in the cores.

Also, this kind of neighbourhood can be a very good middle ground between the dead, completely sterile suburbs, and the hustle and bustle of a downtown core, with more things on a human scale, walkability and vibrancy in the streets. Not to mention how much it helps local businesses, hat create WAAAAAY more jobs, as a group, than most big box stores you get in the suburbs, and this is all apart from the sense of community that having these main streets being functional and safe brings.

And I am not saying we should do this to all streets. 97st is one, for example, that needs to stay as a major thoroughfare, at least for the foreseeable future, as well as 82nd street and 109 st. But we could very well do with streets like 95st, 116st and 124st going on a diet and becoming more pedestrian and bike friendly.

 

[TAS]

Should've bought in the 'burbs if you want peace and quiet and no traffic.

The ironic thing about this is some people who decide to buy in the burbs for quiet, safety and no traffic, end of driving everywhere else adding to the traffic, noise etc in other people's communities. And if there is a bike lane downtown slowing them down, it's a crime.

 

[jason403]

Honestly, roads are great. I'd hope we'd expand our transportation network even more extensively (probably even at the expense of sidewalks or bike lanes in many areas). A lot of the areas where they expand non-automobile areas of space end up being under utilized and generally don't make areas significantly better (all at the expense of transportation).

 

[ChazYEG]

Honestly, roads are great. I'd hope we'd expand our transportation network even more extensively (probably even at the expense of sidewalks or bike lanes in many areas). A lot of the areas where they expand non-automobile areas of space end up being under utilized and generally don't make areas significantly better (all at the expense of transportation).

Yeah! What the hell are we waiting for to double down on roads for cars upon cars.
Let's build double decker elevated highways criss-crossing the city core, along with network of tunnels and turning all of our major thoroughfares into freeways!

 

[Seamusmuldrew]

Honestly, roads are great. I'd hope we'd expand our transportation network even more extensively (probably even at the expense of sidewalks or bike lanes in many areas). A lot of the areas where they expand non-automobile areas of space end up being under utilized and generally don't make areas significantly better (all at the expense of transportation).

You’re joking, right?

 

[soupcrate]

Honestly, roads are great. I'd hope we'd expand our transportation network even more extensively (probably even at the expense of sidewalks or bike lanes in many areas). A lot of the areas where they expand non-automobile areas of space end up being under utilized and generally don't make areas significantly better (all at the expense of transportation).

Just give it some time. Our city has been investing way more into roads for way longer than bike paths. The concerted effort to build actually good bike infrastructure started just a few years ago.

As a more complete network of bike paths is built, we will see lot more utilization across the city. Even now we have plenty of bike paths with comparable/greater traffic than entire residential/collector roads nearby, and the bike paths only take up like a single lane worth of space. Just imagine what it will be like once those paths actually connect up to the rest of the city.

 

[Platinum107]

Honestly, roads are great. I'd hope we'd expand our transportation network even more extensively (probably even at the expense of sidewalks or bike lanes in many areas). A lot of the areas where they expand non-automobile areas of space end up being under utilized and generally don't make areas significantly better (all at the expense of transportation).

Jason, I'd like to here some more of the rationale behind what you said here. I'm not being petty or vindictive at all, I'm just genuinely curious as to what influences your view on transportation planning for a city?

 

[IanO]

Pleased to hear this.
--

Amarjeet Sohi
(He/Him) • 1st
Mayor of Edmonton. Together, we’ll build an Edmonton for all of us.
29m • 29 minutes ago
Today, I asked City of Edmonton administration to prepare a report on the progress of the capital investments recommended in the Chinatown Strategy. These investments include the relocation of the Harbin Gate, further streetscaping and park improvements. With this report, Council will be able to take the next steps towards funding this transformative strategy.

Thank you to Anne Stevenson (she/her) for her recent community engagement to move the Chinatown Strategy forward. Thanks also to Keren Tang and Jennifer Rice for championing this important economic and cultural commitment.

A thriving and resilient Chinatown is not just important for remembering our collective past heritage, but also for building our collective future. I am pleased to support Chinatown’s continued revitalization and to work with my council colleagues to help create a place that the Chinese community, visitors and all Edmontonians can delight in. #yeg #yegcc #chinatown #downtownliving

 

[ntt1]

Does anyone know if the 110 St bike lane through Garneau/McKernan is complete (to 76 ave) now, and how conditions are if it is? I haven't ridden in the area for quite a while now but would like to check it out.

 

[CplKlinger]

Does anyone know if the 110 St bike lane through Garneau/McKernan is complete (to 76 ave) now, and how conditions are if it is? I haven't ridden in the area for quite a while now but would like to check it out.

I haven't biked there yet this year, but the rehabilitation is scheduled to go until 2023. However, going off the project map, I think the bike lane itself should be completed this year (project 32)? It also seems like the 83rd ave bike lane was extended up 111 street last year (project 31), but won't be brought over to 112 street until next year (project 34).

 

[soupcrate]

By the way, this is the draft design for Ottewell. Very solid. And because they are shared use paths, nobody complains about the "bike lanes". Imagine if every neighborhood Edmonton looked like this.

 

[Platinum107]

By the way, this is the draft design for Ottewell. Very solid. And because they are shared use paths, nobody complains about the "bike lanes". Imagine if every neighborhood Edmonton looked like this.

View attachment 390261

My dream, but with exclusive bike lanes (but that won't happen so this is okay).

 

[Myles86]

Rode through 110 St and 88 Ave in Garneau yesterday and can report that the cycle tracks were fully swept (just waiting on road markings):

NB 110 St at 76 Ave (Project 31)

NB 110 St at 77 Ave (Project 31)

NB 110 St at University Ave (Project 31)

NB 110 St at 80 Ave (Project 32, to be reconstructed)

NB 110 St at Whyte Ave (Project 32, to be reconstructed)

NB 110 St at 84 Ave (Project 31)

NB 110 St at 86 Ave (Project 30)

NB 110 St at 88 Ave (Project 30)

EB 88 Ave (Project 30)

WB 88 Ave (Project 30)

SB 110 St at 87 Ave (Project 30)

SB 110 St at 76 Ave (Project 31)