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Suburban Development and Sprawl

I find this to be absolutely the most insane thing.

The city approves a insolvent development model and continues to do so for years but then blames development for being insolvent and has to increase tax?
 
how about instead of criticizing we recognize a 30 acre development will service ~100k Edmontonians...
And provide taxes and jobs. Plus I thought the City wanted 15 minute communities. My daughter and her family can walk to the site. Plus there are two major multi use paths east of Heritage Valley Trail providing direct access to the site, and more being constructed on the west side as well. For instance you can bicycle from Ellerslie Road to 41 Avenue without crossing a major arterial. I know this isn't the type of development that some on this board like, but people in the "burbs" are very active . . . our trail network is extensively used and can be easily accessed. Again, serving thousands of people . . . .unfortunately with the hospital getting shelved there will be a massive doughnut of vacant land in Heritage Valley, so potentially linkages between the eastern and western sides won't be completed for some time to come.
 
And provide taxes and jobs. Plus I thought the City wanted 15 minute communities. My daughter and her family can walk to the site. Plus there are two major multi use paths east of Heritage Valley Trail providing direct access to the site, and more being constructed on the west side as well. For instance you can bicycle from Ellerslie Road to 41 Avenue without crossing a major arterial. I know this isn't the type of development that some on this board like, but people in the "burbs" are very active . . . our trail network is extensively used and can be easily accessed. Again, serving thousands of people . . . .unfortunately with the hospital getting shelved there will be a massive doughnut of vacant land in Heritage Valley, so potentially linkages between the eastern and western sides won't be completed for some time to come.

In terms of design, I would love to see new districts move away from power center design with very large parking lots and lots of concrete to more of a town center/mainstreet design that has some mixed use built in, is a more pleasant pedestrian experience and more of a community hub.

Having the multi-use paths well connected is great. But the quality of experience of power centre versus mixed-use town centre is not as good - but I recognize I'm probably in minority. In terms of comparison below, the key advantages (cost) is obviously a driving factor.

Screenshot_20260413_153057_Samsung Browser.jpg
 
And provide taxes and jobs. Plus I thought the City wanted 15 minute communities. My daughter and her family can walk to the site. Plus there are two major multi use paths east of Heritage Valley Trail providing direct access to the site, and more being constructed on the west side as well. For instance you can bicycle from Ellerslie Road to 41 Avenue without crossing a major arterial. I know this isn't the type of development that some on this board like, but people in the "burbs" are very active . . . our trail network is extensively used and can be easily accessed. Again, serving thousands of people . . . .unfortunately with the hospital getting shelved there will be a massive doughnut of vacant land in Heritage Valley, so potentially linkages between the eastern and western sides won't be completed for some time to come.
It's great to have all these services nearby and accessible for local residents, but does it have to be so damn ugly and car-centric? Why not offer the same shops, services, restaurants, etc, but in a park-once format? Everyone seems to hate South Common, which is brutal for drivers and pedestrians alike, yet we keep building more of the same!
 
And provide taxes and jobs. Plus I thought the City wanted 15 minute communities. My daughter and her family can walk to the site. Plus there are two major multi use paths east of Heritage Valley Trail providing direct access to the site, and more being constructed on the west side as well. For instance you can bicycle from Ellerslie Road to 41 Avenue without crossing a major arterial. I know this isn't the type of development that some on this board like, but people in the "burbs" are very active . . . our trail network is extensively used and can be easily accessed. Again, serving thousands of people . . . .unfortunately with the hospital getting shelved there will be a massive doughnut of vacant land in Heritage Valley, so potentially linkages between the eastern and western sides won't be completed for some time to come.
With all due respect, accessible by walking vs “walkable” aren’t the same.

95% of shoppers will drive to this. The parking lot and comparables nearby prove that (currents in windemere)

Just because stuff is close, doesn’t mean it’s not car dependent in design.

This is just another car dependent, big box retail strip mall that’ll induce car use further. Nothing to celebrate. It’ll be low revenue per sqft for taxes too.

“People in the burbs are active”. Sure…. That’s why all those neighborhoods have less than 1% walking and biking rates on the census vs 5-15% for mature neighborhoods?
 
how about instead of criticizing we recognize a 30 acre development will service ~100k Edmontonians...
So? They can do those same things in less area if they chose to build using even remotely urbanist design principles.

You don't have to build Manhattan to build commercial that's more walkable and accessible to more people than a strip mall.

Even something like this is far preferable. Yes it's a power centre, but it also has mixed use buildings, plazas, and semi attractive streetscapes areas.


Wild that something like this could be considered above criticism simply because there are some benefits
 

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