Gronk!
Senior Member
Does anyone remember that fake beach that was proposed for Louise McKinney Park a few years ago? You know, the beach that wasn't touching the water at all?
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Touch the Water Promenade / River Valley "Seawall"
- Thread starter Daveography
- Start date
fungus_eater
New Member
Why can't we make it so that in the summer = "touch the water" and winter = ice skating
archited
Senior Member
Forget "touch the water"; Edmonton City Planning is entirely afraid to "touch the river".
kcantor
Senior Member
^^^
doesn’t that shorter usability make it more important, not less?
besides, the river doesn’t go away in the winter just because the water is frozen.
we already do things like golf courses and the outdoor markets and skating rinks that also aren’t year round or whose experience in different seasons is also simply different.
^^^^
pre expo 86 vancouver was looking at filling in falls creek because it was too polluted to use. like the thames, on some days you could actually light the surface on fire.
our limitations are lack of imagination, not lack of potential.
doesn’t that shorter usability make it more important, not less?
besides, the river doesn’t go away in the winter just because the water is frozen.
we already do things like golf courses and the outdoor markets and skating rinks that also aren’t year round or whose experience in different seasons is also simply different.
^^^^
pre expo 86 vancouver was looking at filling in falls creek because it was too polluted to use. like the thames, on some days you could actually light the surface on fire.
our limitations are lack of imagination, not lack of potential.
Avenuer
Senior Member
It would be great to use the river in the winter but it's ice surface isn't stable and consistent enough to use for skating, for instance, whereas other slower-flowing rivers like the Red in Winnipeg work well for that.
kcantor
Senior Member
and why exactly couldn’t you also use something like this for skating?https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/RF1...e/image/56035395/shutterstock_680234458.0.jpg
TAS
Senior Member
I really enjoy this guy's videos on urbanism focusing on Vancouver.
In this video he argues that Vancouver's vast seawall is boring (and lifeless in the evenings) and provides a lot of Canadian and world examples of better designed waterfront projects including Halifax.
I thought this was applicable to the opportunity Edmonton has around Rossdale and the Touch the Water project.
In this video he argues that Vancouver's vast seawall is boring (and lifeless in the evenings) and provides a lot of Canadian and world examples of better designed waterfront projects including Halifax.
I thought this was applicable to the opportunity Edmonton has around Rossdale and the Touch the Water project.
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BASE
Active Member
Makes some interesting points. Sounds like there are a lot of forces against development similar to what we see here, although in Vancouver it seems like more selective development.
Either way I would kill for our own version of the sea wall and have never noticed the lack of activation along the sea wall in Vancouver because even if the bars or restaurants aren’t spilling out onto the paths they aren’t terribly inconvenient to access nearby. Would be something more noticed by regular local users I would think.
IanO
Superstar
Meanwhile in Calgary...the expansion and usage continues.
*chosen and used to show the difference of one city continually moving things forward and having vision, with another unable to see the noxious weeds from the BLVDs.
*chosen and used to show the difference of one city continually moving things forward and having vision, with another unable to see the noxious weeds from the BLVDs.
BASE
Active Member
They have indeed done an incredible job with that.
CaptainBL
Active Member
Who? The City of Edmonton and the weeds that fill the boulevards of our river valley water access points? If so, then yes they truly have done an incredible job at allowing that.
thommyjo
Senior Member
Touch the Water and High Level Line both feel like such significant projects, but they’re big time in the vision/wants category. Not the needs/core services one. Might be a tough decade for them to get done without a councillor who really wants to champion them. Victoria promenade getting an update and sask drive being more than a MUP with some benches would be nice too.
The_Cat
Senior Member
The North Saskatchewan must flow faster than the Bow River, at least downtown, perhaps partly the result of the Harvie Passage (and other breaks) east of downtown. Aquatic opportunities seem more abundant with St. George's Island and Prince's Island, not to mention the Elbow River. Downtown is located in the Bow Valley. Sadly, the North Saskatchewan has claimed two lives this year because of fast-flowing sections.
MacLac
Senior Member
‘Cause it’s a trout stream……Meanwhile in Calgary...the expansion and usage continues.
*chosen and used to show the difference of one city continually moving things forward and having vision, with another unable to see the noxious weeds from the BLVDs.
IanO
Superstar
Point being that their progress on the river walk for much of the extent of their central neighbourhoods is nearly complete. It's taken 15years, but has been a continuous process.
Edmonton's greatest asset continues to have pockets and stretches of this as we see with LMP or the new Walterdale, but is disjointed and a rather poor experience in many spots. The riverwalk/touch the water plan is fantastic and would draw thousands more folks to the area.
Edmonton's greatest asset continues to have pockets and stretches of this as we see with LMP or the new Walterdale, but is disjointed and a rather poor experience in many spots. The riverwalk/touch the water plan is fantastic and would draw thousands more folks to the area.