The extent in which "white flight" happened is often under-estimated. It's a huge issue when a large portion of a City's population abruptly decides to leave the city in massive numbers (by going only a few kilometres away to a different tax jurisdiction). This is always a huge missed part in...

It's such a weird problem - unlike other "potential" TOD (i.e. Anderson), Westbrook has demonstrated substantial infill demand for years in the all the areas around station. Real development, not just plans. You'd think that Matco would have figured out how to leverage this demand after all...

Great summary. Would love to see an "urban format" hospital in Calgary one day. Something along the lines of Hospital row in central Toronto which has more-or-less infilled a few large hospital sites with more towers and infrastructure over 100 years. Great subway access: Or either of the...

Isn't the idea for the floorplate of the Chumir to grow as needed over time? which is why they kept the surface lot for future expansion?

I know there's studies that talk about how retailers tend to under-estimate the amount of people who go to their business by walking and bicycling. Would be really interesting if there was a Calgary study about 17th Ave specifically. For places like Trolley 5 and the Ship and Anchor, I have a...

It's simple, by Elgin Street in Ottawa got all the details right: Wide crosswalk ramps that actually line up with the crosswalk in direction and width (practically an unheard of innovation in Calgary) Narrow poles and street furniture out of the way of pedestrian movements Tight corner radii to...

Needs are tricky because it's all about who defines what's needed - the status quo approach is needs are defined by a few business association members with media access and a poorly responded to survey, as well as some transportation engineers. Needs are defined as street parking and vehicle...

I've added every airport people have talked about to this table that looks at travel time in a "perfect" scenario (no walks/no waits) for transit. The destination is somewhat arbitrary but always a centrally located transit station. All are single transit routes, no transfers. I didn't...

17th Avenue is emblematic of many of the frustrating elements of urban life in Calgary, and most cities forever in a state of change and trade-offs for public space. We remain stuck in the anti-congestion-for-cars hegemonic perspective from local leaders and transportation officials. Keep in...

I am increasingly leaning towards a faster and direct downtown-airport connection being preferrable. This should be an LRT or train eventually, but should exist today as a direct bus. The city and airport are growing rapidly, there is a market for efficient transit connections to the core. The...

I like it. I think it's the right balance of being big, but not overpowering. Something about the tapered look with round edges, but still simple shapes, seems appealing. It's trying to go for something "timeless" and leans into wood and glass which are safe, competent bets. That high, glass...

I can't even imagine what this means and how a building can do this. Yet another example of ivory tower architects failing to reflect on the local design vernacular! It doesn't even have a big surface parking lot or a pointless curvy swooping roof design! Did they even visit Calgary before...

Yikes - it's making more sense why we are seeing so many apartments (so far mostly the 6 storey wood variety) start despite all the headwinds for construction costs, interest rates etc.

I generally agree, but also have a hard time imagining how this will play out in reality as an issue we actually have to worry about. Or at least, to me it seems more of a missed opportunity broadly than a consequence of R-GC citywide rezoning. My issue is that essentially all areas of Calgary...

Thanks for this summary. It reads to me as if we don’t really know what we want here and what the purpose of it is. Despite this we also have $100M+ set aside. I also find this whole project kind of strange where the U of C doesn’t seem like a player in the project, despite the whole proposal...