Surrealplaces said:
I don't mind overhead lines done the way the do in Europe with the lines going from building to building, but there's just something about the way the lines are done here that drives me nuts. In the end it's not a deal breaker or anything, but would be nice if the city could bury them around busy places like Marda Loop, etc..
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They would probably end up replacing power poles with those fancy light posts and traffic signals with ridiculously large concrete bases that "just have to" be placed in the middle of the sidewalk anyway :)

I can't recall another city re-building as many streetscapes as we do that also doesn't seem to understand/be able to preserve a consistent pedestrian right-of-way, even in re-done areas (17th Ave SW for example).
 
MichaelS said:
This is one that drive's me nuts. A nice new pocket park is built in front of the monestary, complete with a nice double row of trees along the sidewalk. Only to have the base of an overhead streetsign arm land literally right in the middle of the walking path created by the double row of trees:
https://www.google.ca/maps/@51.0499234,-114.0835852,3a,37.5y,186.92h,91.73t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1spAv4Ejxhe4GeskYj37kXTA!2e0!6s//geo0.ggpht.com/cbk?panoid=pAv4Ejxhe4GeskYj37kXTA&output=thumbnail&cb_client=maps_sv.tactile.gps&thumb=2&w=203&h=100&yaw=41.801765&pitch=0&thumbfov=100!7i13312!8i6656
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That's bad.... this is my most hated streetlight. 17th and 4th Street SW in the heart of pedestrian-heavy urban Calgary, built recently when the new retail building went in a few years ago on the NW corner, well after a whole myriad of city policies and design standards should be minimizing this kind of thing. An arbitrary street light located exactly in the middle of the pedestrian right of way because of "reasons". Note, it's the only light on the street like this.
https://goo.gl/maps/27PGtNf5Ueu
 
^That's ridiculous. Even worse than an oversight is that someone got paid to do it. It's part of their job or profession. It reminds me of those 'You had one job' memes.
 
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I like it (aside from the telephone poles). I like this one's contribution to Marda Loop's strange double-barrelled pedestrian-oriented retail strips of 33rd and 34th Avenues. It's an unusual configuration and one of the best (and only) examples we have of a re-urbanization of a main street retail area to be more urban and less suburban/strip mally.
 
I love everything thats going on in Marda loop but just one question for any experts. Why don't developers build many of the newer buildings to stick next to each other, why are their gaps left? I think the best pedestrian streets in the world have buildings that hug each other on both sides but you don't see that anymore in Calgary unless its on 17th ave or Stephen Ave. Even some of the newer proposals for 17th ave street projects have no consideration for the future possibility of another building going right next to it to fill gaps. I think thats one of the important factors that make European cities so beautiful to walk in because everything is so tight and knit, like ur enclosed in something. I find gaps just hideous and waste of space. A good example of what I mean is the Best Buy building on 17th ave allowed for The George to hug against its wall closing the gap. If these gaps were eliminated IMO, I would be much more open to creating midrise streetscapes all over the city instead of highrises. Right now many of the developments advocating mid-rises seem to look like they have no real coherence..
 
I like the building, but still mildly infuriated with those telephone poles. :mad: Nice to see all but one retail bay leased out.
 
Good lord those power lines are atrocious.
 
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