- Thread starter Surrealplaces
- Start date
If Argyle (parcel to the east of Gramercy) was able to get built, the entrance into U/D from 32nd would be super.
UrbanWarrior
Senior Member
*will be
Alex_YYC
Senior Member
Chinook Arch
Active Member
So glad to this one going ahead.
Urban Outdoorsman
Active Member
Yeah this will really tie together university ave. It'll start feeling like a proper high street pretty soon here!
It's too bad University Ave didn't carry on through the University and hook up with University Drive. It could really give the campus a more urban feel.
Chinese_T
Active Member
Hopefully they will eventually expand there. The current plan shows a rework of the road and 2 "Gramercy"-style buildings where lot 10 currently is
Silence&Motion
Senior Member
The current master plan advocates for something along these lines. Seems like they imagine the eventual demolition of Craigie Hall and the walkway connecting Mac Hall to the Kinesiology Building to create a major (somewhat winding) pathway connecting University Drive all the way to 32 Ave and 33 St. This pathway does basically exist now, but it is difficult to follow if you don't know where you're going and involves walking through a couple ground level connections between buildings.
University Ave and Collegiate Blvd will also be merged into a single east-west street. This seems like a shorter-term, more realistic plan, since it is already basically happening and doesn't involve any major demolitions of existing university buildings.
It is somewhat foreboding that this plan erases the entirety of Craigie Hall (which houses the humanities departments) and the Social Science building at a time when liberal arts programs are under major threat in this province and at U of C in particular.
University Ave and Collegiate Blvd will also be merged into a single east-west street. This seems like a shorter-term, more realistic plan, since it is already basically happening and doesn't involve any major demolitions of existing university buildings.
It is somewhat foreboding that this plan erases the entirety of Craigie Hall (which houses the humanities departments) and the Social Science building at a time when liberal arts programs are under major threat in this province and at U of C in particular.
FriendlyDrunks
Active Member
CalgaryTiger
Senior Member
Maybe I stand alone here, but this bad. Very bad! Why do we care about road connectivity here? I don't think carrying this road through the university will give it an urban feel. If would just be another, slower, way off accessing Crowchild through the university. Even if it does make it feel like that, it doesn't sound very appealing to me. The best part about campuses is their walkable, bike-able and void of vehicle traffic. I'd love to see downtown adopt much more of campus feel.
I don't necessarily care about having the corridor for the sake of moving cars through, but more for the sake of having a main artery through the University that can be used as a multi-mode corridor. Mainly for pedestrians, cycling and transit...maybe even a mini streetcar or shuttle bus system that cruises up and down the artery from University district to the south end of the University. Cars might be a part of that equation, but with a few tweaks, it can be designed such that cars will not use it as solely as a cut through. The artery could have even have retail frontage.
The problem with the way it is today, is the University isn't actually very walk-able or bike-able right now IMO...despite having a million pathways. It's more of a hodge podge of pathways that get cut off or don't meet up with other pathways, and frustrating to move around in.
Thrillhou
New Member
When I think about my time as a student there I'd say primarily any movement was east/west. I think that's where walkability really struggles at the UofC. Science theater to Res has a lot of odd barriers. Further to that point I think it's critical to create additional primary connections to the university district. As far as I know, to get to Cineplex from Cascade Hall, you'd need to walk past the oval and fields over to University Ave. This is a needless detour especially in the cold. It's great to see campus becoming more "urban" and giving students more options outside of Thursden.
Silence&Motion
Senior Member
The red lines actually signify pedestrian pathways without cars. The intention is to create major pedestrian thoroughfares that intersect with two main quads, which will give the campus more of a sense of place. U of C has lacked a central gathering place that most other university campuses have. The plan is to keep cars and parking to the outskirts of campus. You'll notice that there are actually a lot of parking lots and roadways that have been shaded yellow or blue, signifying that they should eventually be removed in favour of open space or new buildings.
As it stands now, the campus is the worst of car-dependent 1960s/70s design. Each building is oriented outward to a ring road and has its own associated surface parking lot. The pedestrian pathways between the buildings are clearly an afterthought. Just some random patches of grass and a few trees here and there. One of my most hated features of the campus is that the loading docks for Mac Hall face the centre of campus. So right in the central quad of the university, you have dumpsters, idling trucks, and massive tire tracks everywhere.
CalgaryTiger
Senior Member
I see what they wanted or were trying to do with the pathways and I like that. I had no idea the current University was so disconnected in that way. Like Thrillhou said. I haven't done it much but I know it is awful to drive into, get lost or not be able to drive to certain area from the way you entered and then park and walk around trying to way-find your way through the campus on foot (especially as an outsider who doesn't know the campus). For that reason I made sure not use the UofC campus as an example of what a downtown can be, SAIT is even better than the UofC. At least at SAIT you can walk from the train and reach a large part of the campus without ever interacting with a car.
What I didn't like is running University Ave into a T-intersection with Collegiate, forcing drivers to make a left turn into the University from Collegiate. It would make University Ave more of a main road for drivers using Shaganappi instead of them going north to 32nd. Right now Collegiate feeds into the University from 32nd off of Shaganappi and Crowchild. My fear was turning university district into a cut through because if you're accessing the University from the SW and NW via Shaganappi it could push you to use University Ave over Collegiate via 32nd. I know I try to not think car car car but in this case by making that change you could change how the University is accessed thus making the potentially multi-modal University Ave car dominant ruining University Ave.
Maybe that's an overreaction but that's just me.
What I didn't like is running University Ave into a T-intersection with Collegiate, forcing drivers to make a left turn into the University from Collegiate. It would make University Ave more of a main road for drivers using Shaganappi instead of them going north to 32nd. Right now Collegiate feeds into the University from 32nd off of Shaganappi and Crowchild. My fear was turning university district into a cut through because if you're accessing the University from the SW and NW via Shaganappi it could push you to use University Ave over Collegiate via 32nd. I know I try to not think car car car but in this case by making that change you could change how the University is accessed thus making the potentially multi-modal University Ave car dominant ruining University Ave.
Maybe that's an overreaction but that's just me.