Too much going on for me. I see three different designs in one building. Sometimes I like that to break up a super block but here it isn't necessary. If they made each of the buildings one of those three designs that would give the block nice variety.
 
They posted this timeline for the project approval.

1706 Westmount BV NW

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1706westmount.com

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Interesting, something the contractors will have to be super diligent about. Wonder if anything is ever going to happen to remediate this creosote issue...
 
Mountain Man said:
Interesting, something the contractors will have to be super diligent about. Wonder if anything is ever going to happen to remediate this creosote issue...
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anti-development supporter could use any reason.. i dont understand them , for me i would rather my font place being build a nice condo rather than a big empty lot with some fence....
 
Mountain Man said:
Wonder if anything is ever going to happen to remediate this creosote issue...
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Article mentions it being down at the bedrock so it is several meters down on this side of the river. The west side of 11th Street downtown to bow trail is likely a whole other issue. I assume it could be so bad that area never gets developed.
 
CalgaryTiger said:
Article mentions it being down at the bedrock so it is several meters down on this side of the river. The west side of 11th Street downtown to bow trail is likely a whole other issue. I assume it could be so bad that area never gets developed.
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They mention 3m excavation for the parkade will come in 1.2m above the plume. Stormwater and elevator sump pits are going to get closer I expect.

zzkwilliamcanada said:
yeah but building a new condo gonna make it worse? whatever they build or not, it is always there
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Digging into it and disturbing it would definitely be an issue. Not disturbing it would obviously be better.
 
Mountain Man said:
They mention 3m excavation for the parkade will come in 1.2m above the plume. Stormwater and elevator sump pits are going to get closer I expect.
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"Anthem says it will need to dig about three metres deep to get its single-storey parkade built, leaving 1.2 metres above ground."

I was confused by this sentence, is that mean the plume is 4.2 (3 + 1.2m) below ground. Or that the parkade will be 1.2m above ground in addition to 3m below ground?

I find these are the types of articles that are actually not technical enough to understand anything about risk. Any creosote experts that can clarify what the exact issue is that the concern?
  • Is it like asbestos in your home where you shouldn't disturb it? But it can be fixed - just takes careful approach and more money?
  • Is it hazardous to handle from the act of digging itself or is more of a lifetime of exposure it is correlated with cancers etc.? Should i grow a vegetable garden if I live in the area?
  • Why is living in the area, with a house with a basement 3m down "acceptable" risk whereas a digging new basement "more risky" risk?
  • All that digging and piling for the flood wall a bit to the east is outside the plume zone? Where is the plume zone? What's it depth?
  • Why can't we just pour a concrete basement over it and forget about it?
I feel we always get broad statements on this stuff (i.e. "it's 100% an issue") but never really any contextualization of why it's an issue, what to do about it, and why it's a bigger deal than just any other random harm in the neighbourhood we don't do anything about like traffic noise and air pollution. Help us normals out, you smart technical people!
 
Good catch, parkade will be 3m deep, but stick 1.2m above ground. I'm assuming this is based on geotechnical testing and the contamination found within. My understanding is that it cannot be disturbed by a foundation or vapours and oil will seep through cracks and slowly poison people. If you stay above it, then it's fine. Would love to hear from someone with more knowledge on this though.

Maybe the Sunnyside flood wall and excavations for larger projects in Sunnyside / East Hillhurst are far enough away that levels are lower? This document has some maps of the contamination on the original site, but don't really get into how much has gotten under the river and how far. There was a CBC interview with a geoscience professor in 2017 that has some good info as well, they specifically mention this site as a hot spot and that is was about 5m down.

Hopefully this reignites the debate about cleanup and who is going to pay for it. Would love to see the car dealerships and former greyhound station replaced with an actual neighbourhood in my lifetime.
 
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If the contamination has gone all the way accross the river, won't it eventually seep into the foundation eventually, no matter how shallow it is?
 
potatopizzafan said:
If the contamination has gone all the way accross the river, won't it eventually seep into the foundation eventually, no matter how shallow it is?
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Great question - but no clue how this actually works. That’s what I’d hope these articles help with but they never talk actual science. Can “contamination” seep upwards through a basement foundation?
 
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