|
|
|
That's the biggest shame, right? Just the waste of money on the protected bicycle lane that if it goes all-pedestrian isn't really necessary anymore and creates arbitrary divisions.
I think I'd be ok with the protected lanes staying tbh. It helps to separate sightseers and pedestrians who are gazing at the local landmarks or going to the various stores, from cyclists/wheeled commuters who are trying to get from point A to point B more quickly. Since it ties into the downtown bike lane network, I think it'll be nice for both consistency and convenience to have a clear space for cyclists, scooter users (scooterers?), etc. to do their thing without having to worry about emergency vehicles or dodging pedestrians.
From 100 st to 103st the only interesting sights are the empty blank building walls, and the only entrances to stores is....oh wait nothing, except for the two mall entrances to City Centre mall. I would love to see some businesses open to the street first to create a bit of a destination. Along that stretch there isn't even much sunlight so it isn't the most pleasant area to walk. Darker and no eyes on street makes for less comfortable place for general pedestrians to walk.
I understand that, it has been stared in this thread before, but as I said, the bike lanes are already here. Ideally, given that this is an lrt line, we want to assume that development will occur over time. So, since there are already bike lanes, and we want development to occur here, I am thinking about how I think it should be laid out down the road as well. Thus, I think it makes more sense to keep the bike lanes since they are already here and will get more useful as time goes on, compared to taking them out now, and then having an avoidable infrastructure deficit down the line.
Well if this pilot happens, I hope everyone who has all this interest to reimagine the street actually steps up and makes it happen. Too often people have great ideas but when it comes to bringing those ideas to life, they step back and wait for others to do it. There is potential only if someone actually steps up to do something.
Hope you take a stroll on a few occasions as well.
www.forbes.com
edmontonjournal.com
I think downtown's best chance at a revitalization will be limiting cars in its central core over time - along with other things in the works: more green space and rec opportunities, more residential, a growing small biz sector, safety, cleanliness etc.
"Closing central Madrid to cars in 2018 resulted in a 9.5% boost to retail spending, found an analysis of 20 million anonymized transactions.
Retailers in many countries believe the majority of people travel to their stores by car. Study after study has shown this to be largely incorrect. When quizzed, retailers often overstate the numbers who they think drive; and understate modes such as walking, cycling and taking public transit. Removing cars from shopping streets often increases trade. For instance, a 2015 study of Queen Street West in Toronto’s Parkdale neighborhood found that half of the local business owners estimated that more than 25% of their customers arrived by car. In fact, it was 4%. And the number for those who walked or cycled? 72%."
Birmingham Reveals Radical Ghent-Style Plan To Cut Car Addiction
Car-besotted Birmingham wants to reduce the number of car journeys in the city.
