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David A said:
That last line resonates for me. There are complainers and doers. Some of the complainers need to become doers.
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I mean, I've explained on multiple occasions that I've spent a long time supporting in various ways that I can a more urban-minded Edmonton, but it does suck to think I might be retired by the time this city has its act together. 30 years isn't huge in the grand scheme of a city, but it is in people's lifetimes. People can complain and still try to support and push things in a better direction. It isn't necessarily so black and white.
 
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Walked three blocks of downtown this AM and there was a lot more I didn’t bother to grab photos of.

Also very disappointing: the amount of dog poop on the sidewalk, which I think is really a matter of people thinking “the sidewalk already looks disgusting, so who cares if I don’t pick it up”.
 
northlands said:
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Walked three blocks of downtown this AM and there was a lot more I didn’t bother to grab photos of.

Also very disappointing: the amount of dog poop on the sidewalk, which I think is really a matter of people thinking “the sidewalk already looks disgusting, so who cares if I don’t pick it up”.
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If thats their rationale for not cleaning up after their dog, it's a pathetic, lazy excuse (and not preparing for inevitable ha)

Around our condo building, we clean up around it as needed everyday. Some days, next to nothing. Other days, some weird stuff. And sometimes from people who didn't pick up after their dog despite our property looking very good.

^I've enjoyed my meals at Del Posto, although I've never seen it busy in the evenings when I've gone.
 
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dunno said:
I mean, I've explained on multiple occasions that I've spent a long time supporting in various ways that I can a more urban-minded Edmonton, but it does suck to think I might be retired by the time this city has its act together. 30 years isn't huge in the grand scheme of a city, but it is in people's lifetimes. People can complain and still try to support and push things in a better direction. It isn't necessarily so black and white.
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I don't know if the city will ever get its act together, but if you feel it is bad and can be improved, then run for city council or do something else to try help improve it.
 
David A said:
I don't know if the city will ever get its act together, but if you feel it is bad and can be improved, then run for city council or do something else to try help improve it.
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That worked well for "no more crap" Mandel, didn't it? I have no interest in public office for personal reasons, anyway. And it cannot be the only way to enact change as it's not something everyone is equipped to do. Just saying "if you don't like it, fix it yourself" is a cop out because I done other, less public-facing things towards that end. Maybe it's not enough (I know it isn't) but I'm also only one person.

Regardless, I can tell that this isn't what people want to talk about here. People don't want a critical discussion here. I can tell it's annoying because of how people respond (or don't, and try to move on from the conversation). I think the general vibe of this site is more optimistic and thinking that Edmonton is great already. Which is probably why Edmonton is the way it is, and it works for most. Still, I'm hardly the only person critical of this place, despite how much I'd love to see it succeed.
 
dunno said:
That worked well for "no more crap" Mandel, didn't it? I have no interest in public office for personal reasons, anyway. And it cannot be the only way to enact change as it's not something everyone is equipped to do. Just saying "if you don't like it, fix it yourself" is a cop out because I done other, less public-facing things towards that end. Maybe it's not enough (I know it isn't) but I'm also only one person.

Regardless, I can tell that this isn't what people want to talk about here. People don't want a critical discussion here. I can tell it's annoying because of how people respond (or don't, and try to move on from the conversation). I think the general vibe of this site is more optimistic and thinking that Edmonton is great already. Which is probably why Edmonton is the way it is, and it works for most. Still, I'm hardly the only person critical of this place, despite how much I'd love to see it succeed.
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There is a theme by some on this forum that if you make critical statements or highlight certain shortcomings then you are labelled as negative.

The irony is that we are all on this forum because of our interest in Edmonton and I do believe that many (including myself) are critical of certain things in Edmonton because we know that this city can do better, we want this city to do better, we expect this city to do better and we have a higher standard for Edmonton, not just for the sake of poo pooing on Edmonton.

I also know that there are many on this forum (again including myself) that in fact are doing things in the community outside of this forum to make Edmonton better so statements about doing something about it are not reflective of what people are doing outside of an anonymous forum.
 
CaptainBL said:
There is a theme by some on this forum that if you make critical statements or highlight certain shortcomings then you are labelled as negative.

The irony is that we are all on this forum because of our interest in Edmonton and I do believe that many (including myself) are critical of certain things in Edmonton because we know that this city can do better, we want this city to do better, we expect this city to do better and we have a higher standard for Edmonton, not just for the sake of poo pooing on Edmonton.

I also know that there are many on this forum (again including myself) that in fact are doing things in the community outside of this forum to make Edmonton better so statements about doing something about it are not reflective of what people are doing outside of an anonymous forum.
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I think having, contributing funds/time and/or being a part of some local advocacy groups like the recently posted Growing Together or Paths for People, a group that meets with City councillors and speaks at Council meetings in an effort to build complete streets, is one of the better ways to influence change as part of a group. Council tends to listen to that more and ultimately they shape direction.

Or supporting the Downtown Business Association and their efforts.

I'd be interested to hear of any other advocacy groups if people know of any and have a list compiled here.

We've also seen postings for different city committees like the design committee - that's another way to help promote some changes?

And I do appreciate this forum for the insights, highlighting the issues out there, promoting opportunities to share a voice, links to surveys that are provided - all that helps.
 
The reality is the City can't be everywhere all the time, especially if people choose to vandalize things. Downtown's been cleaner than it's ever been.

That said way more can still be done, more attention to detail especially around tree grates. I especially think more needs to be done to make Sunday mornings Downtown a more pleasant experience, rather than waiting until Monday to clean things up. Especially with push for more entertainment focus. Hoping to have more answers on that soon, given the City invested $2.5m on cleaning.

Thanks to everyone that does their part, cares enough to clean or report things.
 
Sometimes negativity comes from frustration and a desire to improve, which is fine, but I've also found that it often drifts into putting down others to appear smarter or more worldly. As noted above, it is easy to criticize and much harder to build something. There is no benefit to posting a picture of garbage on the street with a caption lecturing that "we" should do better. I don't think I have ever heard an Edmontonian claim the city was perfect, so it is a bit rich to say that being negative is just pointing out things none of us already know.

In any case, no one is forced to stay here. If it is truly horrible with no hope for improvement, to those people I say go out and find your place. I will continue to build and give back in Edmonton, along with a growing number of others.
 
tkoe_ said:
Sometimes negativity comes from frustration and a desire to improve, which is fine, but I've also found that it often drifts into putting down others to appear smarter or more worldly. As noted above, it is easy to criticize and much harder to build something. There is no benefit to posting a picture of garbage on the street with a caption lecturing that "we" should do better. I don't think I have ever heard an Edmontonian claim the city was perfect, so it is a bit rich to say that being negative is just pointing out things none of us already know.

In any case, no one is forced to stay here. If it is truly horrible with no hope for improvement, to those people I say go out and find your place. I will continue to build and give back in Edmonton, along with a growing number of others.
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A picture is a moment is time and so needs to be taken with a grain of salt. If someone says same problem existed last weekend, or it wasn't cleaned up for a long time I would take this more seriously than someone who happened to stumble upon this.

Anyone can walk around and take pictures of whatever catches their eye. How do we know this wasn't cleaned up an hour later or few hours later?
 
If it was Sunday morning, could've easily been people coming back from the bar the night previous, which happens anywhere. Regardless, I hope it was cleaned up expeditiously.
 
Nothing screams "you're in downtown Edmonton so go fuck yourself" like an-almost empty mall, rude customer service at the A&W and closed pedway entrances at both Commerce Place (where GoodLife Fitness is supposed to be open) and Enbridge Place. This, while a supposedly major tourism draw such as the Taste of Edmonton is ongoing. No wonder downtown residents flock to Oliver, Whyte Ave and other locales.
 
Yeah the pedway entrances are an ongoing problem. I get that there are security concerns so a number are closed at night, but it is light here in much of the summer until well after 10 pm or later.

Part of the problem is an uncoordinated and indifferent approach. There is a big effort to bring people downtown with various festivals or events this summer, which is actually helping some. So, if an event is on it would be nice to have things nearby open and not have the few places open staffed with the surliest most indifferent staff.
 
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