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October
Guest
Is there still a proposal to over haul Arts Commons? that building look worn to me and screams 1980's and I remember seeing renders of a redesigned building.
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- Thread starter Surrealplaces
- Start date
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October
Guest
That area is one of the only parts of town where I refuse to go alone, especially during night. A couple of years ago a druggie tried to steal a camera from me and my friend while we were shooting video infant of city hall.
You can walk by city hall station at anytime of the day and legitimately watch people grind up fentanyl and snort it straight off the ground of the C-train platform.
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UrbanWarrior
Senior Member
Yeah man. It's mentioned fairly often on here.The first phase is already funded and the city released funds last September to conduct the detailed engineering work on the design.
Liberals' $110M for Arts Commons, Contemporary Calgary called 'posturing'
The federal government has pledged financial support for an ambitious expansion of Arts Commons and the construction of Calgary’s first major contemporary art galle…
calgaryherald.com
Council approves release of funds for Arts Commons project
City council voted Monday night to fund detailed design work on the $240-million Arts Commons expansion project.
calgaryherald.com
Silence&Motion
Senior Member
If they wanted to do something that would immediately improve Arts Commons/Olympic Plaza, they should ban parking in front of the entrance to Arts Commons. It is absolutely shameful that we treat one of the most highly pedestrian-trafficked areas in our city's central public square as a parking lot! Imagine if you routinely had pick-up trucks and delivery vans randomly parked in front of the Vancouver Art Gallery in Robson Square, or in front of Toronto City Hall in Nathan Phillips Square.
JonnyCanuck
Senior Member
It will get built. Lear Construction has been hired as the G.C.. The project is called Lynbrooke Apartments
Mountain Man
Senior Member
I think Stephen Ave in it's entirety should be 100% car free all the time!
darwink
Senior Member
I think it should be tried on a trial basis, but that it would be a mistake to lock in the decision long term without a test.
Roaring Flames
Senior Member
I'd like something to be done with the entire block north of Stephen Ave between 1st Street SW and Centre Street. Eliminate the alley and build a unified shipping/receiving area for all the businesses on the block and build a large mixed use development along 7th ave.
ByeByeBaby
Active Member
What does "lock in the decision" even mean in this context? Making Stephen Ave car free 24/7 would be changing a handful of signs, not pouring 50 million dollars worth of concrete.
While we're improving the traffic conditions around City Hall, I'll pitch the idea of building a temporary lane reversal capability on 1st St E between 5th and 11th Ave, so that Macleod can be closed in front of City Hall on evenings and weekends (or at least weekends, 6 PM Friday to 6 AM Monday). That would enable the City Hall plaza to be reoriented so it can be used in concert with Olympic Plaza as a larger festival space.
darwink
Senior Member
You'd be amazed at how permanent a million dollar capital spend to close the road would be, even if it could be removed in a weekend. I like it your proposal, though id make Macloed in front of the arts commons a culdesac to not cut off the arts commons from parking revenue, and provide a ride share/taxi drop off loop.
artvandelay
Active Member
Outside of a few weeks in the summer, there’s really not enough off peak pedestrian traffic to warrant closing Stephen Avenue to vehicle traffic. I think doing so at this time would probably be a bad idea - having nighttime traffic on the Avenue ensures that there are constant eyes on the street and serves to improve safety when there aren’t many pedestrians around. Keep in mind that the first iteration of Stephen Avenue mall was a failure until they introduced off peak vehicle traffic in the early 90s.
Having said that, I wouldn’t be opposed to having temporary closures say during Stampede or other festivals, but fully closing the mall to traffic won’t make sense until residential population density in the core is significantly higher than it is today.
Having said that, I wouldn’t be opposed to having temporary closures say during Stampede or other festivals, but fully closing the mall to traffic won’t make sense until residential population density in the core is significantly higher than it is today.
UrbanWarrior
Senior Member
I agree, and it wouldn't cost the city a dime. The infrastructure to block the roadway in front of Arts Commons is already there and fully functional.
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I like the idea of the temporary closures. It would be super easy as, they already do it during the day, all they need to do is do it during festivals, etc... which I believe they have done before. They had it closed at night during Glowfest.
ByeByeBaby
Active Member
At no point in the year is there enough vehicle traffic to warrant keeping vehicles on Stephen Avenue. It's around a thousand vehicles a day and about 10 times as many people; informally when I look at least half of the vehicles are taxis (and probably a good share of the non-taxis are Ubers).
In the early 90s, downtown was a very different place and a lot quieter; the number of people without a car downtown in the day has gone from 77,000 in 1996 to 156,000. I think that's plenty. How many people do you need? 200,000? 300,000?
As a minimum, I think there should be a "Patio Season" starting sometime between Easter and the May Long, and going through Thanksgiving where traffic is banned 24/7. It's nice out, walk half a block to your Uber. And it could be a promo opportunity for the downtown.
Mountain Man
Senior Member
BAnning traffic on Stephen Ave in the summer is a good idea, having some cabs there in the winter is probably good for business. I Think we miss out on the change to have a major winter festival centered on Stephen Ave though.