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Toronto's downtown has nicer parks than Calgary's. What is an actual nice park in downtown Calgary? I guess if you include St. Patrick and Prince's Island as part of "downtown", they're quite nice. But if you were doing that, you'd also have to include the Toronto Islands as part of Toronto's downtown, which are nicer.
 
Umm, of course Princes island and St Patrick’s Island are downtown, and accessible freely, by foot. So no, I wouldn’t have to include the Toronto islands, as they’re accessible only by a 15 minute boat ride which one must pay for. Not even remotely comparable.


Following list includes parks with at least half a city block of greenspace.

15 - 20 min *walk* (not boat ride) from Calgary Tower:

Princes Island
St Patrick’s Island
RiverWalk
Beaulieu Gardens
Lindsey Park
Central Memorial Park
Harley Hotchkiss Gardens
McDougall Centre
West Eau Claire Park
Olympic Plaza (?)
Haultain Park
Barb Scott Park
Century Gardens


20 - 25 minutes walk:

Millennium Park
Scotsman Hill
Crescent Heights Lookout


25 - 35 min (Toronto distances, and about the same as the islands even by boat not including wait times at the terminal):

Thomson Family Park
Roxboro Cliffs
Elbow Island Park
Evamy Ridge


I’m sure I’m forgetting some. Point being, you can’t go three blocks in any direction in Calgary’s 6 downtown neighbourhoods, or the entire inner city for that matter, without hitting a greenspace.


If you were talking about Toronto's many fully paved concrete/brick plazas… honey those are plazas, not greenspace, which was what was being discussed. Yes those are nicer than ours for what they are, because we choose greenery over stone.
 
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Both cities downtown areas have their parks and spaces. I like both.
I prefer Calgary’s but it’s just a personal preference. Some people would prefer the lake front over the riverfront, or prefer Toronto’s plazas for example.

I agree with @Silence&Motion that the OP living in Vaughan isn’t really giving the true story. The problem with these articles is they’re always one person’s viewpoint. We had one a while back from someone who moved to Toronto and the article had same flaws. The person never really got to know the city.
 
There's a renaissance in renovating parks and building new ones in downtown Toronto right now. They aren't all hard surfaces either. Let's not be stupid. Eau Claire Park isn't what I would call a green space (it wouldn't make sense as a green space.) It's no question that downtown Calgary has more park space and walking trails per capita. It's deficient on sports facilities. Those are more for the future as the population doubles and doubles again.

Congestion is only getting worse making it harder to go places in Toronto. Anything "free" attracts masses of people. The Taste of Danforth has been super busy for years. I would be concerned with a pet or child getting lost in the crowd for the past decade.. The last time I went right before Covid I felt being carried from one end to the other unable to immerse in any of the festivities and I'm 200 pounds.
 
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^^^100%! I lived in Scarborough when I was doing my Masters, and Mississauga for a couple years after school when I was just starting my career, because I couldn’t afford to live downtown. It was miserable!

When I did live downtown TO, you can’t help but fall in love with the city, because you actually get to experience it.

You’re not going to like living in Toronto if you don’t actually live in Toronto. The GTA is not Toronto. It’s like saying you live in Calgary when you actually live in Airdrie, Cochrane, Okotoks, or Chestermere.
 
maestro said:
Anything "free" attracts masses of people. The Taste of Danforth has been super busy for years. I would be concerned with a pet or child getting lost in the crowd for the past decade.. The last time I went right before Covid I felt being carried from one end to the other unable to immerse in any of the festivities and I'm 200 pounds.
Click to expand...
An unfortunate trend in a lot of successful festivities. I was in Paris for Nuit Blanche, and it was a mosh pit. Apparently it's become a victim of its own success.

Calgary has seen some of the same effects. The Lilac festival became huge, but to a point where you can't really enjoy it as much. Calgarians love the lifestyle of the nearby parks (Bragg Creek/Kananaskis/Banff, etc..) but as the population grows and people use them more the parks are becoming harder to enjoy.
 
haltcatchfire said:
Toronto is a dump but luckily it’s so congested you never get to where you’re going to see it.
Click to expand...
"Nobody goes there anymore, it's too crowded!"

As Calgary grows, we would be wise to start thinking in capacity growth terms for many things it doesn't currently - the river pathway system, bicycle lanes, sidewalks to name a few - many areas are way undersized for the traffic they see on peak times, let alone during festivals and events. Apart from a few streets targeted for sidewalk expansion and a few of the Riverwalk/Eau Claire placemaking projects, most of our urban streets in the Beltline and other areas have seen no capacity increase despite rapidly expanding local population and every increasing foot traffic.

Many downtown sidewalks can't even pass the "can two strollers pass each other?" test due to increasing pedestrian volumes, poor maintenance, and the random street poles/debris found on every block.
 
UrbanWarrior said:
Umm, of course Princes island and St Patrick’s Island are downtown, and accessible freely, by foot. So no, I wouldn’t have to include the Toronto islands, as they’re accessible only by a 15 minute boat ride which one must pay for. Not even remotely comparable.


Following list includes parks with at least half a city block of greenspace.

15 - 20 min *walk* (not boat ride) from Calgary Tower:

Princes Island
St Patrick’s Island
RiverWalk
Beaulieu Gardens
Lindsey Park
Central Memorial Park
Harley Hotchkiss Gardens
McDougall Centre
West Eau Claire Park
Olympic Plaza (?)
Haultain Park
Barb Scott Park
Century Gardens


20 - 25 minutes walk:

Millennium Park
Scotsman Hill
Crescent Heights Lookout


25 - 35 min (Toronto distances, and about the same as the islands even by boat not including wait times at the terminal):

Thomson Family Park
Roxboro Cliffs
Elbow Island Park
Evamy Ridge


I’m sure I’m forgetting some. Point being, you can’t go three blocks in any direction in Calgary’s 6 downtown neighbourhoods, or the entire inner city for that matter, without hitting a greenspace.


If you were talking about Toronto's many fully paved concrete/brick plazas… honey those are plazas, not greenspace, which was what was being discussed. Yes those are nicer than ours for what they are, because we choose greenery over stone.
Click to expand...
So, the clarify, I said swap the downtowns. Not swap the things that are around the downtowns. Calgary's riverfront is a treasure. As for the parks that are right in downtown Calgary, they're mediocre at best. And while I don't disagree that Toronto could use more greenspace, Calgary would be lucky to have places like St James Park, Philosopher's Walk, The Esplanade, the Grange, Queen's Park, etc. It's also a function of the fact that Calgary's downtown is next to the river. If you live near the Don or the Humber in Toronto, you're also surrounded by massive amounts of greenspace.
 
adamyyc said:
^^^100%! I lived in Scarborough when I was doing my Masters, and Mississauga for a couple years after school when I was just starting my career, because I couldn’t afford to live downtown. It was miserable!

When I did live downtown TO, you can’t help but fall in love with the city, because you actually get to experience it.

You’re not going to like living in Toronto if you don’t actually live in Toronto. The GTA is not Toronto. It’s like saying you live in Calgary when you actually live in Airdrie, Cochrane, Okotoks, or Chestermere.
Click to expand...
In some ways, the comparison between Toronto's suburbs and Calgary's suburbs doesn't work. If you live in Airdrie, you still have a lot of what makes life so great in Calgary (access to the mountains, lower property values, better traffic, etc.). Most of what makes Toronto a great place to live are the amenities and car-free lifestyle of the downtown core, which is not accessible to people in the suburbs. Living in the Toronto suburbs is a life spent sitting in traffic on ugly stroads lined with strip malls.

However, there is one thing to recommend in the Toronto suburbs: the cultural diversity. People from all over the world live there. Arguably Scarborough is one of the best food destinations in the world for this reason.
 
CBBarnett said:
"Nobody goes there anymore, it's too crowded!"

As Calgary grows, we would be wise to start thinking in capacity growth terms for many things it doesn't currently - the river pathway system, bicycle lanes, sidewalks to name a few - many areas are way undersized for the traffic they see on peak times, let alone during festivals and events. Apart from a few streets targeted for sidewalk expansion and a few of the Riverwalk/Eau Claire placemaking projects, most of our urban streets in the Beltline and other areas have seen no capacity increase despite rapidly expanding local population and every increasing foot traffic.

Many downtown sidewalks can't even pass the "can two strollers pass each other?" test due to increasing pedestrian volumes, poor maintenance, and the random street poles/debris found on every block.
Click to expand...
Baseball diamonds, Basketball courts, Soccer pitches, etc. should be a larger part of the conversation.
 
Multi-family projects (25 units or more, non-greenfield)

Jan 1 2023

Core development
U/C Units in Beltline/DT/EV

Oliver - 461
Sunalta Towers - 333
The Hat 14th - 239
1334 10th - 106
Arris Tower west - 310
Park Central II - 460
Nude - 177
First & Park - 211
4th Street Lofts - 270
The Cornerstone - 112
Total Units: 2,679

U/C in Near Inner City (Bridgeland, Kensington, Mission, Inglewood, Bankview, Marda Loop)
Theodore - 114
Archer - 40
Riverwalk - 141
Block on 4th - 39
Bridgeland 515 - 36
Era - 220
Nimmons Court - 84
Lynbrook Manor - 48
Scarboro 17 - 52
Harrison - 67
1600 Block - 125
Mission 19 - 67
Credo 125
River's Edge - 102
Konekt - 104
The Cunningham - 40
Frontier - 266
The Hive - 140
Flyover Block - 65
Total Units 1,875

U/C Suburban (non-greenfield infill)
The Dells - 202
Northland Village - 229
19 + 2 - 51
Trail 19 - 78
Capella - 142
The Forge (Gramercy) - 83
Catalyst - 75
DeVille - 333
West 17 - 102
Cascade - 45
Davenport (Currie) - 193
Belvedere Landing - 214
Argyle - 151
Elbow 5 Eight - 255
Varsity Mixed Use - 44
Glenmore apartments - 284
Harmony One - 36
Alexandria (Currie) - 168
West 33 - 100
Mission Landing - 70
Uxbrorough - 203
Quesnay at Currie - 99
Crown Park - 156
Glamorgan Landing Estates - 278
Shawnessy Station - 162
Total Units 3,571

Total 8,305

Removed:
Elva - 61 units
Bellagio - 20 units
Kingsland Junction - 579 units

Added:
Mission Landing 70 units
Quesnay at Currie 99 units
The Cornetstone 112 units
Crown Park 156 units
 
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Surrealplaces said:
Multi-family projects (25 units or more, non-greenfield)

Jan 1 2023

Core development
U/C Units in Beltline/DT/EV

Oliver - 461
Sunalta Towers - 333
The Hat 14th - 239
1334 10th - 106
Arris Tower west - 310
Park Central II - 460
Nude - 177
First & Park - 211
4th Street Lofts - 270
Total Units: 2,567

U/C in Near Inner City (Bridgeland, Kensington, Mission, Inglewood, Bankview, Marda Loop)
Theodore - 114
Archer - 40
Riverwalk - 141
Block on 4th - 39
Bridgeland 515 - 36
Era - 220
Nimmons Court - 84
Lynbrook Manor - 48
Scarboro 17 - 52
Harrison - 67
1600 Block - 125
Mission 19 - 67
Credo 125
River's Edge - 102
Konekt - 104
The Cunningham - 40
Frontier - 266
The Hive - 140
Flyover Block - 65
Total Units 1,875

U/C Suburban (non-greenfield infill)
The Dells - 202
Northland Village - 229
19 + 2 - 51
Trail 19 - 78
Capella - 142
The Forge (Gramercy) - 83
Catalyst - 75
DeVille - 333
West 17 - 102
Cascade - 45
Davenport (Currie) - 193
Belvedere Landing - 214
Argyle - 151
Elbow 5 Eight - 255
Varsity Mixed Use - 44
Glenmore apartments - 284
Harmony One - 36
Alexandria (Currie)- 168
West 33 - 100
Mission Landing - 70
Uxbrorough - 203
Quesnay at Currie - 99
Total Units 3,157

Total 7,599

Removed:
Elva - 61 units
Bellagio - 20 units
Kingsland Junction - 579 units

Added:
Mission Landing 70 units
Quesnay at Currie 99 units
Click to expand...
Seems like things have gone down a bit since the October count. Need a few more towers to get going
 
3 buildings going up in Evanston
114 units x 3= 342 units. Buildings 1000 almost done. Building 2000 almost done framing

Evanston Ridge - Building #1

Construction of a low-rise residential complex located in Calgary's Evanston neighbourhood. Upon completion, the building ('building #1000') will feature 114 residential units. A building permit was issued by the City of Calgary on November 3, 2021.
majorprojects.alberta.ca majorprojects.alberta.ca
 
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