Quote:
Originally Posted by armorand93
Stilts and Segways it is!
Seriously though, the least they could do is open access somewhere down Archibald. This new development won't even have a direct road to Windsor Park... it's stupid. Whats the point of building a "walkable, green community" if they won't even connect it to the areas around it? Unless these planners would rather have everyone take a stroll along the shoulder of Lagimodiere... if they can't connect roads, at LEAST build some pedestrian bridges and stuff. It's the least they should do.
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If the City hopes to make viable use of this land that MUST complete the infrastructure of the development first, by getting in the ground sewer, water, electrical, streets and overpasses to accommodate the development for the area.
None of that bullshit that Council pulled off in yesteryear will work anymore in today's marketplace. IE. Southdale and Island Lakes, start building house and bring in services while waiting to see if it will sell. Then they built Bishop Grandin (2 lanes), waited a few more years before building the other two lanes and then built a bridge over the Red and found a place for the road to go, BUT left the Lagimodiere end DEAD ENDED with little place to go.
As other people have mentioned, the two streets they are putting in the area, actually go nowhere and serve no useful purpose in taking traffic somewhere. Access to Archibald is a given, access to the South to Elizabeth Rd and Maginot is a must, Dawson Road access over the Paddington track is a must.
The bone of contention for the entire development is the railways and always has been since opening up the west. They have been given carte blanche to do whatever they want and have ridden roughshod over all THE PEOPLE'S plans for development. A look at any map will tell you that you have the Soo Line on the west, CN on the east, CN/ CP Paddington on the South, and a pinch point of all three to the North of Marion that squeeze the Jesus out of the acceptable traffic levels in that area. The Railways are cheap son-of-a-bitches and sit back on their laurels padding their pocketbooks saying, 'we were here first, we have the right-a-way, what are you going to do for us, first'! It's about time that Paddington Yards were moved along with the Autoport, formally used to unload the manure out of the cattle cars and pushed into the swamp area to the South of the Union Stockyards cattle sheds, in other words, a stinking dump and cesspool of railway bullshit.
Can this development justifiably support residential and industrial development and can they co-exist? Look at the St.Boniface Industrial Park for your answer. They have light industrial with a grouping of Apartments and housing to the North East abutting Transcona's Plessis Road suburban development from 1978. If the railways continue to exist, a buffering strip of 4 or 5 storey apartments with some multi-housing next to clean light industry and commercial shopping centre would be suitable and acceptable for the area. Local bussing would be a must and as suggested pedestrial corridors to outlying amenities.