Quote:
Originally Posted by Drybrain
I remember the last thread on here, debating Halifax vs. Calgary in terms of sidewalk-level liveliness. My contention then was that it was no contest--Halifax pulls way ahead. But Calgary generally emerged higher in others' rankings. Honestly, I don't understand that at all; the level of everyday pedestrian activity and continuous urbanity, extended over a large area, dwarfs what you see in Calgary 's inner city, Beltline included. That was driven home last summer when I visited Calgary for the first time in a few years with my east-coast wife and found 17th Avenue simply not the hotspot that I recalled it to be, even over a whole week/weekend of staying in the area. Some of Halifax's busy-ness is tourists, but the city is also fairly full in early spring and late fall, well before the tourism season ramps up.
Not a slam on Calgary, which I'm envious of in various ways, especially as regards LRT and cycling infrastructure. But ranking it ahead of Halifax in this regard, at least, (or ahead of Quebec City, or Victoria) feels inexplicable to me.
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I feel the same way, and I originally expected that Calgary would be much busier and much more vibrant than Halifax. I have been to Calgary a bunch of times now.
There are certainly some things Calgary has that are more "big city" than Halifax, like LRT and actual skyscraper office towers. However I think there might actually be less in the way of urban storefront neighbourhoods and overall street life, or at least they are pretty comparable, with Halifax being much more historic. Calgary would definitely come out on top if you defined downtown very narrowly as office towers ("CBD").