Edmonton Construction 9 (2008-08)

[ue]

Was at the Works today...not bad...good to see large pedestrian traffic downtown on a Sunday.

[bulliver]

Thanks IKAN104. Yeah, that's me. The picture is a few years old, I'm rocking shorter hair now.

[EdmTrekker]

Originally Posted by Jasper and one o nin

Nice work cold. Ill be in Bilbao in one week. cant wait to measure up the AGA to the Gug'heim.

109: Would you mind sharing your travel itinerary of routing etc. I am guessing you are flying from Gatwick on EJ? It would be great to know how long you stayed, impressions of Bilboa, perhaps how locals saw the city before the Guggenhiem and now...where you stayed etc. I am planning something up that way and possibly into Portugal as well. I was in Madrid, Seville, Segovia and the South last year.

Lucky for Ghery there was a world wide GLUT on titanium when they were building as that sure could not be built today with that material. Be great to see it at sunrise and sundown...

[Jasper and one o nin]

Originally Posted by EdmTrekker

109: Would you mind sharing your travel itinerary of routing etc. I am guessing you are flying from Gatwick on EJ? It would be great to know how long you stayed, impressions of Bilboa, perhaps how locals saw the city before the Guggenhiem and now...where you stayed etc. I am planning something up that way and possibly into Portugal as well. I was in Madrid, Seville, Segovia and the South last year.

Lucky for Ghery there was a world wide GLUT on titanium when they were building as that sure could not be built today with that material. Be great to see it at sunrise and sundown...

Yes, originally he wanted to use steel. The titanium was was very cheap at the time, but he was concerned about the wieght, however, it could be cut thinner.
Im more interested to learn about Bilbao's urban renewal after the Guggenhiem was built.
Im flying out on EJ from Stansted. Remind me when Im back, Ill give you a full report

[rapid_business]

Originally Posted by cdnklc

thanks, but i would like to add - for those who did not speak for whatever reason - have you written to our twelve councilors and our mayor telling them what you think?

have your e-mailed our twelve councillors and our mayor telling them what you think?

and if not, WHY NOT?

if you don't think you can write something, copy something you agree with and say "this is what i agree with"... otherwise you better be happy with the result, regardless of the result.

Good point Ken... I intended to speak, but will now use the power of email to convey my thoughts.

I encourage others to do the same!

[Jasper and one o nin]

this was my letter...

Members of Council,

I would like to voice my thoughts and opinion on the City Centre Airport and its impending future. You are faced with a very challenging, difficult and historical decision. Over the last several months, Council has been overloaded with information. I would certainly encourage you to consider all the information as a foundation, but do not let it cloud the fundamental basis of why specifically you were elected to the position in which you hold. Section 153(a) of the Municipal Government Act states:

Councillors have the following duties:
(a) to consider the welfare and interests of the municipality as a whole and to bring to council’s attention anything that would promote the welfare or interests of the municipality; …..


I can understand why the pro-airport side put forward the arguments that they have. But when considering LRT expansion, nobody came forward to say that City Council should not approve an at-grade LRT line because it is 800 times more likely to result in the death of pedestrians than that an underground line. Medi-vacs can be accommodated just the same as 99% of the other Cities that do not have an airport in the centre of their City. Cities are like living organisms and can adapt.
I've studied architecture, urban planning and urban design. Like most North American Cities, Edmonton saw the majority of its growth after WWII. As a result, the City grew in a manner that did not accommodate people as much as it did the automobile. Cities are now realizing that it is becoming increasingly more difficult to accommodate this type of growth and balance costs by developing in this manner. Because all residential properties are based on the same mill-rate, all the costs of providing services to a new suburban lot exceeds the amount of property taxes it receives. These services are pipes, roads, landscaping, libraries, police, fire and everything else. As cities continue to grow out, every property’s taxes will go up at a rate that typically exceeds inflation and therefore the cost of providing suburban services is bourne by the inner city property owners.
We are at a point where we need to be smarter. Cities need to accommodate better choices in where its citizenry live, work and play. Developing the CCA lands in a smart and efficient manner will provide a choice to citizens that they didn’t have before. Councils and their administrations should have the responsibility to provide such smart growth choices. Services could reach a greater population and therefore creating a more cost effective City. This land could be a blank canvas for an urban development initiative that could create a new and better perception for this City and be an example for other Cities.
My point is simple, keeping the CCA open is only considering the interests of an very select few. Even to consider those who benefit directly and indirectly, it is still a very small portion of the overall citizenry of Edmonton. The airport is not a private business and by keeping it open for the luxury of those the few that use it is to the detriment of the municipality as a whole. The City would not approve an LRT line if it was only accessible to 0.01% of the population, why would they facilitate a mode of transportation that in essence does the same thing.
Closing the airport could be one more step towards making this City great.
The City Centre Airport was designed a long time ago for a much different City.
There is a reason why all civic decisions are not put to a plebiscite and it is decisions like this that Councils must put aside all the rhetoric and make the best decision for the greater good of the municipality.
I ask you make the responsible decision and to put the municipality as a whole when doing so as section 153(a) of the MGA tells you to do.

Thank you very much, and good luck!

[240glt]

Project Information:EOI - CONSTRUCTION SERVICES FOR ALBERTA CONSTRUCTION SAFETY ASSOCIATION

The Alberta Construction Safety Association (ACSA) is inviting construction firms to submit pre-qualification proposals for construction services for their new Edmonton office and training facilities

[Kevin_foster]

^ ASCA is NW Edmonton, correct? I wonder where they would relocate....

[Coldrsx]

^aren't most of us in 'NW' Edmonton

[Coldrsx]

from Calgary... and more or less exactly what i would like to see on jasper and 102st or the procura site.

[tallisgood]

Originally Posted by Coldrsx

from Calgary... and more or less exactly what i would like to see on jasper and 102st or the procura site.

Now we're talkin'! Is this under construction in Calgaria or just a proposal?

[Coldrsx]

proposed... and has been for around a yr or 2 now.

[Coldrsx]

montreal getting a shangri-la



I have posted these 2 images to remind us just how far we have to go with regards to development and design here...

[ue]

we're getting better projects now...but we still have a bit to go. the problem is a lot of our good/decent/amazing projects are either still proposed or approved...and none are going because of the recession we're currently in.

[Kevin_foster]

^ was in Calgary again this weekend. We do have a long, long, long way to go. There are still alot of cranes downtown... and everything seems to be cleaner... everywhere!

Hell, even 16th Avenue is looking great these days :S

Coming home North on Gateway was depressing as hell, especially when I saw PP as I crossed the North Sask River .

Going downtown, Calgary get's a bridge with Sweet Lions on it, and we have THAT. YAY!

Then I drove up the hill and turned at the Omega. Boy oh boy do they need to clean up that street, as Cold says, it's a historic road for god's sakes!!

/rant

[ue]

^projects like strathearn, aurora, azur, etc. all look pretty good, but again, not under construction. most of our stuff u/c right now is either mediocre or —. calgary has a lot of impressive projects, though.

[Coldrsx]

"Then I drove up the hill and turned at the Omega. Boy oh boy do they need to clean up that street, as Cold says, it's a historic road for god's sakes!"

we have confirmed that 99ave from 104st-109st will be getting repaved and rehabilitated spring 2010:>

yay

[Kevin_foster]

More and more I am realizing that office towers arent going to be the solution to the vibrancy of this city. It's going to take alot more than that.. mainly, both city council and the residents of the city, need to start taking some pride in this town.

It's mostly the latter that needs to be done. So many people couldn't care less for our city

Then again, it is the "grass is always greener" syndrome. But I get it everytime I come back from Calgary/Vancouver

[Coldrsx]

^yup...we have come a long ways but have at least that distance still to go.

-We need another office tower or 2 in the core
-another urban park in the warehouse area
-a new 4 star hotel
-double the population
-far more retail
-far more patios

[ue]

Since the comparison was Calgary, I like that our downtown isn't one big cluster of office towers as much. Also, our downtown is still a sea of parking lots moreso, some will say it's a curse, but it just proves the potential we still have in the downtown core. We can do whatever we want with it, we still have the opporunity to turn the downtown into a big vibrant area, especially in the Warehouse District. Calgary's downtown is already set in a very office environment.