The Great Canadian Skyline Thread! II

[Chadillaccc]

Exactly. That's the "any eastern North American City" part.

[Allan83]

Originally Posted by ac888yow

Try as I might, it's pretty hard to take serious someone who states:

- The special part of Westboro is a "bagel shop",
- Old Ottawa South is "all residential",
- Little Italy is "a few blocks long".

But hey, why let the truth get in the way of a good debate?

Credibility. Gone.

Ooo, I missed this one. If you don’t know the bagel shop I’m talking about then your Ottawa cred just took a big hit. Maybe I’m not clear on the boundaries of Old Ottawa South, but off hand I don’t remember anything but residential there. And given that Little Italy, the part where the shops and restaurants are, is basically only a few blocks long, and far from a bustling street even there, I would say that your downtown Ottawa cred is all but dead. If you live in Ottawa at all I’m guessing it’s somewhere like Kanata or Barrhaven. I haven't lived in Ottawa for a few years now, but I did live in centretown (and even in a CCOC building) and I get back briefly from time to time, so if you thought you could bluff me you're wrong.

[Chadillaccc]

@Allan: He's not saying he doesn't know about the bagel shop, he's saying that the community of Westboro isn't just based around a bagel shop.

[Allan83]

Originally Posted by Chadillaccc

@Allan: He's not saying he doesn't know about the bagel shop, he's saying that the community of Westboro isn't just based around a bagel shop.

It's a famous bagel shop Chad. It's the first Montreal style bagel shop in Ottawa, and very popular. I'm sure a lot of people think the highlight of that part of town is that bagel shop.

[niwell]

Originally Posted by Allan83

Ooo, I missed this one. If you don’t know the bagel shop I’m talking about then your Ottawa cred just took a big hit. Maybe I’m not clear on the boundaries of Old Ottawa South, but off hand I don’t remember anything but residential there. And given that Little Italy, the part where the shops and restaurants are, is basically only a few blocks long, and far from a bustling street even there, I would say that your downtown Ottawa cred is all but dead. If you live in Ottawa at all I’m guessing it’s somewhere like Kanata or Barrhaven. I haven't lived in Ottawa for a few years now, but I did live in centretown (and even in a CCOC building) and I get back briefly from time to time, so if you thought you could bluff me you're wrong.

He's saying that there's a lot more to those neighbourhoods than you are claiming. Which is true. Westboro has plenty of restaurants, streetfront retail and has seen significant condo development in the past 5-10 years. The bagel shop you are referring to (assuming its the Ottawa bagel shop) isn't even in Westboro proper but closer to Hintonburg, which is another great area. So yeah, way to go with that credibility.

Old Ottawa South is built around Bank street, which is a retail strip. Some gaps but more or less streetfront retail throughout. There is a some retail on Sunnyside as well.

The Preston st strip stretches from Somerset pretty much down to Carling. Yes, there are gaps of residential but restaurants and bars throughout.


I used to think you just had it out for Toronto, but it's clear you have a weird thing for everything Ontario.

[niwell]

Originally Posted by Allan83

It's a famous bagel shop Chad. It's the first Montreal style bagel shop in Ottawa, and very popular. I'm sure a lot of people think the highlight of that part of town is that bagel shop.

It's not even in Westboro...

It's in Hintonburg and there's a lot more going on there. New restaurants and bars to name a few - was Ottawa's next big thing a few years back.

[Chadillaccc]

Let's try keeping it civil still guys, this started out pretty good. Also Niwell, there are more enough people on here living out east that have it out for Alberta for seemingly no reason, so it shouldn't be unexpected that a few out here would have it out for Ontario for seemingly no reason. Not saying it's mature or logical, but most humans aren't mature or logical.

[freeweed]

I thought we all agreed that Sherbrooke was the real asshole here.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by freeweed

I thought we all agreed that Sherbrooke was the real asshole here.

What has Sherbrooke ever done to you?

[Martin Mtl]

Originally Posted by Acajack

From Montreal-Ottawa-Toronto, with a 16-hour drive you are moving in on 200 million people I'd say, and really not that far from Minneapolis, St. Louis and Atlanta.

I know you're trying to make a point, but this is a little exaggerated, at least from Montreal/Ottawa. A ten hours drive, plus all the stops, would be a maximum standard in my book. Beyond that, it becomes a plane affair as far as I'm concerned. Hell, I don't even go to New York by car anymore, when it's so cheap to go by plane and it takes 55 minutes from Trudeau (or from Plattsburgh airport, where you can get a ticket for under 100$). Boston and Toronto are the only two metropolis that are easily reachable by car in my mind, from Montreal.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by Martin Mtl

I know you're trying to make a point, but this is a little exaggerated, at least from Montreal/Ottawa. A ten hours drive, plus all the stops, would be a maximum standard in my book. Beyond that, it becomes a plane affair as far as I'm concerned. Hell, I don't even go to New York by car anymore, when it's so cheap to go by plane and it takes 55 minutes from Trudeau (or from Plattsburgh airport, where you can get a ticket for under 100$). Boston and Toronto are the only two metropolis that are easily reachable by car in my mind, from Montreal.

I sort of agree but this point was only made because Chad used the 16-hour threshold as his reference for the population within striking distance of Calgary.

I don't consider a day's drive to be 1600 km either. That's more like two days.

[Allan83]

Originally Posted by niwell

He's saying that there's a lot more to those neighbourhoods than you are claiming. Which is true. Westboro has plenty of restaurants, streetfront retail and has seen significant condo development in the past 5-10 years. The bagel shop you are referring to (assuming its the Ottawa bagel shop) isn't even in Westboro proper but closer to Hintonburg, which is another great area. So yeah, way to go with that credibility.

Old Ottawa South is built around Bank street, which is a retail strip. Some gaps but more or less streetfront retail throughout. There is a some retail on Sunnyside as well.

The Preston st strip stretches from Somerset pretty much down to Carling. Yes, there are gaps of residential but restaurants and bars throughout.


I used to think you just had it out for Toronto, but it's clear you have a weird thing for everything Ontario.

So the Bagel shop is a few blocks east of Westboro proper. I guess you won one there! I think there has been more development in these areas in general than I knew, however. Little Italy on Preston used to consist most of a few blocks north of Gladstone, with a few other places scattered along the street. It looks like it’s filled in more than I knew, and I admit that I haven’t explored the Wesboro area in quite a while. Bank south of the canal always had some shops, but it never really compared with Bank north of the canal in the Glebe, so you tended not to think about it as a distinct character area. Nonetheless, Calgary felt like a much bigger city when I moved, and it’s been growing faster than Ottawa. I may have to bring some of my mental images of Ottawa up to date, but I think others have some deep rooted insecurities about Calgary, and perhaps the rise of the west in general.

[freeweed]

Originally Posted by Acajack

What has Sherbrooke ever done to you?

Nothing. I thought it was just the general go-to random hate target when things get out of control here. One of those "who the heck could possibly have anything against this place" kinda choices. Like so ridiculous that it's obvious parody.

I dunno, I picked it up from Torontonians. Maybe they're being serious with it, but I thought not.

[freeweed]

Originally Posted by Acajack

I sort of agree but this point was only made because Chad used the 16-hour threshold as his reference for the population within striking distance of Calgary.

I don't consider a day's drive to be 1600 km either. That's more like two days.

I don't think many people look at 16 hours of driving with relish, but it does speak to the level of isolation western cities suffer from by comparison. I'd agree with you guys, 8-10 hours is what I'd consider a maximum drivable distance in a given day - but I have done the stupid. I've driven to SF literally for lunch (the drive was the entire point). I've driven to LA several times. I do the 1300km to Winnipeg a couple of times a year (although not always in one day).

You folks in the east, if you did those, can visit 3/4 of the continent's population. I just do it to see another major city.

[Razor]

Originally Posted by Allan83

Maybe you missed the part where Razor himself admitted that he does it?.

Yes, but you left out the once maybe twice a year, tops part..This the norm more than the exception..Montreal is indeed a special place, but most people from Ottawa don't need to race out to Montreal to get to IKEA or The Gap once a week..We have that here.The real deals are State side..Where my wife is right now.

Originally Posted by Allan83

No, it isn’t. It’s only a two hour drive away. You can easily take a day trip from Ottawa to go shopping.

Or vica versa if you are in one of the dozens of towns dotting the Ottawa valley,you can make that half hour trip into Ottawa..So ya Ottawa is a regional centre in it's own right. I for the life of me can't see why you wouldn't or refuse to understand this..I'm done now. this is silly...

Originally Posted by Acajack

But keep in mind also that there are 125 million people within a day's drive of Ottawa. Obviously only a tiny fraction of them come to Ottawa in a given year, but it's still a huge potential population to draw from. There are lots of people in town in Ottawa from all over northeastern North America every single day, not just for festivals.

This does have a decent effect on Ottawa's "busy-ness".

Bingo! couldn't agree more...Simple logistics. If NYC, Montreal,Etc. were close to Regina for instance,that city would naturally pick up on weekends or for it's festivals.I met people from Boston, and all over New York State at Bluesfest because it was close and doable for them.Being a government town, there are also a lot of foreign government staff, military, etc. that are milling about that technically live here, but aren't part of the regular population.

[rousseau]

Originally Posted by freeweed

I've driven to SF literally for lunch (the drive was the entire point).

Erm...wow. I just looked on Google Maps: your drive is 2,100 km, while the drive I did maybe four times a year in my early twenties between Hamilton and Winnipeg is 2,160 via Detroit-Chicago-Minneapolis. I usually did it with one or two tag-team partners, always in well under 24 hours. We never stopped anywhere except for gas. It was an exhausting trek into what we considered the most remote part of the continent (sorry Winnipeg, but you know it's true).

It was a great adventure. Once I did it all by myself, and spent three hours driving all over Chicago along the way. Heady stuff for a 21-year-old.

But the idea that anyone might hop in the car in Winnipeg one day in order to eat lunch the next day in Hamilton or Toronto, and then drive back, would have been considered completely mad.

I don't really like driving long distances anymore. I don't mind the 7-hour hike from the west side of Toronto to Montreal because hey, you end up in Montreal, but that's pretty much my limit, and I wouldn't be keen for it if the destination weren't so appealing. The early twenties road trip across a large swath of America or Canada used to be a rite of passage. Do people do that anymore?

[Martin Mtl]

Originally Posted by rousseau

I don't really like driving long distances anymore. I don't mind the 7-hour hike from the west side of Toronto to Montreal because hey, you end up in Montreal, but that's pretty much my limit, and I wouldn't be keen for it if the destination weren't so appealing.

And vice versa. Though I prefer Via now.

[harls]

Originally Posted by Martin Mtl

And vice versa. Though I prefer Via now.

Me too. I have to go to Montreal once a month for work. I used to drive, but it's so much easier to park at the train station here and relax on the train. The traffic during rush hour in Montreal is nuts nowadays.

[Doug]

Originally Posted by freeweed

I don't think many people look at 16 hours of driving with relish, but it does speak to the level of isolation western cities suffer from by comparison. I'd agree with you guys, 8-10 hours is what I'd consider a maximum drivable distance in a given day - but I have done the stupid. I've driven to SF literally for lunch (the drive was the entire point). I've driven to LA several times. I do the 1300km to Winnipeg a couple of times a year (although not always in one day).

You folks in the east, if you did those, can visit 3/4 of the continent's population. I just do it to see another major city.

Calgary and Edmonton are two of the most isolated big cities in the world. The next closest large cities are almost 1,000 road km away.

I've got you beat. Several times I worked until 4, drove 13 hours to Salt Lake, basically went straight to the ski hill, skied for a few days and then after the last day of skiing drove back to calgary and gone straight to work. Did the same routine plus four hours to Moab several times as well. The just over 1,300 km between Calgary and The Wasatch Front is virtually empty. The largest cities along the way are Lethbridge and Idaho Falls.

That still doesn't compare to Australia. Across the Nullabor is 2,800 km with nothing but roadhouses and a few scattered farms. Did that one a couple of times, but with two drivers.

[The Chemist]

Originally Posted by Doug

Calgary and Edmonton are two of the most isolated big cities in the world. The next closest large cities are almost 1,000 road km away.

I've got you beat. Several times I worked until 4, drove 13 hours to Salt Lake, basically went straight to the ski hill, skied for a few days and then after the last day of skiing drove back to calgary and gone straight to work. Did the same routine plus four hours to Moab several times as well. The just over 1,300 km between Calgary and The Wasatch Front is virtually empty. The largest cities along the way are Lethbridge and Idaho Falls.

That still doesn't compare to Australia. Across the Nullabor is 2,800 km with nothing but roadhouses and a few scattered farms. Did that one a couple of times, but with two drivers.

Yeah, Perth is without a doubt the MOST isolated big city in the world. Nothing even comes close.