Quote:
Originally Posted by OldDartmouthMark
IMHO, you are overstating your point a little.
First of all, an extra 5 - 10 minutes commute to attend a major event doesn't seem like a make-or-break argument for locating a stadium downtown (still wondering.... where in downtown???).
Secondly, all the problems you describe for a Dartmouth-located stadium would be the same or greater for a Stadium located in DT Halifax, just in the reverse direction. In fact, you have proven this point with your own comments regarding traffic back-up on Barrington and traffic related to a Mooseheads game (the Scotiabank Centre only seats around 10,000 whereas a stadium would seat - what, 40K - 50K? Imagine the traffic then...).
Your argument would make sense if 100% of the people attending events lived in DT Halifax, but you and I know that isn't the case.
Either way, if a major investment was made in transit, splitting hairs over the location would be a moot point, as traffic issues would be largely alleviated, IMHO.
I also question the philosophy of locating a large stadium downtown, as I really don't think it would be good use of the limited land available there. Stadiums take up a lot of real estate, require a lot of parking and would only be used occasionally for large events. I think our downtown land should be used more efficiently than that.
Now, what about the lands about to be abandoned by the Imperial Oil refinery, combined with a third crossing located at the end of hwy 111? That might be worth looking into...  |
There is no significant residential population who would benefit from a stadium in Dartmouth Crossing. Why? Because it's out in the middle of the woods. No one lives beside Dartmouth Crossing. No one can walk there. No one can take a ferry there. Nor take more than a single bus or two connected to there. The largest residential population with the easiest access would be Cole Harbour and surrounding suburbs, but they are not really close either, with a significant commute via several roads, highways, of varying capacity. And for people coming from the rest of Atlantic Canada-- because that would be needed for a team to survive-- Dartmouth Crossing would be a disaster as paid accommodation is almost non-existent beyond a single hotel.
You locate a significant public asset in a place where you can maximize access for the entire population while reducing stress and costs to expend on building or maintaining existing infrastructure. Dartmouth Crossing is terribly connected in our public transit system and when traffic is heavy, is also horribly connected by automobile. It's not located near any significant residential population and its located even further from significant populations located on the western side of HRM -- Bedford, Clayton Park, etc.
Locating where there is significant transit connections, near a high density population-- many of whom can access by transit or by simply walking-- with a significant number of hotels and similar forms of paid accommodation for fans coming from out of time-- that would, obviously, be something downtown, or nearby.
So yes, I think Shannon Park is an arguable case, and you make a good point about land use downtown. I actually agree with this-- use of land (like in Cogswell) would likely be better used for high density residential development. But then, I would want guarantees that such developments would happen, and I'm never convinced of that in HRM where anything over 3 storeys is a major batter. But if so, perhaps Shannon Park is the but a lot of infrastructure is missing there, including bars, restaurants, hotels, etc, to benefit from the "spillover" economics of games.
Dartmouth Crossing is not even arguable. Putting a stadium-- nay, anything public-- in Dartmouth Crossing would be be an idiotic, hair brained idea, which means it's probably at the very top of the list of possible choices for HRM staffers working on this file.
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