The Great Canadian Skyline Thread! - Page 242

SkahHigh · #**4821** Posted **Mar 10, 2015, 1:17 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by O-tacular

So now they're American too?!? JJ

I was talking about Vancouver, Washington

Fixed it.

Metro-One · #**4822** Posted **Mar 10, 2015, 1:19 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by GreaterMontréal

this will be the future Bonaventure urban boulevard. looks like crap right now because of the elevated highway, but will look like this once finished.

http://www.lapresse.ca/actualites/montre...spectaculaire-pour-entrer-a-montreal.php

Careful, its not a street wall with full retail, must be suburban

In all honestly, it will be quite the improvement.

SkahHigh · #**4823** Posted **Mar 10, 2015, 1:21 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Metro-One

Careful, its not a street wall with full retail, must be suburban

In all honestly, it will be quite the improvement.

Lol!! Seriously though, that discussion is useless, we all know Van is incredibly urban. Back to skylines please

Metro-One · #**4824** Posted **Mar 10, 2015, 1:23 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by O-tacular

Lol! Don't take it personally Metro. He also argued emphatically that Calgary's urbanity ends at the edge of the CBD even though he admits to never having visited.

The horror!

Actually, a page and a half ago before thinks escalated quickly there (obligatory movie reference) I was going to mention that I have always liked Calgary's street presence, and yes, back to skylines!

Mrs Sauga · #**4825** Posted **Mar 10, 2015, 1:25 AM**

There really wasn't a need to get defensive. I thought that looked pretty suburban too. It doesn't mean Vancouver has terrible urbanity or anything like that. It just means some people thought that one picture of a downtown street looked suburban.

lio45 · #**4826** Posted **Mar 10, 2015, 1:26 AM**

So, you weren't done, it turns out

Quote:

Originally Posted by Metro-One

Just to sum up my thoughts on this entire conversation in a sarcastic manner:

Man, I hope all of Montreal downtown doesn't look like this...

https://maps.google.ca/maps?hl=en&ll=45....4-ftJuGMY_mHhkBAw&cbp=12,283.37,,0,-1.51

because you know, I come from this:

https://maps.google.ca/maps?hl=en&ll=49....vecAyRZ_xigIKOAoQ&cbp=12,274.71,,0,-6.81

I am just saying, you wouldn't think to see such places in the downtown of a city of 4.5 million...

It's really odd that you wouldn't expect to see things like that in downtowns of North American cities of a few millions...

I mean, you hang out on an urbanism forum... surely you're aware that in the 1950s and 1960s the thing to do was to clear out compact 1800s neighborhoods to make way for large expressways...? No?

There are threads like this one quite often on here. Read and learn about the phenomenon: http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?t=214741

And yes it's quite reasonable of you to say "yuck" when seeing pics of the Bonaventure Expressway. I'm not going to blame you

O-tacular · #**4827** Posted **Mar 10, 2015, 1:27 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Metro-One

The horror!

Actually, a page and a half ago before thinks escalated quickly there (obligatory movie reference) I was going to mention that I have always liked Calgary's street presence, and yes, back to skylines!

Thanks. I love Vancouver in general but find that stretch kinda bland. That does nothing to knock the rest of the city. I think you agree as you even said not every street will be an urban high street.

MonkeyRonin · #**4828** Posted **Mar 10, 2015, 1:28 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Metro-One

Every downtown has those, and there will always be select routes in and around a city core that are more for vehicles, and many others more for pedestrians.

...Yeah, and hence, those streets are suburban/less urban.

lio45 · #**4829** Posted **Mar 10, 2015, 1:29 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by O-tacular

He also argued emphatically that Calgary's urbanity ends at the edge of the CBD even though he admits to never having visited.

For the record, I argued that you could find detached little houses right outside the CBD, and when you challenged me I did prove that I was correct by providing you with a Sunnyside Google Streetview.

logan5 · #**4830** Posted **Mar 10, 2015, 1:30 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by GreaterMontréal

this will be the future Bonaventure urban boulevard. looks like crap right now because of the elevated highway, but will look like this once finished.

http://www.lapresse.ca/actualites/montre...spectaculaire-pour-entrer-a-montreal.php

Looks similar to, but a step up from Georgia. Georgia does look more like a linear park as opposed to your run of the mill suburban sidewalk.

O-tacular · #**4831** Posted **Mar 10, 2015, 1:33 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by lio45

For the record, I argued that you could find detached little houses right outside the CBD, and when you challenged me I did prove that I was correct by providing you with a Sunnyside Google Streetview.

As I recall it you basically used the analogy that because there were SFH's to be found in Sunnyside our CBD was essentially the end of the urban city.

lio45 · #**4832** Posted **Mar 10, 2015, 1:34 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by MonkeyRonin

...Yeah, and hence, those streets are suburban/less urban.

Hey! Stop insulting Metro-One's mother.

lio45 · #**4833** Posted **Mar 10, 2015, 1:41 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by O-tacular

As I recall it you basically used the analogy that because there were SFH's to be found in Sunnyside our CBD was essentially the end of the urban city.

Several people commented in that thread that Calgary's CBD appears to stick out massively (on aerials) from a plain of low-rise buildings. It wasn't only me. And yes if you explore Cal with Street View you can find suburban-style housing surprisingly close to the core. (Very normal, since a mere few decades ago the city was a lot smaller.) Don't shoot the messenger. You even admitted it in that thread.

Edit: what's funny in that in BOTH cases, I was simply "coming to the defense" (figuratively speaking) of others who had been put on the defensive for having just said something that I (coming from a similar background maybe?) found very understandable, so I took it upon myself to explain their POV. In the case of this thread, SignalHillHiker and 1overcosc both said it before me.

O-tacular · #**4834** Posted **Mar 10, 2015, 1:49 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by lio45

Several people commented in that thread that Calgary's CBD appears to stick out massively (on aerials) from a plain of low-rise buildings. It wasn't only me. And yes if you explore Cal with Street View you can find suburban-style housing surprisingly close to the core. (Very normal, since a mere few decades ago the city was a lot smaller.) Don't shoot the messenger. You even admitted it in that thread.

The main person who made that comment was a notorious anti-Calgary troll.

As Metro just pointed out Streetview does not prove anything. Until you visited a place in person I think it's pretty hit or miss. Are there SFH's near our DT? Yes. Does that mean there aren't any urban areas or higher density outside the CBD? Of course not. I realize you'll just say you're being factual etc... but it really doesn't feel like it.

SFUVancouver · #**4835** Posted **Mar 10, 2015, 1:58 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by lio45

You can't understand that that pic (in which things like a gas station and a surface parking lot are visible alongside the main artery) along with the knowledge that the area is actually squarely downtown in a city of 2.5M might trigger reactions like "feels a bit suburban-ish"

For what it's worth, that gas station is one of only two in the entire downtown core. 120-ish thousand people, 200-ish thousand jobs, 2 gas stations.

Tfreder · #**4836** Posted **Mar 10, 2015, 2:08 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by lio45

This, however, is not very urban:
https://www.google.com/maps/@49.291408,-...3m4!1e1!3m2!1sOykm-DD0WvwK-HKxySy8bA!2e0

But look, it has a bikelane in front of it!

I think the point of this discussion is every city has it's strengths and weaknesses, AND every city has it's urban-style areas and suburban-style areas.