Great Canadian Skyline Thread II

[Calgarian]

Originally Posted by skylinegazer

that new Vancouver tower is a monstrosity :-(

Vancouver House? I couldn't disagree more, great tower, my favourite new highrise in the entire country!

[Monolith]

https://www.reddit.com/r/vancouver/comme...as_been_having_some_nice_weather_lately/

[goodgrowth]

^ Great photo

[scryer]

Originally Posted by Monolith

https://www.reddit.com/r/vancouver/comme...as_been_having_some_nice_weather_lately/

I know that I am quoting a big photo but I am so glad that there is a good one of Vancity that showcases its ever-expanding skyline. I'm excited for the Burrard Place to start poking through more predominantly along with the Butterfly. And then when Senakw (and all of the other towers that will get built on Broadway) starts construction, it is going to start looking absolutely sickening.

[isaidso]

Is Broadway that big street on the left side of that photo?

[Denscity]

Originally Posted by isaidso

Is Broadway that big street on the left side of that photo?

Yes I believe so.

[Denscity]

Originally Posted by isaidso

When I see photos of a downtown street lined with tall buildings I automatically assume it's bustling at street level.... or at the very least filled with sights, sounds, smells, people, etc. West Georgia was a huge shock as one didn't go hand in hand with the other. I didn't feel like I was in the heart of a big city whatsoever.

You may be used to tall street canyons that are dead and underwhelming but I'd never ever encountered one before. It never occurred to me till I visited Vancouver that one could have tall buildings yet still not manage to have a big city feel. And you don't need shops to achieve that. West Georgia was a big disappointment.

West Georgia is basically the "highway" of downtown Vancouver. Most highways have weak sidewalk scenes. Most people living or working on WG would walk up to Robson to do their east-west strollin.

[Chadillaccc]

From a site visit I did the other day...

[isaidso]

Originally Posted by Denscity

West Georgia is basically the "highway" of downtown Vancouver. Most highways have weak sidewalk scenes. Most people living or working on WG would walk up to Robson to do their east-west strollin.

You're grasping at straws. One shouldn't have to avoid West Georgia. They made lots of poor design/planning choices for such a prominent downtown street. Hopefully one day it will be one of Vancouver's great streets but it's currently a fail.

[vanman]

Originally Posted by Denscity

West Georgia is basically the "highway" of downtown Vancouver. Most highways have weak sidewalk scenes. Most people living or working on WG would walk up to Robson to do their east-west strollin.

Exactly. Or a few blocks down to the seawall.

Closer to the centre of downtown Georgia normally looks like this.


https://www.google.com/amp/s/theprovince...4f1cbada-a932-4f29-abe6-65d958ae3e18/amp

[isaidso]

Originally Posted by vanman

Exactly. Or a few blocks down to the seawall.

That's like saying it's ok that the Canucks — because there are other teams one can watch. Something doesn't get a pass because there's something nice/good somewhere else. What a terrible mindset.

[Nouvellecosse]

^^ But at the same time, should we not be equally harsh with cities with actual highways such as the Gardiner running through the city's core? Wouldn't such highways deserve even greater criticism since not only are they not vibrant, successful, pedestrian-friendly urban boulevards, but in fact aren't pedestrian accessible boulevards at all? And that having vibrant and inviting areas elsewhere doesn't make the state of such a thoroughfare acceptable? Or should it be acceptable for a corridor to mainly function as a traffic artery as long as it's as inoffensive as possible and there are plenty of inviting areas elsewhere?

I guess the deeper question would be, should no part of a city be allowed to function in a utilitarian manner even if most areas aren't like that? Thinking of other cities, it doesn't seem uncommon for the routes that have the highest traffic volumes not be the most vibrant. Rene-Levesque generally isn't considered as vibrant as St. Catherines or even Maisonneuve. Brunswick and Hollis aren't as vibrant as Barrington or Spring Garden, etc. But of course it would be preferable for every major corridor to be beautiful and vibrant...

[saffronleaf]

^^Gardiner, especially the eastern section, is such an eyesore. Really sad the city went with this dumb "hybrid" option or some — which is basically spending lots of money to refurbish the eastern section so it'll be there forever. A very dumb decision by the city, which considered and of course rejected the option of tearing down the eastern section and replacing it with a redesigned Lakeshore Blvd (which would be on the ground, not elevated).

[giallo]

Originally Posted by Monolith

https://www.reddit.com/r/vancouver/comme...as_been_having_some_nice_weather_lately/

I really like this angle. I guess we'll see more and more from this vantage point in the future as Main and Kingsway continue to build upwards.

[Chadillaccc]

https://www.instagram.com/shelley_g13/

[Metro-One]

That’s the best angle of Telus Sky I have seen. Really nice.

PS that Vancouver pic really shows how the urban fabric has finally jumped the peninsula and has finally hit a threshold.

[cpnfantstk]

Originally Posted by B.ike

source: http://oneproperties.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/ice-district-jan-2020-16.jpg via http://oneproperties.com/ice-district/

That's a great photo. Look forward to Tower B to get that filled even more although podium only at this point.

[Martin Mtl]

Originally Posted by Chadillaccc

https://www.instagram.com/shelley_g13/

That looks unreal. Telus Sky is amazing.

[dreambrother808]

Originally Posted by Nouvellecosse

^^ But at the same time, should we not be equally harsh with cities with actual highways such as the Gardiner running through the city's core? Wouldn't such highways deserve even greater criticism since not only are they not vibrant, successful, pedestrian-friendly urban boulevards, but in fact aren't pedestrian accessible boulevards at all? And that having vibrant and inviting areas elsewhere doesn't make the state of such a thoroughfare acceptable? Or should it be acceptable for a corridor to mainly function as a traffic artery as long as it's as inoffensive as possible and there are plenty of inviting areas elsewhere?

I guess the deeper question would be, should no part of a city be allowed to function in a utilitarian manner even if most areas aren't like that? Thinking of other cities, it doesn't seem uncommon for the routes that have the highest traffic volumes not be the most vibrant. Rene-Levesque generally isn't considered as vibrant as St. Catherines or even Maisonneuve. Brunswick and Hollis aren't as vibrant as Barrington or Spring Garden, etc. But of course it would be preferable for every major corridor to be beautiful and vibrant...

This is a great explanation. The less busy pedestrian area is concentrated west of Thurlow, which is slated for more of the same residential development. The central area is busy and the eastern side is transforming with current projects including the post office redevelopment, other new office projects, the future art gallery, etc.

Proclaiming the street to be a failure reeks of melodrama.

[Jeff]

those last two pics of calgary and edmonton are jawdropping. :|