Public Realm in Canadian Cities - Developments

[Pavlov]

Apparently the Bow underground garage advertises itself as the largest parking structure in Calgary (at 1,000,000 square feet and 1,300 stalls).

Any, it seems very unlikely that the "City Centre Parkade" (where this new park is located) is the largest in the country (which is a bit of dubious title in any event.)

[SaskScraper]

Originally Posted by TorontoDrew

Cool idea, and I don't want to turn this into a CITY VS CITY thing but I was under the impression that the West Edmonton Mall had the largest parking lot in the world, and if we are talking purely multi story parking that Pearson Airport is the largest in Canada.

I'm curious how large the Calgary lot is. Just about each list I can find has the same cities and lots ranked as follows.

1 West Edmonton Mall 20,000
2 Seattle Sea-Tac Airport 13,000
3 Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport, McNamara Terminal 11,500
4 Disney World, Magic Kingdom and Epcot Lots 11,000
5 Universal Studios, South Facility 10,200
6 Disneyland’s Mickey and Friends Parking Structure 10,000
7 Chicago O’Hare Airport, Main parking garage 9,266
8 Toronto Lester B. Pearson International Airport, Terminal 1 parking structure 9,000
9 Baltimore-Washington International Airport, Daily Parking Garage 8,400
10 Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, Terminal D Parking Garage 8,100

West Ed Mall's parking is multi storey and around the entire mall, except for the surface parking on south side of the World Water Park and a small section on Galaxyland's corner, so probably 19,000 stalls are in the multi-storey sections of parkade.

[Chadillaccc]

Originally Posted by Pavlov

Apparently the Bow underground garage advertises itself as the largest parking structure in Calgary (at 1,000,000 square feet and 1,300 stalls).

Any, it seems very unlikely that the "City Centre Parkade" (where this new park is located) is the largest in the country (which is a bit of dubious title in any event.)

Oh, I mean not that it matters at all. Maybe it's the largest standalone (not attached or beholden to any specific building or structure) or maybe it was the biggest when it was built? I definitely heard it was the largest parkade in the country from multiple sources years ago. Not that it matters even remotely at all in this context It's just a cool location for a random large new park.


Some new photos I took yesterday of Flyover Park...


Flyover Park by Chadillaccc, on Flickr

Flyover Park by Chadillaccc, on Flickr

Flyover Park by Chadillaccc, on Flickr

Flyover Park by Chadillaccc, on Flickr

Flyover Park by Chadillaccc, on Flickr

[Pavlov]

Those slides looks awesome (yes, as the parent of a 2 year old, these are the things I notice now). Will be very interesting to see how well this park is used. I know there are (at least) a couple of similar parks in Toronto. Anyone have any insight into whether they've been successful or not?

[MonkeyRonin]

Originally Posted by Pavlov

Those slides looks awesome (yes, as the parent of a 2 year old, these are the things I notice now). Will be very interesting to see how well this park is used. I know there are (at least) a couple of similar parks in Toronto. Anyone have any insight into whether they've been successful or not?

Yeah, there's the Bentway under the Gardiner, and Underpass Park under the Eastern Ave. viaduct.

Both seem well-used any time I've been by, but they're also surrounded by lots of density (and the Bentway is also a high-profile project with lots of programming, not quite a local park). Build it and people will come - so long as it's accessible to nearby residents.

[ssiguy]

Originally Posted by ssiguy

Has anyone got any pics of the completed Dundas Place Flex Street in London and the Rail Bridge Park in St.Thomas?

Again?

[Pavlov]

Originally Posted by MonkeyRonin

Yeah, there's the Bentway under the Gardiner, and Underpass Park under the Eastern Ave. viaduct.

Both seem well-used any time I've been by, but they're also surrounded by lots of density (and the Bentway is also a high-profile project with lots of programming, not quite a local park). Build it and people will come - so long as it's accessible to nearby residents.

Thanks for providing that information. Yeah, the population density surrounding both those parks is substantially more than Bridgeland (especially the Bentway). But Bridgeland is a neighbourhood in transition. Also, the Calgary park could draw families from the East Village as well.

Anyway, hopefully cities can find creative ways to activate this type of dead, wasted space around and under highways (at least where they intrude on dense, urban areas).

[Chadillaccc]

Bridgeland currently has 7000 people. With over 800 units UC and another 200 about to start construction all within 3 blocks of this thing, this park will do just fine. East Village already has two fantastic and well-used new playgrounds with only 4000 people. Local developer RNDSQR is also planning an additional 65 unit rental development fronting directly on to this park with a restaurant patio, aptly named Flyover Block.




Stats source: https://www.calgary.ca/ca/city-clerks/el...services/civic-census/censusresults.html

[J.OT13]

The Feds are rebuilding a few heating plants across the region. All of them will feature new public space:

Originally Posted by rocketphish

Cliff Plant:
















Tunney's Pasture Plant:










Jacques Quartier Park River Pumping Station:

[Chadillaccc]

Those look friggin cool!

[davidivivid]

The city is currently remodelling a street called Route de l'Église in Ste-Foy. Work is almost finished and it really changed the look of the place quite a bit.

[Innsertnamehere]

Wow, that looks amazing. Especially for a relatively suburban location. Quebec City consistently feels like the most “European” city to me in NA, from language to historic core to just its general built form which just feels European to me.

How many people really cycle in QC though given it’s harsh climate? It’s one of the colder large cities in Canada.

[Chadillaccc]

That's really well done. Hell yeah!

[esquire]

Yeah, wow, that is impressive. Probably one of the top "public realms" I think you'll find anywhere in a suburban part of North America outside of wealthy US college towns or resort destinations.

What really catches the eye is how it all comes together. In Winnipeg, attempts at doing things like adding bike lanes or street furniture or whatever are often poorly coordinated leading to awkward placements, clashing looks, etc. Not an issue at all in those pictures.

[davidivivid]

A bit of a long post but here it is: In the 1960's, a boulevard, which primarily served as an industrial service road, was built between the old port and the Quebec bridge. That road had a profundly negative impact on the citizens' relation to the St-Lawrence river. Prior to the construction, folks used to come to the beach washing up in the Anse du Foulon to swin, sunbathe and walk, as we can see in the following pic.



https://www.lesoleil.com/actualite/la-ca...en-1960-760abb672d3b02600fb9c38a52404fb3

The boulevard almost completely blocked access to the River and was a completely sterile concrete mess build in the name of modernism.




https://www.capitale.gouv.qc.ca/nos-proj...de-samuel-de-champlain/page/avant-projet


In the early 2000's, Quebec City's mayor decided to reconfigure the boulevard to give access to the St-Lawrence once again to the population. Work on the first phase (2,5km) of the project began in 2006 and is completed just in time foor the 400th of the city in 2008. The Promenade Samuel-de-Champlain honestly is quite an achievement, won numerous awards but most importantly, is heavily frequented by the population.

Here are some pics of the first phase between the bridges and the Côte de Sillery.




















[IMG]https://ombrages.com/wp-content/uploads/...lain-03-%C2%A9Marc.Cramer-Ombrages-1.jpg
[/IMG]









https://daoustlestage.com/en/project/promenade-samuel-de-champlain-2/





Now, the third phase (2,5km as well) of the project has officially begun. It will strech between the Côte the Sillery and the yacht club. It will, amongst other things, feature a 16000ft2 shallow pool to... reminisce, so to speak, the fact that a popular beach existed at that location in the 50's.



https://qcna.qc.ca/news/work-ramps-up-on-promenade-de-samuel-de-champlain


























https://www.capitale.gouv.qc.ca/nos-proj...ade-samuel-de-champlain/page/le-chantier

[Chadillaccc]

Wow, that is fabulous and extremely high quality. As a Calgarian, we know how important it is to maximize riverfront potential, and have seen too much of ours go to waste for major roadways during the early days. Suuuper happy for y'all that there was enough space to move the road to activate such a massive stretch an bring it back to the people!

[J.OT13]

That's an amazing project. I could only hope that the National Capital Commission here in Ottawa does half a decent job with the redevelopment of the shoreline along the Sir John A. Macdonald Parkway (Britannia Beach to the Canadian War Museum).

[Martin Mtl]

McGill College, Reinventing the Avenue
International Multidisciplinary Urban Design Competition


Winning team: civiliti + Mandaworks and SNC Lavalin, in collaboration with Lasalle-NHC, UDO Design, Biodiversité Conseil, Lamontagne Consultants and EVOQ
Canada / Sweden

“Part woodland, part plaza, the sillon (“furrow”) delineates clearings and passageways, spaces of comfort and ‘living rooms.’ A long bench/border unfurls over the length of the wooded beaches, linking and unifying all of the public spaces in one grand gesture. […] The Avenue Reinvented is a groove, ‘living rooms’ and a celebration of the seasons; it is water and nature in an authentic, diversified urban environment; it is the encounter of the formal and the informal for the pleasure of experiencing Montréal.”

– Excerpts from the text of the winning presentation

[J.OT13]

Looks great. Meanwhile, Ottawa's $60 million plan to revitalize Sparks Street is a lot of the same-old same-old, but with a few more trees, art and benches.






https://obj.ca/article/ncc-shares-vision-sparks-street-lebreton-flats-and-chateau-laurier-projects




https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/sparks-street-renovation-ottawa-plan-1.5349175

[Chadillaccc]

Doesn't look too bad. Calgary designing the new Stephen Avenue facelift at the moment. We're hoping for a major upgrade.