Spring Garden Streetscape

[Keith P.]

Originally Posted by Nouvellecosse

If we're talking about design aspects that make for a pleasant and attractive shopping street, having a parking lot in the middle of it isn't one of them. Most dog shit isn't radio active either but it also isn't a pleasant addition to a streetscape.

So having a loading bay on the street IS attractive? If the cars are parked out back you can't have big trucks loading in there.

I think all planners/wannabe planners should be required to work a year in retail before their degree is issued.

[Keith P.]

Originally Posted by Haliguy

Not sure about that one, most Maritimers I know love to visit downtown Halifax.

Funny thing, most people I know avoid DT Halifax as much as possible now.

[Haliguy]

Originally Posted by Keith P.

Funny thing, most people I know avoid DT Halifax as much as possible now.

Not in my experience. People enjoy the urban environment that it offers that you can't really get in most anywhere else in the Maritimes.

[OldDartmouthMark]

Gee, maybe different people have different preferences and experiences, and maybe you can't just sum up "Maritimers" as if they are all clones of one another...

[eastcoastal]

Originally Posted by Keith P.

Funny thing, most people I know avoid DT Halifax as much as possible now.

I grew up on a farm about 2 hours outside the city, but now live on the peninsula. My elderly parents like to visit and love spending time downtown as a form of recreation in itself - they do so because it's a destination to them. They don't come downtown primarily to shop... if there's any shopping it's incidental to their visit. They like attending concerts, staying at hotels, and eating etc. when they come in (and if they aren't staying with me). This isn't frequent enough to suggest that this would be a major economic driver for Halifax, but I think it's fair to say that if the area is enjoyable to live in/near, it's enjoyable for my parents to visit.

[OldDartmouthMark]

Originally Posted by pblaauw

It's more difficult rolling down the new sidewalks, with the bricks replacing the concrete slabs. It's bumpier, which causes more movement in my spine. Not very enjoyable with scoliosis in a wheelchair.

Ouch! That's something I wouldn't even have considered. Looking at the pics, it appears that there is a small bevel at the top edges of the stones that creates an extra gap? (difficult to tell from the pics) The cobblestones would be worse, but it appears that those are mostly off to the side.

I wonder if this issue is even considered when creating a spec for new sidewalks. Sounds like it should be. The city advertises that it is creating new spaces to roll (which I assume is referring to chairs), but then it seems as though they didn't think it through thoroughly enough to consider effects like this.

Thanks for sharing your experience with us.

[Keith P.]

Originally Posted by pblaauw

It's more difficult rolling down the new sidewalks, with the bricks replacing the concrete slabs. It's bumpier, which causes more movement in my spine. Not very enjoyable with scoliosis in a wheelchair.

In my experience, HRM and their planning dept really does not care about the disabled. Aside from the topic under discussion here and the point you have just brought up, closing the street to vehicles also means closing it to vehicles for disabled citizens. Add to that the scarcity of disabled parking in the downtown generally for both Halifax and Dartmouth and it is a very unwelcoming place if you are disabled. One thing I never understood is why someone with a disabled vehicle plate/tag could not park in the numerous usually empty loading zones that seem far more plentiful DT.

[coastalkid]

Some benches have been installed:

[Keith P.]

Panhandler heaven!

[MonctonRad]

Fantastic! This means that Grannie will have somewhere to sit until her son is able to drive up the street and pick her up.

Oh, wait...........

[Saul Goode]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

...until her son is able to drive up the street and pick her up.

Actually not legally possible anymore unless Grannie can leap into a moving vehicle - both sides of the street are "no stopping" zones now.

[JHikka]

You guys must be fun at parties. Public places to sit down, for shoppers or otherwise, are woefully difficult to find, especially during COVID times when indoor settings have reduced capacities.

[Saul Goode]

Originally Posted by JHikka

You guys must be fun at parties.

Jeez, lighten up. I can't speak for the others, but I wasn't being serious. I actually wouldn't hesitate to stop for the 10-15 seconds it takes to pick someone up.

[Keith P.]

Originally Posted by JHikka

You guys must be fun at parties. Public places to sit down, for shoppers or otherwise, are woefully difficult to find, especially during COVID times when indoor settings have reduced capacities.

That's true. These will come in especially handy for the druggies that frequent the street to shoot up on and then go to sleep upon.

[mleblanc]

What a bleak outlook on life. Obviously the city should never install nice things because heavens forbid the most vulnerable might sit on them. Disgusting.

[MonctonRad]

Originally Posted by Saul Goode

Actually not legally possible anymore unless Grannie can leap into a moving vehicle - both sides of the street are "no stopping" zones now.

That was kinda my point.

Actually, by June 1st (I think), the traffic Gestapo will ticket you if you even have the temerity to drive down SGR in the first place.

[Good Baklava]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

That was kinda my point.

Actually, by June 1st (I think), the traffic Gestapo will ticket you if you even have the temerity to drive down SGR in the first place.

It’s spelt gazpacho: « no bench for you! »

[MonctonRad]

Originally Posted by Good Baklava

It’s spelt gazpacho: « no bench for you! »

I get the reference.

By the way, I have nothing against the street beautification (or the benches) on SGR. I just think closing off the road to private motor vehicles is misguided.

[Keith P.]

Originally Posted by mleblanc

What a bleak outlook on life. Obviously the city should never install nice things because heavens forbid the most vulnerable might sit on them. Disgusting.

There are places for such things. Enabling anti-social behavior by putting benches on a sidewalk where street people have been a plague for decades is not one of those places.

[Haliguy]

Originally Posted by Keith P.

There are places for such things. Enabling anti-social behavior by putting benches on a sidewalk where street people have been a plague for decades is not one of those places.

Good grief!