Great Canadian Skyline Thread II - Page 961

Martin Mtl · #**19201** Posted **Feb 20, 2022, 5:22 PM**

Photo: @urban.montreal

giallo · #**19202** Posted **Feb 20, 2022, 5:31 PM**

^ Nice!

Okanagan Lake with Kelowna

MonctonRad · #**19203** Posted **Feb 20, 2022, 6:28 PM**

Nice pic!

I've never been to the Okanagan. Kelowna seems to be on an upwards trajectory. Given the geographic constraints of the lake and the surrounding mountains, just how big could Kelowna grow? It seems destined to be the queen city of the interior. Could it grow to a half million, a million or even more.........

Hali87 · #**19204** Posted **Feb 20, 2022, 7:29 PM**

I could see the Vernon-Kelowna-Penticton region (basically "Lake Okanagan") at half a million easily - although their infrastructure would be very strained at that point. They would need more bridges and probably more redundancy in their highway and transit networks due to the risk of avalanches and landslides. It would require a lot of density since there isn't very much flat land left to build on, and I think a lot of it is protected as agricultural land. If it ever hit a million the valley would pretty much need to be completely filled with highrises like something you might see in Brazil or Japan. It's kind of like the Lower Mainland in that most of the land that's easy to build on is already built up. Kamloops isn't growing quite as fast but has similar constraints.

Edit: one thing that Kelowna has going for it is outdoor recreational activities - Big White, Silver Star, and Apex are among Canada's better ski resorts (much larger/nicer than the Vancouver-area hills; they're more like Banff or Tremblant but with better weather) and Lake Okanagan is very popular for boating in the summer, and for its beaches.

giallo · #**19205** Posted **Feb 20, 2022, 7:40 PM**

The Vernon-Kelowna-Penticton corridor (including all of the small towns that encompass it) is probably just south of 400,000 at the moment, so 500,000 for the region is definitely a thing that will happen. A million people will be tough without some big time planning though. A serious financial commitment to road and transit infrastructure is needed, and mid-to-high densities will need to become the norm for central Vernon, the entirety of Kelowna's valley basin and most of Penticton.

LFC · #**19206** Posted **Feb 20, 2022, 8:23 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

Nice pic!

I've never been to the Okanagan. Kelowna seems to be on an upwards trajectory. Given the geographic constraints of the lake and the surrounding mountains, just how big could Kelowna grow? It seems destined to be the queen city of the interior. Could it grow to a half million, a million or even more.........

To put it simply, Kelowna is a bottle neck. Lake to the West, mountains to the South, East and North, with potential development push North along Highway 97 past Kelowna International Airport as well as the Glenmore valley. Kelowna needs a major infrastructure overhaul to handle the potential population growth we are on the trajectory of. Metro-One will step in on this point of contention.

There is a fair bit of Urban sprawl happening in the hillsides around Kelowna, which the City of Kelownas OCP is trying to mitigate much further than it is now. Kelownas OCP is focusing on building out the existing suburban hillside developments, and focusing on densifying 5 main core areas; Downtown, Capri/Landmark, Mid Town, Pandosy and Rutland. The City is also surrounded by a vast amount of Agricultural land that is protected by the Agricultural Land Act, and the city is committed to protecting the land as Agricultural zoning.

As the population grows, Kelowna is committed to development in these core main areas by RU 7 zoning (Infill, 4-plexes) and multi-family developments. With the anticipated population growth mixed with limited real estate due to the Cities plans for focusing on density, we are going to see a BOOM in towers over the next 20 years due to our geographical constraints.

Kelownas OCP to 2040: https://www.kelowna.ca/our-community/planning-projects/2040-official-community-plan

Kelowna's Geographical constraints facing North:

Facing south:

And East:

Harley613 · #**19207** Posted **Feb 20, 2022, 10:53 PM**

Some Toronto shots from last summer:

DJI_0002 by harley613, on Flickr

DJI_0524 by harley613, on Flickr

_DSC0169-Pano-Edit by harley613, on Flickr

_DSC0024-Pano by harley613, on Flickr

Metro-One · #**19208** Posted **Feb 21, 2022, 1:33 AM**

There is more space in the Okanagan than many give it credit for.

Still lots of low density and brown, even green fields between Peachland and Vernon. In face the Vernon area alone (especially to the north and the east) has a lot of land.

Then there are areas like the western lake shore of Okanagan Lake, the finger valleys like the Trepanier area, etc… that are all still forested areas that could easily become suburban areas.

That said, I don’t want to see all these areas developed into urban and suburban areas.

Realistically with some urban expansion that doesn’t destroy the natural scenery and environment of the area (or loses all the farmland) and a lot of densification within urban boundaries the Kelowna Vernon corridor could easily house 750 000 without getting to crazy. The max with a lot of density before becoming overwhelming is somewhere around 1 million.

MolsonExport · #**19209** Posted **Feb 21, 2022, 3:27 AM**

Nice tranna shots

logan5 · #**19210** Posted **Feb 21, 2022, 5:48 AM**

I could see a time when we have a Kelowna Metro area, with Penticton and Vernon only 50 km's away from Kelowna. The terrain around Kelowna is no steeper than West Van and North Van in most areas, and it plateaus to the east, so you could definitely accommodate over a million people and still have fairly low density housing.

harls · #**19211** Posted **Feb 21, 2022, 7:33 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Harley613

Some Toronto shots from last summer:

Excellent.

I have a drone, and I am scared to fly it.

It is also a $25 model.. I would be scared as hell to mount a camera to something and send it above Toronto city hall like you did.

J.OT13 · #**19212** Posted **Feb 21, 2022, 2:23 PM**

https://twitter.com/iciottgat/status/1495354228197531649?cxt=HHwWgoC9ke6vyMApAAAA

biguc · #**19213** Posted **Feb 21, 2022, 2:31 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by logan5

I could see a time when we have a Kelowna Metro area, with Penticton and Vernon only 50 km's away from Kelowna. The terrain around Kelowna is no steeper than West Van and North Van in most areas, and it plateaus to the east, so you could definitely accommodate over a million people and still have fairly low density housing.

Yeah it makes sense. I feel like a broken record but it wouldn't take much to tie the three cities together with a rail line. That would give the Okanagan Valley metro all the space it would need for at least the next 50 years. Right now, infrastructure limitations are more of an impediment to growth than geography.

MonctonRad · #**19214** Posted **Feb 21, 2022, 2:36 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by logan5

I could see a time when we have a Kelowna Metro area, with Penticton and Vernon only 50 km's away from Kelowna. The terrain around Kelowna is no steeper than West Van and North Van in most areas, and it plateaus to the east, so you could definitely accommodate over a million people and still have fairly low density housing.

And, there is nice density developing in the downtown of Kelowna (as can be seen in the recent photos showing up on the forum). There is no reason why this can't continue. Wildfires aside, the Okanagan has one of the most pleasant climates in the country. It is a magnet now for retirees from Alberta. There is no reason why, in the future, it couldn't become a retiree magnet for the entire country.

I think a million people in the metropolitan area is doable, but will require careful planning to promote densification, and a second bridge over the lake, and a bypass around the core area of the city. Better highway connectivity would be necessary too. I know there is the Okanagan Connector now leading to the Coquihalla Highway, but what about an expressway northward leading to the TCH at Salmon Arm?

Theoretical question. Which city is better positioned to be the next million person city in western Canada, Winnipeg, Kelowna, Saskatoon or Victoria? Winnipeg has a healthy head start, and is the likely winner, but I could see Kelowna coming on like gangbusters in this race.

Harley613 · #**19215** Posted **Feb 21, 2022, 4:55 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by harls

Excellent.

I have a drone, and I am scared to fly it.

It is also a $25 model.. I would be scared as hell to mount a camera to something and send it above Toronto city hall like you did.

The only thing you can fly in most urban areas is a Mini/Mini2, sub 250 grams. Even then it's a grey area.

logan5 · #**19216** Posted **Feb 21, 2022, 7:04 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

And, there is nice density developing in the downtown of Kelowna (as can be seen in the recent photos showing up on the forum). There is no reason why this can't continue. Wildfires aside, the Okanagan has one of the most pleasant climates in the country. It is a magnet now for retirees from Alberta. There is no reason why, in the future, it couldn't become a retiree magnet for the entire country.

I think a million people in the metropolitan area is doable, but will require careful planning to promote densification, and a second bridge over the lake, and a bypass around the core area of the city. Better highway connectivity would be necessary too. I know there is the Okanagan Connector now leading to the Coquihalla Highway, but what about an expressway northward leading to the TCH at Salmon Arm?

Theoretical question. Which city is better positioned to be the next million person city in western Canada, Winnipeg, Kelowna, Saskatoon or Victoria? Winnipeg has a healthy head start, and is the likely winner, but I could see Kelowna coming on like gangbusters in this race.

Immigration into Canada is being ratcheted up quite a bit, so maybe the Okanagon becomes becomes the go to area for a lot of newcomers. Maybe 30 years from now the population doubles? who knows. All these newcomers have to go somewhere so there will be cities where the population explodes. Most likely the bigger cities though.