Quote:
Originally Posted by mintzilla
It is my opinion that the building form of the sprawl is not the problem. It’s the layout of the commmunities. Build the same house condos and apartments but Center then around a central transit and retail are with good walking and pedestrian paths so you don’t need to drive to do something as simple as go to the bank.
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Outside of the fact that Ambleside isn't mixed use, this is pretty close to what you are talking about.
This image doesn't show the walking paths too well.
Yes I quite realize that there are still large parking lots and big box stores... it is right next to the henday after all, but the community is well connected to the retail. It's actually easier to walk here from the local community than it is to drive. Mixed use is hard to sell. Most people who want that type of amenity will choose to live in an actual urban setting like downtown or old scona. I also work in this area, my work site backs right on to a row of housing, and we've had our share of complaints of noise just from our normal operations (snow clearing parking lots before 7 am or after 10 pm for an example)... It's nice to have a bit of separation between residential and commercial, but just enough so can stil walk.
There's also a future transit terminal in the mix there too.