Regina Railyard Renewal Project

[Stormer]

Based on comments on the RRI social media sites, this is likely to generate lots of discussion. I thought it was worthy of its own thread. Hopefully the City will actually post the concepts online rather than relying on the narrow outreach resulting from a townhall. I can already predict that they will be hearing almost exclusively from special interests and "activists" and not ordinary citizens.

By activists I mean citizens who want to spend hundreds of millions of dollars of other people's money on their pie in the sky pet projects that make no economic sense.

From RRI:

In December, hundreds of Reginans shared their vision for what should become of the Railyard site on Dewdney Avenue.

Ideas are now taking shape for a dynamic, mixed-use area that will complement both Downtown and the Warehouse District.

We want to know what you think.

On May 16, residents are invited to review three redevelopment concepts for the 17-acre site and share their thoughts. Everyone welcome. The event will be held in Salon 2 at Evraz Place.

The Open House will include a background presentation, facilitated discussion, interactive information boards, participant workbooks and a chance to engage with the project team.

For more information, visit ReginaRevitalization.ca

[Treesplease]

The pitfalls of public consultation. There is an expectation that it occurs but it rarely produces anything of value. However, it sometimes does which is why its important. Results will be all over the board and far from homogeneous or useful. Ultimately the city will do what it intends to do unless something constructive comes to light.

Thanks for the heads up on the open house.

[Stormer]

Teaser from RRI:



It looks like this proposal is suggesting low rises along Dewdney and high-rises along the tracks, at least on the west side. The high rises are probably office, as residential will be further form the tracks.

[HomeInMyShoes]

Too bad they already obliterated the street interaction with the hotel nearer to Albert Street.

Makes sense to me for the most part. I'm curious as to what kinds of things for amenities (park, entertainment) are in the plans. I'd really love to see a festival-type park space created that could house the Folk Festival. I'd like to see Victoria Park generally be the quiet Victorian era park it really should be. It is such a formally laid out plan and a much-used circulation pathway within downtown that it sucks when it is fenced off and inaccessible to people not involved in the event going on.

I'm also curious to see what kinds of linkages are planned across the tracks because that is a key component.

[CCF]

This project is so important to get right. This could be one of the few areas in the city (or province really) where there could be a high level of urbanity. Hopefully with this initiative they create something that is consistent with modern planning practices and design.

[Stormer]

Originally Posted by HomeInMyShoes

Too bad they already obliterated the street interaction with the hotel nearer to Albert Street.

Makes sense to me for the most part. I'm curious as to what kinds of things for amenities (park, entertainment) are in the plans. I'd really love to see a festival-type park space created that could house the Folk Festival. I'd like to see Victoria Park generally be the quiet Victorian era park it really should be. It is such a formally laid out plan and a much-used circulation pathway within downtown that it sucks when it is fenced off and inaccessible to people not involved in the event going on.

I'm also curious to see what kinds of linkages are planned across the tracks because that is a key component.

I am pretty certain there will only be one bridge over the tracks due to the enormous cost and the strict requirements of CP Rail. It will likely be near the west end of the Casino

[HomeInMyShoes]

I know there's probably only one. It's too bad we couldn't get two, but the costs would be high and the opportunities given the current built form are pretty poor. It's one of the reasons I am really interested in the how because it is a tough design challenge and it's an important piece to how integrated downtown ends up feeling.

[CCF]

Originally Posted by HomeInMyShoes

I know there's probably only one. It's too bad we couldn't get two, but the costs would be high and the opportunities given the current built form are pretty poor. It's one of the reasons I am really interested in the how because it is a tough design challenge and it's an important piece to how integrated downtown ends up feeling.

Further consideration should be given to the current Broad and Albert Street underpasses. Proximity wise, they aren't far...but they act as poor connection points in that they aren't even remotely passable as welcoming places. If the adjacent Broad and Albert street corridors were to transition in their form, and the City invested in redesigning the underpasses into more welcoming pedestrian friendly spaces, they could easily act as quick connection points between the RRI and downtown.

As a comparison, Calgary is redesigning a lot its underpasses from the downtown to the Beltline neighbourhood, as they suffered from many of the negative design qualities as the aforementioned two in Regina.

[HomeInMyShoes]

^The only problem with that is that they are relatively far East and West from the main concentration of business in the core. But I agree making them more inviting is a great idea. The Broad Street one (which I use more frequently) is really not inviting at all. Is there going to be a move to remove some of the track (I know not all) in this process. With the yards moving, do they need as much spur line there? It could effectively shrink the underpass portion creating more light and a more inviting pathway without actually doing anything else.

I guess we'll see with the concepts and plans what might be possible.

I unfortunately have soccer tonight or I'd be tempted to visit this and maybe the doom unveiling. Interesting duo of events considering how important both are (at least to me.) Both once in a lifetime events really.

[Stormer]

Originally Posted by HomeInMyShoes

^The only problem with that is that they are relatively far East and West from the main concentration of business in the core. But I agree making them more inviting is a great idea. The Broad Street one (which I use more frequently) is really not inviting at all. Is there going to be a move to remove some of the track (I know not all) in this process. With the yards moving, do they need as much spur line there? It could effectively shrink the underpass portion creating more light and a more inviting pathway without actually doing anything else.

I guess we'll see with the concepts and plans what might be possible.

I unfortunately have soccer tonight or I'd be tempted to visit this and maybe the doom unveiling. Interesting duo of events considering how important both are (at least to me.) Both once in a lifetime events really.

The two most northerly bridges are to be demolished.

[jigglysquishy]

This is the most important development project in Regina history. I think the city did well with the Canterbury Gardens. Hopefully we get a more urban neighborhood for the RRI though.

[CCF]

Originally Posted by jigglysquishy

This is the most important development project in Regina history. I think the city did well with the Canterbury Gardens. Hopefully we get a more urban neighborhood for the RRI though.

Not to be negative, but the Secondary Plan for Canterbury Park was a lot more promising than what was delivered (there's a lot of policies both land use wise and design wise that weren't followed). It's another example of the City failing to implement its policies in actual development.

Overall I agree there are many positives aspects of Canterbury, but I can't help but think how it could have been even better. To end on a more positive note, it was and is definitely a step in the right direction.

[Davidson]

Originally Posted by HomeInMyShoes

Too bad they already obliterated the street interaction with the hotel nearer to Albert Street.

Makes sense to me for the most part. I'm curious as to what kinds of things for amenities (park, entertainment) are in the plans. I'd really love to see a festival-type park space created that could house the Folk Festival. I'd like to see Victoria Park generally be the quiet Victorian era park it really should be. It is such a formally laid out plan and a much-used circulation pathway within downtown that it sucks when it is fenced off and inaccessible to people not involved in the event going on.

I'm also curious to see what kinds of linkages are planned across the tracks because that is a key component.

A bit off topic but I volunteered at the Folk Festival for many years and could not disagree with you more re: use of Victoria Park. It's the perfect setting for this type of festival! Only one quadrant is fenced off as a ticketed area, leaving 3/4 of the park open and inviting to anyone to stop, sit on the grass and enjoy the music. In fact the three FREE stages in the park during the daytime on Sat & Sun of the festival often feature the best music of the whole weekend.

Also a lot of festival goers spill out into other parts of the downtown too. I think there should be a dozen weekends like this in Victoria Park every year.

[jigglysquishy]

They had three designs last night. One with a residential focus, one with commercial focus, and one with cultural focus. All three were high density and mixed use. I think the population ranges were 1500-2500.

Very ambitious,very urban, and very exciting. Hopefully the plans are uploaded online today.

[dsmmace]

The pedestrian bridge crossing the tracks is quite the stretch to cross, I'm humbly suggesting at cable tension pedestrian bridge is considered.

[Festivus]

Originally Posted by dsmmace

The pedestrian bridge crossing the tracks is quite the stretch to cross, I'm humbly suggesting at cable tension pedestrian bridge is considered.

Even better: zip-lines.

[Treesplease]

Vague descriptions and renderings of the three renewal proposals for RRI are posted but you have to go through the survey to see them. Also, the pics enlarge but the legends don't so it is a bit hard to discern what is what color on the renderings.

[Stormer]

Concept A: The focal point of this neighbourhood is a central, multi-purpose public market building. In the centre of the area are two parks. Mixed-use buildings of varying heights contain predominantly residential dwellings. Shops and restaurants, including a grocery store, line Dewdney Avenue.



http://fluidsurveys.com/s/RailyardCo...dd4de535a7780b

[Stormer]

Concept B – This retail destination features a walkable outdoor shopping area, multi-screen cinema and hotel. Shops and restaurants line Dewdney Avenue. In addition to a central public market building, outdoor market square and grocery store, the site includes residential dwellings and office space.


http://fluidsurveys.com/s/RailyardCo...dd4de535a7780b

[Stormer]

Concept C – Featuring a modern concert hall or theatre, this new cultural destination includes institutional spaces like a library, community centre or college/university. Along with a hotel, residential dwellings, office space and restaurants, the buildings frame a park or civic square where outdoor events can take place.


http://fluidsurveys.com/s/RailyardCo...dd4de535a7780b