Cogswell Interchange

[OldDartmouthMark]

Cogswell Interchange project gets new director, John Spinelli

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-s...ctor-1.3344071

[Keith P.]

Originally Posted by OldDartmouthMark

Cogswell Interchange project gets new director, John Spinelli

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-s...ctor-1.3344071

Old news:

http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/show...&postcount=355

[OldDartmouthMark]

Originally Posted by Keith P.

Old news:

http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/show...&postcount=355

Article was posted today and has information not in the post you linked to.

By Pam Berman, CBC News Posted: Nov 30, 2015 5:02 PM AT

Hey Keith, why are you acting as the re-post police?

[TheNovaScotian]

I think the building heights could be taller but it's a good start. With technologies like solar windows on the horizon, some panels on the lawn around the plant and on rooftops, this thing could pay for upgrades to the sewage plant and free power to residents.

http://http://www.thecoast.ca/halifax/cogswell-redevelopment-bucks-the-energy-system/Content?oid=6703314

[Keith P.]

Too many roundabouts. You just know HRM will screw this up.

[Drybrain]

I'm pretty sure this rendering has nothing to do with what the neighbourhood will actually look like; it's just a speculative kind of "Hey, look what we could do" kind of thing.

I hope so, anyway. The buildings are ugly and monotonous. Look up at the posts recently on the Old Halifax (or the flickr account for the city archives) thread to see the kind of neighbourhood streets that were destroyed for Cogswell. We deserve a contemporary (and yes, taller) version of this kind of close-knit, mixed-use streetscape:

Barrington St. at Buckingham St., looking south by Halifax Municipal Archives, on Flickr

[Keith P.]

Well, the geniuses behind the redevelopment are not even re-creating Buckingham St., which would have instantly become one of the most memorable street names in the city.

[terrynorthend]

Originally Posted by TheNovaScotian

This photo appears to show traffic on the current Granville Street Mall.

[fenwick16]

Originally Posted by Drybrain

I'm pretty sure this rendering has nothing to do with what the neighbourhood will actually look like; it's just a speculative kind of "Hey, look what we could do" kind of thing.

... We deserve a contemporary (and yes, taller) version of this kind of close-knit, mixed-use streetscape:

Barrington St. at Buckingham St., looking south by Halifax Municipal Archives, on Flickr

As you indicated the streetscape image that you posted was never part of the Cogswell lands (it was where Scotia Square now stands), however I agree with your idea of a close-knit, mixed use streetscape.

Most of the Cogswell lands are rampart maximum post-bonus height, so buildings in the ~90 meter post-bonus height should be allowed. I think for developers to get the post-bonus height, they should consider recreating some of the feel of old Halifax. It would be great if a recreation of the Pentagon Building could be part of the International Place proposed by ECL - http://skyscraperpage.com/forum/showthread.php?t=153694 . The Pentagon Building was the one shown below:


(source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/rdb466...l-1922523@N25/ )

[someone123]

Another Pentagon Building photo was added to the archives:

[someone123]

Originally Posted by Keith P.

Well, the geniuses behind the redevelopment are not even re-creating Buckingham St., which would have instantly become one of the most memorable street names in the city.

On the one hand I guess any kind of Cogswell redo is kind of ambitious, but on the other hand I haven't seen a sign of much vision or sense of connection to the city's history and culture.

Maybe those details are TBD, but I am worried that they will be overlooked until it's too late to incorporate meaningful changes in the project. That rendering of the new buildings looks like it could be anywhere, except for the constraints imposed by the ramparts bylaws that encourage architectural mediocrity. Also the city is selling this project as a revenue-neutral endeavour rather than a rare opportunity to invest in infrastructure.

Expanding the Historic Properties area around a new public space next to Morse's Teas would be completely appropriate. It would pull that area together and be really interesting. Doing that would only require reconstructing a couple of buildings, and they could be integrated with modern construction. I am envisioning something like the TD makeover, but with a little more care given to recreating the old buildings. The city is in a position to get developers to do that because they are the ones with the land.

Cogswell is also a great opportunity to improve transit infrastructure. Imagine how much nicer it would be if a Barrington Street transit tunnel were built at the same time (with useful connection to the ferry), and Barrington (including the new portion) were converted to a mixed street for local traffic like the plan for Argyle. That would be a huge positive transformation for downtown.

[fenwick16]

Originally Posted by someone123

Another Pentagon Building photo was added to the archives:

Nice find someone123; it is interesting that there was an actual sign calling it the "PENTAGON BLDG".

I think a developer could have some latitude to recreate it in a slightly different location (to fit the International Place plans) and perhaps allow them to increase the floor heights, if necessary.

[Drybrain]

If everyone thinks that some sparing historic rebuilding would be a good idea, it's probably good to write to councillors and/or planners... I share on Someone 123's concern that the plans for the Cogswell aren't ambitious enough: just stick some buildings in there and call it a day.

[Keith P.]

I am concerned that there has been little apparent focus on the need to move heavy traffic using this new street network. The presence of roundabouts alone tells me that large truck traffic from the container pier will have great difficulty, and the morning and evening rush will cause huge backups on these historically narrow streets. It seems the planners are leaping towards their idyllic vision of everyone downtown coming and going on foot and by bicycle while totally forgetting the reality.

[fenwick16]

Originally Posted by Keith P.

I am concerned that there has been little apparent focus on the need to move heavy traffic using this new street network. The presence of roundabouts alone tells me that large truck traffic from the container pier will have great difficulty, and the morning and evening rush will cause huge backups on these historically narrow streets. It seems the planners are leaping towards their idyllic vision of everyone downtown coming and going on foot and by bicycle while totally forgetting the reality.

Something really needs to be done to get container trucks off the downtown streets, however a solution (North West Arm bridge, or relocating the terminal) is probably going to cost hundreds of millions of dollars and likely won't happen in the foreseeable future.

[Keith P.]

Originally Posted by terrynorthend

This photo appears to show traffic on the current Granville Street Mall.

It may be that the restoration of the old street network requires Granville to be re-opened to vehicles in order to work? It actually may make some sense. The pedestrian mall, like most of them that have been tried, has not been a success and is usually empty.

[someone123]

Originally Posted by fenwick16

Something really needs to be done to get container trucks off the downtown streets, however a solution (North West Arm bridge, or relocating the terminal) is probably going to cost hundreds of millions of dollars and likely won't happen in the foreseeable future.

The city looked at two alternatives, a route for trucks in the railcut and an inland terminal that would make it possible to ship everything out of Halterm along the rail line. The costs were estimated at $40M and $60M respectively in 2006. So about as much as a fully-HRM-funded four pad arena.

Here is the report: http://www.halifax.ca/traffic/docume...ingOptions.pdf

The inland terminal was recommended because it would cost only a little bit more and would increase the capacity of the port. I would say it's arguably the nicer and more elegant option because it eliminates a lot of the port truck traffic on the peninsula entirely.

As far as I can tell, nothing substantial relating to these plans was accomplished. Note that if this had been taken on in 2006 it would have been long completed by now and positively impacted the Cogswell project. Maybe for the study they should have come up with the acronyms FOUR/SIX PAD ARENA instead of NIT/NOT for the port options. This would have attracted some support from those councillors who don't actually read or comprehend these reports.

[terrynorthend]

Originally Posted by Keith P.

It may be that the restoration of the old street network requires Granville to be re-opened to vehicles in order to work? It actually may make some sense. The pedestrian mall, like most of them that have been tried, has not been a success and is usually empty.

I suspect it's just a bit of overzealous photoshopping. It would make little sense in the concept depicted because it looks to dead end at a pedestrian plaza (where the triangular parking lot is now).

I agree Granville Mall is now underused, replacing Peddelars Pub with Goodlife has really killed any life it had. Its a shame, it could be put to much better use if they truly oriented the businesses there to the outdoor space.

[Keith P.]

Originally Posted by terrynorthend

I suspect it's just a bit of overzealous photoshopping. It would make little sense in the concept depicted because it looks to dead end at a pedestrian plaza (where the triangular parking lot is now).

I agree Granville Mall is now underused, replacing Peddelars Pub with Goodlife has really killed any life it had. Its a shame, it could be put to much better use if they truly oriented the businesses there to the outdoor space.

I think that "pedestrian plaza" is actually the site of International Place, the office tower that Crombie has had on hold for a decade or more. Making Granville open to vehicles again could be good for that project should it ever happen.

[Drybrain]

Originally Posted by Keith P.

I think that "pedestrian plaza" is actually the site of International Place, the office tower that Crombie has had on hold for a decade or more. Making Granville open to vehicles again could be good for that project should it ever happen.

I'd be curious to see if the pedestrian mall works once Granville is reconnected to something more than a parking lot on the other side. Part of Granville's problem is the way a totally auto-oriented piece of infrastructure (Cogswell) buts up right against a totally pedestrian-oriented one. Of course it was never going to work well.

But honestly, I wouldn't have a problem with opening the street to traffic either. Something like the plans for Argyle--shared space, slow speeds, etc. I feel as if pedestrian malls are a sort of overreaction against automobile dominance. Ceding more priority to pedestrians and cyclists, while still permitting cars, feels like a better way to make downtown friendlier to everyone.