Quote:
Originally Posted by geotag277
Downtown West is quite a bit more dense and yet is what I would call the opposite of bustling.
The big problem I see is getting noteworthy small businesses, restaurants, and street retail to fill out the retail levels of these buildings. Mission and Kensington have it somewhat figured out but Beltline is struggling a bit.
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It is hard to compare the Downtown West End with this on density alone. Downtown West End is completely isolated from popular retail districts and offers none of the pedestrian features that make these successful and attractive. It is victim of being cut off by Millenium Park / 14th Street to the West, the River to the north, CPR to the south, 8th Street & the NW LRT to the east. It is also bisected by high-speed arterials (5th, 6th & 9th). All of these are the dominate flow and add significant pedestrian barriers to efficient travel around or outside of the West End by foot. Retail struggles when surrounded by such barriers.
8th Street south of the CPR tracks is quite different. It is not isolated, but fully surrounded and supported by other corridors and nodes of activity as well as being a pedestrian corridor itself. Thousands pass through everyday, 8th street being the highest trafficked underpass by foot under the CPR. The redevelopment of the street will further emphasize this and make it even more attractive. There is already several restaurants and pubs along 8th in that immediate area, not to mention the developing night-club / music venue corridor along 10th Ave. ATCO is likely one of the largest day-time employers in the Beltline for the daytime traffic, while plenty of cafes and the Safeway act as key focal points.
Density on it's own isn't enough to make a bustling street (West End). But density plus an attractive public realm and no major barrier limiting pedestrian traffic and retail has a much better shot.