Quote:
Originally Posted by Richard Eade
I guess they are just planning to be closer to the centre of what Orleans will become. There is a lot more growth potential to the south.
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I get your point, but there are still a few problems with this logic (not saying it's yours necessarily).
For starters, isn't suburban sprawl supposed to slow down? I think the desire for space, suburban-style isn't going to go away but the price of gas (don't let the current drop fool you - the trend is still going upwards), an aging population, progressive municipal politics, ecological issues, etc. all point to less of it than what we have seen in our lifetimes. I don't think it will stop but certainly it won't always be as explosive as it was in the past.
Consider that about 75% of the currently built-up area on this map was put in place in the last 20 years. Does anyone believe that this expansion will repeat itself in the next 20 years? Because that is what it will take (or perhaps more) to place these new cinemas in the true geographic centre of Orleans. I believe that most commercial facilities of this type aren't based on a 20-year horizon anyway. The cinemas on Centrum they are replacing are barely 20 years old. These are relatively short-term, cash-grab investments.
Also, the St-Joseph strip is actually pretty central as well. Plus it has the advantage of being accessible via roads that are mostly in fairly straight lines, in addition to being accessible from the 174, that people living near Jeanne-d'Arc take to get to Place d'Orleans. Whereas aside from Tenth Line, the Innes Road area is accessible from most areas of Orleans via unnecessarily super curved roads like Orleans Blvd. and Jeanne d'Arc, and even some small residential streets like Prestwick, etc.
Not to mention that the Place d'Orleans sector is also right on Ottawa's rapid transit system (whatever form it might take). Yes, I know Innes isn't too far from the southern transit line - whenever that gets built.
All in all - brutal urban planning.