Quote:
Originally Posted by Wooster
The CBD will never have the evening/weekend life of other parts of the city can/should have - but should have a reasonable level of activity at all times, even if it's just people passing through. I think the number one thing that needs to happen is to make it a more pedestrian-friendly. Better sidewalks, better lighting so that it's more inviting. Ensure the pockets that do have a chance to bring life - Stephen Avenue, 7th avenue keep improving and attracting people.
If places around the CBD like the Beltline, East Village, Chinatown and Eau Claire live up to their potential as vibrant mixed use places no one will care or even think about whether the CBD has a ton of life or not outside business hours. If Eau Claire improves and can become a people-magnet - the CBD will automatically be busier as people walk between the mall or 7th Avenue and Eau Claire. This is the effect you have in Toronto - no one goes to Bay street to hang out on a Sunday, but you do have enough people just walking through to St. Lawrence or other places that it doesn't feel abandoned.
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Agreed. I spent the Holidays in and around Toronto, and you are right. We stayed on Queen and Spadina (my girlfriend used to live just off Queen and John). Queen west or King West are really great places, but Bay Street isn't that active during the evening.
What I do find about Calgary is that we don't really have any north/south active streets in the Centre City, save for 4th street, south of 17th, and 8th street (to a very limited extent). This is mostly due to the orientation of blocks, but having a connection between Stephan Avenue, Eau Clair and 17th would be beneficial. Barclay mall does the best to connect to Eau Clair, and I guess 4th street connects to 17th, but both could be strengthened.