Emerald Necklace (13th Avenue Greenway)

[mr.steevo]

Calgary Herald - Jan 8, 2010

The city will begin laying a "green ribbon" down the Beltline this year, as it launches a project to turn a quiet residential street into a heritage promenade and cycling route.

The 13th Avenue Greenway, long touted as a key component in the makeovers for the Beltline, Sunalta and Victoria Park, will ultimately become a tree-lined link between the Elbow River and pathways that reach the Bow River....

http://www.calgaryherald.com/news/Ca...307/story.html

Thoughts? I support this idea.

s.

[frinkprof]

In the winter, I intend on calling it the pearl necklace.

[DizzyEdge]

Originally Posted by frinkprof

In the winter, I intend on calling it the pearl necklace.

/thread

[O-tacular]

Originally Posted by frinkprof

In the winter, I intend on calling it the pearl necklace.

Hahahahaha!

[fusili]

Great idea, wrong street.

[Wooster]

Originally Posted by fusili

Great idea, wrong street.

It is the right street for this kind of design treatment, just the wrong street to prioritize in terms of public realm improvements. Beltline needs a CRL and a comprehensive strategy for public realm capital investments, badly.

[frinkprof]

Originally Posted by fusili

Great idea, wrong street.

What do you think would be a more appropriate street and why, fusili?

I don't think it's the best street for this, necessarily, but certainly will be a welcome change to 13th Ave.

[lubicon]

Nice idea, but $5 million for a 5 block stretch? Seems a little steep but what do I know.

[fusili]

Originally Posted by frinkprof

What do you think would be a more appropriate street and why, fusili?

I don't think it's the best street for this, necessarily, but certainly will be a welcome change to 13th Ave.

10th Avenue. Not necessarily for this type of design, but for improvement. 13th Avenue works pretty well as is. It can be improved for sure, but there are other areas that are desperate for attention. Talking last night to someone who cycles down 13th regularly (as I did previously), his words were "Don't fuck with 13th Avenue." Meanwhile several portions on the North side of 10th Avenue don't even have sidewalks, mostly adjacent to surface parking lots. If someone in a wheel chair, or a parent with a stroller were to park there, they have to go into the F$%king street to walk. That is atrocious. So in terms of priorities, places without sidewalks at all should get them, then we can improve the sidewalks we already have.

[mersar]

Originally Posted by lubicon

Nice idea, but $5 million for a 5 block stretch? Seems a little steep but what do I know.

To make it worse, its only a 4 block stretch (there is no 3rd street in the Beltline, 2nd-4th is only a touch longer then a normal block)

Originally Posted by fusili

10th Avenue. Not necessarily for this type of design, but for improvement.

Agreed. Plus 10th is already going to be getting work done to it west of 14th as part of the WLRT and the new ARP, it would make sense to continue the improvements along through the beltline.

[DizzyEdge]

I agree with some of the sentiments here, yes the greenway sounds great, but I'd like to see all streets be improved to have adequate sideways etc before going all fancy-pants on one of them.

[frinkprof]

Originally Posted by fusili

10th Avenue. Not necessarily for this type of design, but for improvement. 13th Avenue works pretty well as is. It can be improved for sure, but there are other areas that are desperate for attention. Talking last night to someone who cycles down 13th regularly (as I did previously), his words were "Don't fuck with 13th Avenue." Meanwhile several portions on the North side of 10th Avenue don't even have sidewalks, mostly adjacent to surface parking lots. If someone in a wheel chair, or a parent with a stroller were to park there, they have to go into the F$%king street to walk. That is atrocious. So in terms of priorities, places without sidewalks at all should get them, then we can improve the sidewalks we already have.

Fair enough. I agree the 10th Avenue is an eyesore aesthetically, and a very unfriendly street in a practical sense. However, I like the idea of this project in its own right.

[Wooster]

Originally Posted by DizzyEdge

I agree with some of the sentiments here, yes the greenway sounds great, but I'd like to see all streets be improved to have adequate sideways etc before going all fancy-pants on one of them.

I sort of disagree with just bringing things up to simply an "adequate" standard. I think if we're going to invest in a streetscape improvement, it should be done right and in a comprehensive manner. Yes 10th needs improvement, but I don't think just fixing the sidewalks that are missing in a patchwork manner is the solution. I would argue that 10th, 11th and 12th avenues really need to be redone altogether. Effort should be concentrated on that kind of really big move.

[DizzyEdge]

Originally Posted by Wooster

I sort of disagree with just bringing things up to simply an "adequate" standard. I think if we're going to invest in a streetscape improvement, it should be done right and in a comprehensive manner. Yes 10th needs improvement, but I don't think just fixing the sidewalks that are missing in a patchwork manner is the solution. I would argue that 10th, 11th and 12th avenues really need to be redone altogether. Effort should be concentrated on that kind of really big move.

Well perhaps instead of using the term adequate I should have said 'up to standards'. What I'd like to see is a survey of all the beltline streets and then have the improvement of the beltline as a project in of itself. Not sure if this has been done already.

[Wooster]

Originally Posted by DizzyEdge

Well perhaps instead of using the term adequate I should have said 'up to standards'. What I'd like to see is a survey of all the beltline streets and then have the improvement of the beltline as a project in of itself. Not sure if this has been done already.

I think Fusili has done a pretty comprehensive audit of beltline streets.

[frinkprof]

Originally Posted by DizzyEdge

What I'd like to see is a survey of all the beltline streets and then have the improvement of the beltline as a project in of itself.

Could you clarify what you mean by this?

[Calgarian]

10th is full of sites that will undergo a complete transformation in the coming years, and as part of that I think the city should implement some guidelines as to what kind of development takes place on the street level. I think doing anything right now will be a little pre-mature.

I like the idea of the 13th ave greenway, but want to see more renderings before deciding if it's the right project at the right time.

[Wooster]

Originally Posted by Calgarian

10th is full of sites that will undergo a complete transformation in the coming years, and as part of that I think the city should implement some guidelines as to what kind of development takes place on the street level. I think doing anything right now will be a little pre-mature.

There are.

[agent_imperial]

Originally Posted by fusili

Meanwhile several portions on the North side of 10th Avenue don't even have sidewalks...

While I certainly welcome the improvements to 13th, I completely agree that 10th needs some attention badly!

The sections without sidewalks that are littered with mud filled puddles between 7th and 5th and between 2nd and 1st streets are a colossal embarrassment to have in the core of our city!

When I have friends visiting Calgary I specifically avoid walking them down 10th in those areas. What kind of modern city has dirt ruts instead of sidewalks in their inner city?

Anyways… Back to the issue at hand… I think in the long run 13th will be a great street for this type of streetscape improvement… there are some great parks and buildings along this street which would benefit from a good connection, Hotel Arts, Central Memorial, Lougheed House, New CBE Building, Connaught school, etc… there is hardly a stretch longer than a block without something interesting along it.

[Calgarian]

Originally Posted by Wooster

There are.

I just mean that's all we should do for now, have an ARP type document to guide development along 10th, then come back and upgrade parts of it once most of the empty lots have been built out.