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Originally Posted by calculoso
Put words in my mouth why don't you.
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Sure, my response was half directed at you so I understand your apprehension but will you answer my question as to
why you don't go downtown?
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Originally Posted by calculoso
I'm not opposed to the bridge. I'm opposed to spending THAT MUCH on the bridge. I'm opposed to it being a work of art rather than a nice looking functional bridge.
I'm just as opposed to the nice fish on the Glenmore/Elbow/Macleod underpass.. What a waste of money.
I'll be just as opposed if something artsy is on the new Stoney bridges too.
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Right, and what would you prefer spending the (fairly insignificant) incremental on? Do you also have nice looking, functional sex? Do you wish to squeeze the joy and interest out of everything for everyone else around you? The money "wasted" on the required artwork on that interchange is going to be a drop in the bucket compared to the re-work they are going to need to do on it because it was never designed properly to begin with (but that is a different story).
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Originally Posted by calculoso
Good for you.
As someone who is ALSO a born and raised Calgarian, I am also interested in making my city the best it can be. Good transportation around the city is essential.
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I do not disagree with this, but what is it you mean by "good transportation".
To me, good transportation does not equal free flowing vehicle traffic at every interesction in the city. It is an incomplete view and does not provide enough flexibility to the citizens of Calgary.
The development arc we are on is heavily weighted towards investment in vehicle based transportation and to me that isn't fair. People practically need 2 - 3 vehicles or more just to get around in Calgary - that's damned expensive. Not to mention dangerous.
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Originally Posted by calculoso
Have you stopped to ask them what is so terrible? 90% of the people I talk to complain about the horrible traffic. They complain about the ty roads. They don't complain about a lack of art, a lack of special looking buildings, etc.
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Yes, and it usually it comes down to three things: crime, traffic and 'its boring'.
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Originally Posted by calculoso
See that's where I completely disagree. Plan It seems to have a mandate to make the city another Toronto or another Vancouver. It, and those running it, doesn't seem to understand that a large portion of people who live here now come from Saskatchewan or other rural areas. They are being forced to move to "the big city" but choose Calgary because it doesn't have the "big city feel". It isn't building upon building stretching as high as the eye can see. It allows those people, who are used to having acres of land available to them, to have a sense of space while giving them none. Do you think that those people would move here to live in a 20 story apartment building? Hell no. They're making a huge sacrifice to move into a 1600 sq ft home with a back yard...and yet they're being crapped on for it. Screw that.
Those of you who want the high-density life can enjoy it... but don't force it on the rest of us. Having lived in downtown Calgary, I've learned that the lifestyle isn't for me. I'm quite happy living, working, shopping in the suburbs and all of the traffic nightmare that comes with it. Judging from the demand, I'm not alone and in by far the majority in this city.
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This is the crux of the inner city-suburbia debate in Calgary.
You argue that the inner-city lifestyle is being forced upon you, but in what way is this significantly happening? Do you not see that urban sprawl is the only lifestyle being "forced" in this town?
So much money and resources get put towards building out and out. It makes it difficult and expensive to provide acceptable public services for people.
If there were 20 Garrison Woods in Calgary, maybe moving to a bedroom community 40km away from THE BIG CITY wouldn't be the only option for those coming from a lower income situation. 20 storey condo buildings are not the only option when it comes to high density living.
Someone like myself is promoting BALANCE. The way development is regulated in Calgary makes it very difficult for mixed use development (not just sardine can condos) to occur, but that is changing. It is difficult to have investment made in public transit, but that is changing.
I would not be upset at all if half of this city fell off the map for good. Its not special nor is it required. We do not need to be impacting the environment and our economy in the way that we currently choosing to.
Demand is one thing, but what you're failing to see is that our system doesn't truly allow for a proper selection of supply to be available to the market as it is.