Devonian Gardens - almost ready to reopen

[Table 5]

What bothers me most about this water "feature" and the park in general (and it's something I've noticed a lot with new calgary parks) is the lack of a place to sit around and lounge on something other than a chair. Fountains and parks are so much more inviting when they have a little ledge all around that you can sit on. People love to sit on steps, ledges, stoops, etc....it gives a sense of urban spontaneity. Throwing in a couple of foldable Ikea chairs is so lame.

Is it really that hard to incorporate a little ledge around the fountain?



or perhaps a few steps where people might be able to sit and have their sandwich for lunch? Or just zone out for a few minutes.

[jammies]

I hope I never have to go thru there, it looks like a travesty of what it once was. I used to work right near there in the late 90s and I'd go for an early lunch and just hang out in the Gardens - even in mid-winter, it felt a bit like summer.

Now it looks more like a bit of winter all on its own.

[jammies]

Originally Posted by fotze

I might submit this for James Howard Kunstler's eyesore of the month.

http://kunstler.com/eyesore.html

Might be funny how he can tear it a new arsehole.

Haha his description of a typical commercial North American street landscape "It makes us a nation of clowns dwelling in a clown habitat." Quote of the year.

[Table 5]

Originally Posted by fotze

I might submit this for James Howard Kunstler's eyesore of the month.

My favorite:
http://kunstler.com/eyesore_201111.html

[The Familia]

I think I would have rather had them keep this thing closed permenantly rather than re-open this...this...words can not describe its terribleness.

[Table 5]

Originally Posted by fotze

This clip of him sitting on a bench some genius thought would be nice to place along Deerfoot trail is awesome.

I kind of feel the same way every time I see that long bike path (Legacy Trail) that goes from Banff to Canmore. It seems like a nice pathway, but who the hell wants to ride right beside the frickin' highway? Why not tuck the path further away from the highway, so people can at least enjoy some nature without the sound of cars and trucks zooming by non-stop?

http://experiencecanmore.ca/wp-conte.../Legacytr3.jpg

[Bertuzzied]

wow the old one looked 10000 times better than this crap. I was looking at my wedding pics a few weeks back and i'm so glad i have so many pictures in the old garden.

[Bertuzzied]

Originally Posted by Table 5

I kind of feel the same way every time I see that long bike path (Legacy Trail) that goes from Banff to Canmore. It seems like a nice pathway, but who the hell wants to ride right beside the frickin' highway? Why not tuck the path further away from the highway, so people can at least enjoy some nature without the sound of cars and trucks zooming by non-stop?

http://experiencecanmore.ca/wp-conte.../Legacytr3.jpg

One of the best paths to bike on is the canmore to banff trail through the nordic centre. it takes you right into the banff golf course.

[mrgreen]

Hi, a reporter friend at CBC (not me) is trying to set up a news story on how unhappy everyone is with the new Devonian Gardens. There are so many posts in different forums and on Twitter but he needs someone to interview on the subject today. If you can spare a couple of mins this afternoon/evening to comment for a radio story please contact: geoff.ellwand@cbc.ca

[getbak]

So, I saw those nice photos of a mall food court. Is anyone going to post photos of the Devonian Gardens?

[Table 5]

Originally Posted by mrgreen

Hi, a reporter friend at CBC (not me) is trying to set up a news story on how unhappy everyone is with the new Devonian Gardens. There are so many posts in different forums and on Twitter but he needs someone to interview on the subject today. If you can spare a couple of mins this afternoon/evening to comment for a radio story please contact: geoff.ellwand@cbc.ca

Bigtime, you're up.

[Bigtime]

Originally Posted by Table 5

Bigtime, you're up.

I'm passing on this one, plus if the CBC really wants to get a hold of me they have my contact info.

[Bigtime]

Originally Posted by fotze

If you can't say nothing nice, don't say anything at all?

I nominate table5. Even has the former New York city smarm to really annoy the local designer angle folks.

I guess something like that, I think the new gardens are ok but just don't hold a candle to their former incarnation. I would really love for a reporter to dig into the numbers and really find out how it all broke down and why certain design decisions were made. I thought that was something that Jason Markusoff could do a really good job of, but after your tweet yesterday he really didn't seem interested.

[Table 5]

Originally Posted by fotze

If you can't say nothing nice, don't say anything at all?

I nominate table5. Even has the former New York city smarm to really annoy the local designer angle folks.

Terribly nomination. I have a face for radio, a voice made for the silent-era, and ramble on nonsensically like Grandpa without his meds.

[Bobblehead]

Originally Posted by Table 5

Terribly nomination. I have a face for radio, a voice made for the silent-era, and ramble on nonsensically like Grandpa without his meds.

If that doesn't scream CBC, I don't know what does.

[MarchHare]

Originally Posted by Table 5

Terribly nomination. I have a face for radio, a voice made for the silent-era, and ramble on nonsensically like Grandpa without his meds.

It's your lucky day, then, as Geoff Ellwand reports for CBC Radio, not television.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/reportsfromabroad/ellwand/

[cmyden]

Originally Posted by ranchlandsselling

More:

An additional $14 million was approved for Phase 2: Planting and garden features, he added.

I wonder if it's possible to get a detailed cost breakdown of the planting and garden features.

From what I've read there are approximately...

10,000 shrubs
1.5 million pounds of soil
210 trees

1.5 million pounds of soil = 680 tons, which costs around $10-$15/ton, or $20,400.
source: http://tandemtruck.webs.com/ratesservices.htm

10,000 shrubs = $650,000
source: http://www.landscapingcalgary.net/ge...calculator.php

210 trees = $156,450
source: http://www.landscapingcalgary.net/ge...calculator.php

So that's about $850,000 in material costs (the shrub and tree calculations include labour, the soil calculation only includes delivery).

Presumably you could get a better deal than this if you're buying on such a large scale.

I guess that leaves $13.1 million for the rest of the garden features?

[MarchHare]

I guess that leaves $13.1 million for the rest of the garden features?

Don't forget the construction/renovations and the cost of labour, which were almost certainly the two biggest expenses in this project.

I'm surprised that the media isn't making a bigger deal about this. The travesty that is the new Devonian Gardens could be the issue that unites people from both sides of the Peace Bridge debate.

[Rathji]

Originally Posted by cmyden

I wonder if it's possible to get a detailed cost breakdown of the planting and garden features.

From what I've read there are approximately...

10,000 shrubs
1.5 million pounds of soil
210 trees

1.5 million pounds of soil = 680 tons, which costs around $10-$15/ton, or $20,400.
source: http://tandemtruck.webs.com/ratesservices.htm

10,000 shrubs = $650,000
source: http://www.landscapingcalgary.net/ge...calculator.php

210 trees = $156,450
source: http://www.landscapingcalgary.net/ge...calculator.php

So that's about $850,000 in material costs (the shrub and tree calculations include labour, the soil calculation only includes delivery).

Presumably you could get a better deal than this if you're buying on such a large scale.

I guess that leaves $13.1 million for the rest of the garden features?

I noticed you didn't price out the lifting each tree up by a crane or however the hell they got 680 tons of dirt up there. I guess the shrubs could go up by elevator or escalator, and it wouldn't take too long..

Come back when you have links to those things, because i would like to know as well.

On the other hand, if you are offering to supply and plant a tree on the top of multi level buildings for $750 each, that's another story and I think we could work something out where you should do some work for me...

[jammies]

Originally Posted by MarchHare

I'm surprised that the media isn't making a bigger deal about this.

Rick Bell's "Dumbonian Gardens" column was just waiting for a punny title. Now I've supplied it: let the hyperbole begin!