Calgary Openings, Closings, and Developments

[Jiri Hrdina]

Originally Posted by chemgear

I'm sure this token meeting in a election year will help offset the years of construction and lost business.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calga...sses-1.7602794

There's a ton of issues, including that as more businesses close there are less reasons to go there, which impacts the remaining businesses. So it reaches a tipping point where it's going to take a lot to get back.

Beyond the businesses cited in the article you have also lost the Circle K, Vietnamese Rest near the gym, Cookie Occasion, the cycling store (which was a food market before that and at one point I think a scuba diving place). There's others I'm forgetting.

I used to go to the Safeway in Garrison, and then pop by the liquore store, and sometimes the nearby butcher. I stopped doing that and go to Killarney instead, meaning I'm no longer supporting any of those businesses I used to pop into.

And you also have other dynamics. Lack of parking so people started to park in the complex with the gym where Casablance video used to be. So then they started to really ramp up the parking patrol of that lot, and ticketing people like crazy.

Just a series of really bad decisions and it has simply gone on far too long. A lot of people tolerated it for a while, to try and support the small businesses, but after a while it's become too frustrating and you stop going.

[Table 5]

I know all the work they are doing is aimed to make it a better place for the people who live in, or close to, the neighbourhood... but as a place to visit for outsiders, there's not a lot of incentive there to visit. It's been a non-stop construction zone for years, parking is a hassle, and it doesn't necessarily offer anything particularly unique that I can't get elsewhere. There are other more accessible cool nodes in town, and Marda Loop is just not really worth the headache.

[SeeGeeWhy]

You're right, Jiri. It's not just the weird never ending sidewalk improvement project. You've got dozens of other infill and multi-family/mixed use projects going up in the same area. None of it is co-ordinated, it just goes as the developer progresses. So you'll have projects ripping open stuff done by the city mere weeks prior, or multiple projects opening up the road to tie into services at the same time which causes the "traffic control" area to grow geometrically on any given day.

My wife lived in the area when I met her, we've stuck with her dentist since despite not living there. Book the kids appointments months in advance. Show up 30 minutes in advance only to find all four of the roads surrounding the building were shut down. We had to park 6 blocks away and walk through rain to get there. Wonderful times.

Wouldn't surprise me to learn the utility upgrades get justified as more units get jammed in the area, making it a self-perpetuating cycle of densification that doesn't stop. This isn't about one or two small businesses being forced out.

That block you're referring to with the gym and everything is subject to a proposal by Truman and Co-op to put two 19 storey towers and a grocery store there (440 units + 660 stall underground parkade capacity). The current cap on height in the area is 6 storeys.

People ought to accept this area is just going to remain in permanent construction mode forever, and treat it accordingly. What's the point making walking and biking infrastructure more accommodating to pedestrians if towers and utility work is ALWAYS going on? Poor planning.

[Cecil Terwilliger]

Originally Posted by Table 5

I know all the work they are doing is aimed to make it a better place for the people who live in, or close to, the neighbourhood... but as a place to visit for outsiders, there's not a lot of incentive there to visit. It's been a non-stop construction zone for years, parking is a hassle, and it doesn't necessarily offer anything particularly unique that I can't get elsewhere. There are other more accessible cool nodes in town, and Marda Loop is just not really worth the headache.

The thing about all of the handwringing when it comes to these improvements is that I don’t think Marta Loop was that attractive place to visit before. It’s been a traffic nightmare for years. It’s been a parking nightmare for years.

Businesses acting like this is all because of construction is missing the mark a bit. The neighborhood had reached a tipping point. It was no longer a desirable location because it’s not in a great location. It has limited transit access and isn’t walkable except the adjacent neighborhoods.

Places like 17th, mission and Kensington have multiple options, including bus/train, plus plentiful space for parking nearby and multiple access points.

This was a damned if they do and damned if they don’t. The city spends three years revitalizing the area to make it more friendly to visitors and the businesses complain because of the construction. But if they done nothing the neighbourhood still would’ve failed because people were already gonna stop going there because it was such a nightmare to get in and out of or find parking.

Marda loop was always better as the city’s best kept secret. Like many other things in life the minute it became too popular it started to suck.

I do feel bad for the business owners who had businesses fail but I think this might help reset the thought process around Marda loop as a destination.

[calgarygeologist]

One thing that bothers me immensely about the Marda Loop development is some of the really stupid decisions that the city makes such as installing cobble stones on some of the streets. It is terrible for cycling on, it is terrible for driving on and it will be terrible for maintenance and upkeep and probably for snow removal.

[Bill Bumface]

Originally Posted by calgarygeologist

One thing that bothers me immensely about the Marda Loop development is some of the really stupid decisions that the city makes such as installing cobble stones on some of the streets. It is terrible for cycling on, it is terrible for driving on and it will be terrible for maintenance and upkeep and probably for snow removal.

I think they look great. Not sure if they used the same material, but I used to bike commute down 3rd street SW downtown every day, and it's completely fine to bike on and also seemed completely fine for snow removal.

Almost like the people that do this stuff for a living know a bit about what they're doing in some cases.

No question the construction is a mess, but they all got told to optimize for budget above all else because that's what voters say they want.

[Shazam]

It is not the same material.

The construction is two years behind.

[Jiri Hrdina]

The people of Marda Loop are part of the problem, because at times they complain about EVERYTHING, and come off as quite entitled. They don't like that their neighborhood is changing in any way, shape or form. Broadly speaking, I support investing in building up to reduce building out and increasing the urban sprawl, and a lot of folks in this area want none of that.

They would be well served to get organized and focused on their primary concerns, and really try to influence that. As it stands sometimes it comes off as "we don't like any of this". And you aren't going to be effective with that type of thing.

[Slava]

Originally Posted by Jiri Hrdina

The people of Marda Loop are part of the problem, because at times they complain about EVERYTHING, and come off as quite entitled. They don't like that their neighborhood is changing in any way, shape or form. Broadly speaking, I support investing in building up to reduce building out and increasing the urban sprawl, and a lot of folks in this area want none of that.

They would be well served to get organized and focused on their primary concerns, and really try to influence that. As it stands sometimes it comes off as "we don't like any of this". And you aren't going to be effective with that type of thing.

Sure, that could be a piece of it. Have you tried driving there though? It’s completely ridiculous. I don’t live there and don’t go there very often because it’s incredibly inconvenient. It sure seems like living close to this would be less than ideal.

[Jiri Hrdina]

Originally Posted by Slava

Sure, that could be a piece of it. Have you tried driving there though? It’s completely ridiculous. I don’t live there and don’t go there very often because it’s incredibly inconvenient. It sure seems like living close to this would be less than ideal.

Oh yeah for sure. I live in the area. Well now I live in Killarney but close enough, but before I lived in garrison.

But that's my point. Focus on that issue for your advocacy. It's the biggest problem and also the issue impacting local businesses.

But the community is allowing themselves to get distracted by a long list of their other gripes.

[edslunch]

Originally Posted by Jiri Hrdina

The people of Marda Loop are part of the problem, because at times they complain about EVERYTHING, and come off as quite entitled. They don't like that their neighborhood is changing in any way, shape or form. Broadly speaking, I support investing in building up to reduce building out and increasing the urban sprawl, and a lot of folks in this area want none of that.

They would be well served to get organized and focused on their primary concerns, and really try to influence that. As it stands sometimes it comes off as "we don't like any of this". And you aren't going to be effective with that type of thing.

Which is quite ironic given that many (most?) people live in housing that was built relatively recently, tearing down the original bungalow stock. We were the first house on our block to do major renos on our bungalow 20 years ago, now we’re one of the last bungalows left.

[edslunch]

Originally Posted by calgarygeologist

One thing that bothers me immensely about the Marda Loop development is some of the really stupid decisions that the city makes such as installing cobble stones on some of the streets. It is terrible for cycling on, it is terrible for driving on and it will be terrible for maintenance and upkeep and probably for snow removal.

It’s literally just the streets surrounding one block, a block which is designated for street festivals, etc. Also the one block that is injecting new life into the neighbourhood with bars, cafes, restaurants, and a brewery.

[chemgear]

The City of Calgary had a tent at the Marda Gras street festival today lol. They're claiming that the current construction might finish in October now after all the delays through 2023-2025.

They had a map and were trying to present the next phases of additional construction that they were now planning towards the east of what they've done so far.

And they did finally put up a sign on that new parking area they took over last month. Definitely not doing a good job getting the word out on the new lot, there was maybe 6 cars in the entire lot over lunch even in the midst of the street festival with thousands of people out.