Calgary's new gated, island community

[MrMastodonFarm]

Originally Posted by nik-

Not all cities are ridiculously safe like Calgary

Let him answer.

[edslunch]

Politicians and real estate developers have figured out that fear sells I guess

[nik-]

Originally Posted by MrMastodonFarm

Let him answer.

His answer will be about Phoenix's awesome weather compared to Calgary.

[Fighting Banana Slug]

I'd rather not live in a city which thinks gated communities is a good idea. I understood city council felt the same way, and discussed a ban on them, but for whatever reason, allowed for these exceptions.
Understood that it isn't that big of a deal, but on what grounds does one justify a gated community in this city?

[undercoverbrother]

I told my buddy about this community, he is moving here from South Africa in January.


He laughed and laughed and laughed.

[J epworth]

Okay, I did actually just think of a reason why a gate to this street would be beneficial that no one has said. When my parents lived on McKenzie Lake, we would have every week people coming through our backyard to get onto the lake. It was pretty close to the beach so you would have people using it to get friends from outside of McKenzie into the lake for the day, either to skate in the winter, or swim or play tennis in the summer. I guess a gate to the street would make that tough to do. Personally we didn't care, as long as they didn't use our rink right after we had flooded it, but living on the lake you expect a certain bit of invasion of privacy, so getting a gate gives a bit of that privacy back?

[Jordan!]

Originally Posted by MrMastodonFarm

Let him answer.

Because Calgary is extremely safe, what more do you need to know from me? If it's for a sense of exclusivity I get that. But there's no way this gated community is for crime prevention.

[MrMastodonFarm]

Originally Posted by Bouw N Arrow

Because Calgary is extremely safe, what more do you need to know from me? If it's for a sense of exclusivity I get that. But there's no way this gated community is for crime prevention.

Which is true about all North American cities. Agreed.

I wonder if there will be armed guards?

[burn_this_city]

I always thought the one in McKenzie Lake was there to keep people from gaining access to the lake.

[Locke]

Originally Posted by MrMastodonFarm

Which is true about all North American cities. Agreed.

I wonder if there will be armed guards?

Oh...I dont know about that. Safer than some places sure, but Canada and especially Calgary arent even in the same Galaxy as most North American cities in terms of safety.

[RougeUnderoos]

Originally Posted by rain_e

If I could afford it I'd buy on the island. The gate would be nice to keep all the jealous people from driving onto my street.

Jealously doesn't have anything to do with it. Pastel McMansions on a tiny spit of land in the boonies aren't exactly impressive in Calgary.

Hell, if you want to go gawk at where the rich people live, there are much nicer places in town that you won't need a magic garage door opener to visit.

If these people are going to be paying the upkeep for their moat and gate then I really don't care. There ain't nothing there I want to see or need to visit. It's not a good precedent though.

Going by the looks of the photo,it's going to be full of shallow, stagnant water generously fed by large, fertilized lawns. Maybe they'll call it the Blue Algae Canal in the future.

[Keselke]

Originally Posted by RougeUnderoos

Jealously doesn't have anything to do with it. Pastel McMansions on a tiny spit of land in the boonies aren't exactly impressive in Calgary.

Hell, if you want to go gawk at where the rich people live, there are much nicer places in town that you won't need a magic garage door opener to visit.

If these people are going to be paying the upkeep for their moat and gate then I really don't care. There ain't nothing there I want to see or need to visit. It's not a good precedent though.

Going by the looks of the photo,it's going to be full of shallow, stagnant water generously fed by large, fertilized lawns. Maybe they'll call it the Blue Algae Canal in the future.

You sound genuinely upset, not sure how someone can possibly care this much

[4X4]

Hilarious to read just how upset some of you people are getting. Not just the CP haters of anything outside of the inner city, but there's even a Councillor dropping the d-word about it? The lake was already built. If anything, you'd think that people would be happy that there's a bit more density going in there. 22 extra "pastel McMansions". lol.

It baffles me how people can be so vehement about where everyone else should live. As if the people moving in to that dorky island are doing it because they're scared of crime. It's because there's a gate. Hello. Is it really that hard to understand? A few people get a little badge on their chest. Who the f*** cares? Where's the outrage for building a penthouse on the top of a condo building, instead of 6 more condos?

Seriously, there are really bad drivers out there to whine about. You people have your priorities all screwed up.

[MrMastodonFarm]

Originally Posted by Locke

Oh...I dont know about that. Safer than some places sure, but Canada and especially Calgary arent even in the same Galaxy as most North American cities in terms of safety.

Yeah, I know that. Just don't think a gated community offers much in the way of real security. Find it pretty absurd in general.

[Sr. Mints]

The whole conversation surrounding gated communities is interesting to me. There seem to be a lot of assumptions and people jumping to conclusions, comparisons to ‘big scary American cities’ and antisocial covenants for the super rich. I don’t know about this new island-based one, but I can provide some insights on gated communities . . .

My mom lives in one, just off the corner of Northmount Dr. and 14 St. NW. It was built in the late 80s/early 90s. The gate's original purpose was to keep churchgoers from parking along the street, as well as keep students from St Francis high school from parking there (which seems to becoming more of a concern with each passing year.)

I lived there for about a year in 2012, and from my own experience, the gate is nothing but a pain in the ass when you're expecting a package, waiting for a taxi, expecting company, etc. Many of the residents know this, and would prefer if there were no gate. However, as I mentioned, parking issues are a concern. I’ll touch on this more in a second.

I'm sure some residents feel as though there's something of a social cachet that comes with living in a gated community, but there are probably hundreds of communities that have their own prestige and alluring qualities that makes living there desirable. You pick and chose what you want. I know from my own observations, the majority of people living in that community are more concerned with its inner city location, access to transit, schools, etc. The gate just doesn’t seem like a factor.

In fact, the community my mom moved out of—Rosedale—was becoming more “######baggy” (haha, thanks, Gian-Carlo!) in the last decade: homes with humungous footprints, four-car garages, and ten-foot fences were popping up seemingly every day. The sense of community changed from what it was for the ~30 years my family lived there. Not necessarily changed for the worse—it’s all about perspective and what you’re after.

The gated community my mom is in now pays for all the maintenance of the roads, has private garbage collection, snow shovelling services, etc., which are quite exorbitant--especially when you factor in about half of of the residents are original owners, (i.e. seniors), not "super rich." Additionally, the road running through is really beginning to show its age. Replacing it will likely require a massive cash-call for the residents. Not to mention, driveways are in need of replacement, and concrete ain’t cheap . . .

There has been condo board-talk of removing the gate one day, apparently, but the issue of parking enforcement is a stickler. I know just today the gate was replaced for about the fourth time since my mom has lived there (six years.)

The people living there are just, y'know, normal people. Not people out to change the very social fabric of the city. Seems there's a bit of tilting at windmills going on with some of our councillors. (Hi, Druh. Hi, Gian-Carlo!)

[RougeUnderoos]

Originally Posted by Keselke

You sound genuinely upset, not sure how someone can possibly care this much

You seem genuinely confused. My first comment was about the inflammatory and idiotic headline in the Huffington Post, and then I said "if they are paying for it, I don't really care". Not sure how someone can read that so poorly.

[stampsx2]

How is this any different then any condo? Security at the front doors, swipe cards to get in parkades and sometimes even in elevators.

An hour long commute? I work in the deep south and don't know anyone in the office who lives outside of the deep south. It's a 10 minute commute max. Not everyone who lives in the deep south or deep north works downtown. Malls, hospitals, police, city workers all have offices all over the city for their employees. Plus quarry park if i need to mention that.

Personally I wouldn't live in a gated community because the gates a hassle but to each his own.

[Zarley]

I'm a latte sipping inner city snob who wouldn't be caught dead living in a suburban wasteland like Mahogany, but when you think about it there's absolutely no difference between this gated community and a typical high rise condo. It's a bit ridiculous considering that this is Calgary and not St. Louis or New Orleans, but I don't think there's any reasonable rationale to oppose it.

[ranchlandsselling]

There's a gated townhouse community in the sw, around westside rec centre, on the west side of that north south road.

[Temporary_User]

Originally Posted by MrMastodonFarm

Which is true about all North American cities. Agreed.

I wonder if there will be armed guards?

You do know Mexico is in North America right? Tons of unsafe cities in that country.