Sleep in a bit. Brew some coffee. Lazily sit down with my TGCTS mug and read the Sunday morning newspaper.
!!!
Oh yeah there is no Sunday morning newspaper.
Siiigh. Since I don't feel like driving to the corner store to pay for one, I suppose I'll sit here on the internet and consume my news for free. It's abundant, free, and relevant.
It's too bad really, there is something about that newsprint paper....
No worries. Thankfully, the abundantly free content is available everywhere. I can still read the Winnipeg news because of a couple dozen blogs, twitter, and the Winnipeg Sun website. Then hop across the pond for my worldwide news with the BBC, quick reads with the Guardian and Telegraph. Then settle in for some eyebrow-raising-head-shaking entertainment with Alex Jones. I can stop at other sites such as Antiwar, Gawker, or the New York Times if I so please.
Commence: reading.
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Growth, growth...more....growth...
So there were 1907 single-family starts this year, there were 2757 single family starts last year, according to that article.
That makes for 4664 single-family starts in two years.
That's new suburbs. That's Sage Creek. That's Island Lakes. It's Amber Trails, Whyte Ridge, Waverly West, whatever else there is.
That's new growth, new population growth, and it all happens, on the fringes, on the outside, suburban communities, with plenty of free parking and easy access to highways to take them to the malls.
For those of you who believe that I think you should be FORCED to live downtown, the reality is far from that. The reality is the opposite. People are FORCED to live in houses, and get a car, because that's all that gets built, on the fringes in the suburbs. Apartment vacancy is less than 1%, and the last time somebody wanted to build an apartment tower downtown, they were stopped by a bunch of hypocritical fruitcakes stuffed into the back pockets of Gary Doer.
As a result, the vacancy rate stays at 1% or less as new homes are built and I'm supposed to believe that the path to saving downtown is to address a PARKING PROBLEM?!
WHY should someone from the suburbs come downtown? WHY?! What's THERE for them?! They've got everything they want and MORE in the closest mall and surrounding shopping centres, including FREE parking, and SANS CRIME FEARS!
We spend so much time trying to figure out what the best way is to "revitalize" downtown, which buildings to tear down and make into parkades, where a new arena or stadium will go and how it will revitalize the neighborhood, which other building to tear down and make into a parkade, how to make Downtown Winnipeg, the Forms of suburban demands. The perfect, perfect suburban dweller shopping experience.
As I said in my previous post, the similarities between shopping malls and downtown are too great to ignore. And they are. Downtown practically shuts down after 6pm. The endless fields and pockets of parking, empty, just like a mall after 9pm. People don't go downtown to eat or shop, even though after 6pm, there's plenty, plenty, plenty of parking, after the 9-5'rs have all gone home.
Why do our political leaders and pundits insist that the best plan to help downtown is to address a parking problem? Downtown is not for these people, it hasn't been for decades and it isn't going to change anytime soon.
When the number of parking spaces outnumbers the amount of residences downtown, you know where your problem is. Shift the goddamn course of action! Downtowns are, by their definition, URBAN ENVIRONMENTS. As in more URB and less SUB. More PEEPS and less PARK.
Mayor Sam, I think, should ask himself, "what is the tipping point for downtown?" As in, how many people have to live in our downtown in order for it to transform itself? How can we offer the best URBAN experience? (Hint: it has nothing to do with cars, or parking).
It doesn't matter how much parking there is. It doesn't matter which super-mega-project you build. It doesn't matter how many bike lanes you paint on the roads. Downtown. Will. Not. Change. Until MORE PEOPLE live there.
Can we at least give people a choice? Almost 100% of new starts and construction outside of downtown, is not a choice. You're forcing me, I'm not forcing you.
That makes for 4664 single-family starts in two years.
That's new suburbs. That's Sage Creek. That's Island Lakes. It's Amber Trails, Whyte Ridge, Waverly West, whatever else there is.
That's new growth, new population growth, and it all happens, on the fringes, on the outside, suburban communities, with plenty of free parking and easy access to highways to take them to the malls.
For those of you who believe that I think you should be FORCED to live downtown, the reality is far from that. The reality is the opposite. People are FORCED to live in houses, and get a car, because that's all that gets built, on the fringes in the suburbs. Apartment vacancy is less than 1%, and the last time somebody wanted to build an apartment tower downtown, they were stopped by a bunch of hypocritical fruitcakes stuffed into the back pockets of Gary Doer.
As a result, the vacancy rate stays at 1% or less as new homes are built and I'm supposed to believe that the path to saving downtown is to address a PARKING PROBLEM?!
WHY should someone from the suburbs come downtown? WHY?! What's THERE for them?! They've got everything they want and MORE in the closest mall and surrounding shopping centres, including FREE parking, and SANS CRIME FEARS!
We spend so much time trying to figure out what the best way is to "revitalize" downtown, which buildings to tear down and make into parkades, where a new arena or stadium will go and how it will revitalize the neighborhood, which other building to tear down and make into a parkade, how to make Downtown Winnipeg, the Forms of suburban demands. The perfect, perfect suburban dweller shopping experience.
As I said in my previous post, the similarities between shopping malls and downtown are too great to ignore. And they are. Downtown practically shuts down after 6pm. The endless fields and pockets of parking, empty, just like a mall after 9pm. People don't go downtown to eat or shop, even though after 6pm, there's plenty, plenty, plenty of parking, after the 9-5'rs have all gone home.
Why do our political leaders and pundits insist that the best plan to help downtown is to address a parking problem? Downtown is not for these people, it hasn't been for decades and it isn't going to change anytime soon.
When the number of parking spaces outnumbers the amount of residences downtown, you know where your problem is. Shift the goddamn course of action! Downtowns are, by their definition, URBAN ENVIRONMENTS. As in more URB and less SUB. More PEEPS and less PARK.
Mayor Sam, I think, should ask himself, "what is the tipping point for downtown?" As in, how many people have to live in our downtown in order for it to transform itself? How can we offer the best URBAN experience? (Hint: it has nothing to do with cars, or parking).
It doesn't matter how much parking there is. It doesn't matter which super-mega-project you build. It doesn't matter how many bike lanes you paint on the roads. Downtown. Will. Not. Change. Until MORE PEOPLE live there.
Can we at least give people a choice? Almost 100% of new starts and construction outside of downtown, is not a choice. You're forcing me, I'm not forcing you.
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Downtown BIZ in Fantasy Land?
I just finished reading Stefano Grande's op-ed piece today on parkades and downtown.
Here's an ugly quote about the ugly stepchild:
Modern parkades are multi-functional, architecturally significant, and service oriented, providing a helping hand to people on the run, and access to key areas of the downtown.
I will remind Grande that I remain a skeptic, as a multitude of various peoples attempted to convince me, and the rest of Winnipeg, that the parkade at the WRHA building on Main Street would be architecturally pleasing and add to the streetscape.
It does not.
That is the most recent example, there it is right there, THAT is a MODERN parkade in Winnipeg! Nor should I have to remind anybody about how City Council approved the demolition of the Grain Exchange Annex even though the parkade did not infringe one millimetre on the Annex footprint.
There was your chance, Grande. That's what you're talking about, right? Functional parkades providing services, closely integrated, to create an engaging shopping and commercial district. Could the Annex not have been integrated into the proposed parkade?
Chalk another loss up for downtown.
This op-ed piece is perhaps 5 months too late. Did it only occur to the BIZ that "Fantasy Parkades" could exist once the Mayor started talking about how surface parking lots have to go?
Lastly, the quote from this op-ed piece "no one comes downtown just to park," is hard to ignore, as 20% of downtown's surface area IS parking. True maybe, nobody comes downtown just to park. But nobody goes to Polo Park mall just to park, either.
The similarities between downtown and a suburban shopping mall are too numerous to ignore.
Here's an ugly quote about the ugly stepchild:
Modern parkades are multi-functional, architecturally significant, and service oriented, providing a helping hand to people on the run, and access to key areas of the downtown.
I will remind Grande that I remain a skeptic, as a multitude of various peoples attempted to convince me, and the rest of Winnipeg, that the parkade at the WRHA building on Main Street would be architecturally pleasing and add to the streetscape.
It does not.
That is the most recent example, there it is right there, THAT is a MODERN parkade in Winnipeg! Nor should I have to remind anybody about how City Council approved the demolition of the Grain Exchange Annex even though the parkade did not infringe one millimetre on the Annex footprint.
There was your chance, Grande. That's what you're talking about, right? Functional parkades providing services, closely integrated, to create an engaging shopping and commercial district. Could the Annex not have been integrated into the proposed parkade?
Chalk another loss up for downtown.
This op-ed piece is perhaps 5 months too late. Did it only occur to the BIZ that "Fantasy Parkades" could exist once the Mayor started talking about how surface parking lots have to go?
Lastly, the quote from this op-ed piece "no one comes downtown just to park," is hard to ignore, as 20% of downtown's surface area IS parking. True maybe, nobody comes downtown just to park. But nobody goes to Polo Park mall just to park, either.
The similarities between downtown and a suburban shopping mall are too numerous to ignore.
What's the war all for, anyway?
The BBC poses the question "Will the deployment of 30,000 US troops end the war in Afghanistan?"
My first question is, what is the war ABOUT?
My second question is, how do you define "winning" or "ending the war"?
My third question is, how does a peace prize-winning President commit another 30 000 troops to a new "surge" that will result in yet more innocent Middle Eastern deaths and more casualties?
My first question is, what is the war ABOUT?
My second question is, how do you define "winning" or "ending the war"?
My third question is, how does a peace prize-winning President commit another 30 000 troops to a new "surge" that will result in yet more innocent Middle Eastern deaths and more casualties?
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Matthew Good brings "Vancouver" to The Burt
Last night Matthew Good stopped in Winnipeg.
Photo courtesy of Alana.
Matt treated us to all but the title track off his new album (which is wonderful). Matt is one of my favourite artists and I am also a fan of his website which I read every day.
Although I thoroughly enjoyed the softer and warmer performance, I got the sense the audience expected Matt to magically bust out all his MGB material. The show started off with Matt and an acoustic guitar, performing the intro to Avalanche as his band members took the stage. He played a few new tracks before tuning up the rockage with Born Losers, then more tracks off of Vancouver before digging a little deeper.
Highlights for me were the closing song Volcanoes, and the encore closer Empty's Theme Park, which was re-worked a bit for the live performance which turned out super awesome.
Matthew Good at The Burt, November 21, 2009
Avalanche
On Nights Like Tonight
Great Whales of the Sea
Boy Who Could Explode
Born Losers
Fought To Fight It
"improvised polka"
Silent Army In The Trees
Black Helicopter
Last Parade
Apparitions
Weapon
Volcanoes
* * * *
Giant
Us Remains Impossible
Empty's Theme Park
Anyone who was there of course share your thoughts.
Photo courtesy of Alana.
Matt treated us to all but the title track off his new album (which is wonderful). Matt is one of my favourite artists and I am also a fan of his website which I read every day.
Although I thoroughly enjoyed the softer and warmer performance, I got the sense the audience expected Matt to magically bust out all his MGB material. The show started off with Matt and an acoustic guitar, performing the intro to Avalanche as his band members took the stage. He played a few new tracks before tuning up the rockage with Born Losers, then more tracks off of Vancouver before digging a little deeper.
Highlights for me were the closing song Volcanoes, and the encore closer Empty's Theme Park, which was re-worked a bit for the live performance which turned out super awesome.
Matthew Good at The Burt, November 21, 2009
Avalanche
On Nights Like Tonight
Great Whales of the Sea
Boy Who Could Explode
Born Losers
Fought To Fight It
"improvised polka"
Silent Army In The Trees
Black Helicopter
Last Parade
Apparitions
Weapon
Volcanoes
* * * *
Giant
Us Remains Impossible
Empty's Theme Park
Anyone who was there of course share your thoughts.
Saturday, November 21, 2009
Gosh-gee-whillickers
In Kives' article on the IKEA development today:
Fairweather wants to create some form of shopping destination that will be unique in the Winnipeg market and draw in tourists from across Manitoba and neighbouring states and provinces.
How is it that this city and developers and citizens and politicians alike can get so excited and so into all these new buildings and new development and everything? How is it that FAIRWEATHER knows how to develop something people want to go to?
Let's change the above italicized statement into what should be coming out of City Hall:
City Council wants to create some form of shopping destination that will be unique in the Winnipeg market and draw in tourists from across Manitoba and neighbouring states and provinces.
Gosh-gee-whillickers! And look at all that historical architecture and empty surface parking lots just WAITING to be turned into a destination for Winnipeggers aaaand tourists!
But who am I kidding. It's easier to build on empty land by a suburb anyway.
Fairweather wants to create some form of shopping destination that will be unique in the Winnipeg market and draw in tourists from across Manitoba and neighbouring states and provinces.
How is it that this city and developers and citizens and politicians alike can get so excited and so into all these new buildings and new development and everything? How is it that FAIRWEATHER knows how to develop something people want to go to?
Let's change the above italicized statement into what should be coming out of City Hall:
City Council wants to create some form of shopping destination that will be unique in the Winnipeg market and draw in tourists from across Manitoba and neighbouring states and provinces.
Gosh-gee-whillickers! And look at all that historical architecture and empty surface parking lots just WAITING to be turned into a destination for Winnipeggers aaaand tourists!
But who am I kidding. It's easier to build on empty land by a suburb anyway.
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
It's a makeover alright
This Qualico-Nygard deal that came up yesterday sure is jolly great news.
Of course whenever there is jolly great news about downtown there is usually something about parking.
What about parking?
The Qualico official said the city is considering building a 450-stall parkade on a property adjacent to the development, although a city spokesperson would neither confirm nor deny that. But the Qualico official said the company is also looking at other parking options, so the project could proceed even without the city parkade.
Well well. Here's your chance, City Hall. Here's the golden opportunity, Mr Browaty. At long last, all the people who can't find parking downtown. There are surface lots right behind all these buildings. Where else would there be a better place than to build a parkade right behind all these retrofitted buildings, on a surface lot no less!
It would service not only the East Exchange but an area that actually DOES desperately need parking. Namely the "Theatre District." A parkade at that location would service the Concert Hall, Pantages, MTC and the Warehouse.
As Patrick commented on this post of mine, 20% of downtown is surface lots. Yet we knock down a building every time we want to build a parkade.
If everyone agrees that Downtown is a vast sea of surface parking lots then why is anything never done about it? Every time somebody starts talking about new parkades downtown it involves blowing something up first. Here's a golden opportunity to make that 20% more like 19%
Of course whenever there is jolly great news about downtown there is usually something about parking.
What about parking?
The Qualico official said the city is considering building a 450-stall parkade on a property adjacent to the development, although a city spokesperson would neither confirm nor deny that. But the Qualico official said the company is also looking at other parking options, so the project could proceed even without the city parkade.
Well well. Here's your chance, City Hall. Here's the golden opportunity, Mr Browaty. At long last, all the people who can't find parking downtown. There are surface lots right behind all these buildings. Where else would there be a better place than to build a parkade right behind all these retrofitted buildings, on a surface lot no less!
It would service not only the East Exchange but an area that actually DOES desperately need parking. Namely the "Theatre District." A parkade at that location would service the Concert Hall, Pantages, MTC and the Warehouse.
As Patrick commented on this post of mine, 20% of downtown is surface lots. Yet we knock down a building every time we want to build a parkade.
If everyone agrees that Downtown is a vast sea of surface parking lots then why is anything never done about it? Every time somebody starts talking about new parkades downtown it involves blowing something up first. Here's a golden opportunity to make that 20% more like 19%
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