CentreCity

Urban Gondolas in Calgary Interview

 

(photo - www.alttransport.com) 

 

The sky was the limit for Calgarians this afternoon at a lecture about urban gondolas. A proponent of this transportation system, Steven Dale came to Calgary to share his unique ideas about urban gondolas in a bustling city setting. He thinks it's definitely a worthwhile system to consider - one that would do a great job of bypassing the usual traffic woes in a busy downtown core.

Before his lunchtime talk at Fort Calgary, he sat down for an interview with the Calgary Eyeopener's David Gray on CBC radio. Click here to find the interview within the show's February 15th podcast. Give it a listen when you have a moment; it's an interesting chat, part of their discussion was around viability in a city like ours.

What do you think? Would you like to see a gondola here in Calgary? Leave us a comment on the blog.

 

 

Urban Gondolas

(Funchal Cable car photo by "DeadmanJones") 

Many people typically envision gondolas as ski lifts and midway rides...but some city planners are singing the praises of urban gondola systems as being the next big thing in transportation. This unique, cost-effective way of moving people around is being explored next week in Calgary. Imagine looking up and seeing those in our skyline!

Steven Dale is the founding principal of Creative Urban Projects and he's presenting a talk called, Urban Gondolas: Just one piece of the transportation pie is happening at Fort Calgary (750 9th Ave. SE) Wednesday February 15th between noon and 1p.m.

Dale will be talking about how these systems work in with a "multi-modal transportation system" and how it may complement Calgary's layout. Dale brings with him a great perpsective on how urban gondolas have been utilized in other parts of the world. 

To read more about Steven Dale, check out his "The Gondola Project" website here. 

Event info: 

Registration time: 11:30am Event: 12 -1 pm

Members: $25/Non-Members: $30 (includes lunch)APPI Student Members: $15

Location: Fort Calgary, 750 9th Ave SE, Calgary

Registration Information: Seats are reserved upon receipt of payment. Payment should be made by noon Friday, February 10, 2012. Cash or cheques only. Cheques should be made payable to APPI and delivered to Ken Melanson at: The City of Calgary P.O. Box 2100, Stn. M #8073, T2P 2M5 (courier deliveries- 800 Macleod Trail South, 3rd Floor). 

Wayfinding in our Centre City

 

 

Wayfinding is the next best thing to having a  guided tour of the city by a proud Calgarian. And the good news is that The City of Calgary is working on a wayfinding system for our Centre City!

What is Wayfinding?

It's an intuitive and simple set of signs that connect a common "look, language and logic." This wayfinding system will highlight key attractions in our Centre City for visitors and Calgarians - anyone who lives, works or plays here that wants to explore.

A Great Way to Tell a City's Story

The City’s Graham Gerylo has been working on the wayfinding program. He explains, "What we're looking at is developing a comprehensive program - a unified way of communicating all of those great places we have in our Centre City - including parks, shopping districts, art venues, +15 routes, landmarks, etc. - in a consistent and recognizable way. It’s a way to enhance the experience of visiting the area."

Gerylo points out that this wayfinding system will bring some high quality architectural signage to the street level - to those who want a clear idea of what's around them - of what's easy to get to by foot, bike or public transit.

 

Sustainable Signage

The signs will be appealing to the eye (they have a clean modern look and feel); they will also be built to last and to endure our temperamental weather. On top of that, they'll be designed so they're easy to update content-wise which is obviously a smart sustainable move.

The idea is that the cost of the wayfinding signs will be returned  in visitor dollars spent in our Centre City. Gerylo notes, "We will have confident and comfortable visitors that are exploring the core more, spending more as they're exploring and leaving Calgary with a positive and memorable visitor experience." He adds that this translates to those visitors going home to share their great experiences with others: "And you know, they might not say the signs made the experience for them but the signs definitely will have helped them achieve that experience...so certainly there's a large return in investment component there."

 

 

Looking Ahead

Another interesting aspect to this proposed wayfinding system is that there are myriad tech possibilities that can be built in the future to complement the information.

Gerylo says, "You can use this same content if you are looking to develop a geocache app, for instance. ...and because the artwork is available, different groups may be able to access this information to create, say, a mobile shopping application and start to identify specialty shops on key streets in Centre City." So the opportunity is there for others to grab that data and start to create their own wayfinding communications which only adds to the whole positive CC experience.

Gerylo says the hope is to have the signs in place in time for most of the 2012 Cultural Capital celebrations in our city this coming summer. Calgary is the Cultural Capital of Canada this year and that means visitor numbers are expected to increase. It's also the Calgary Stampede's 100th birthday. Gerylo says they'd like to start putting some of the signs up by June.

 Let us know what you think of this idea. Leave us a comment if you have a moment.

'Tis the Season: Late Night Ride Home Stands

 

Watch this SHAW video for the latest on the Late Night Ride Home Stands.

These  taxi stands operate from 10 pm - 3 am in the Centre City on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights. A great choice during the holiday party season, or any other season!

 

 

So remember, whether you're driving or looking for a cab - look for these signs!

 

'Tis the Season: Late Night Ride Home Stands

Hey - have you spotted one of these signs in the Centre City?

 

 

It's the sign for the the Late Night Ride Home Stands (designated areas where taxis can line-up and wait for customers). Twelve of them are located in the Centre City (downtown and surrounding neighbourhoods).

 

These taxi stands are conveniently located near restaurants, theatres and bars and are in operation every Thursday, Friday and Saturday night between the hours of 10 p.m. and 3 a.m. A map of stand locations is available at centrecitytalk.com (or see them below).

 

As the holiday season gets underway, The City of Calgary is reminding citizens they can catch a safe and convenient ride home at one of the Centre City’s Late Night Ride Home Stands.

  

We are also reminding Calgarians to pay close attention to parking signage to avoid parking in the Late Night Ride Home Stands. Drivers who park their cars in these taxi stands during operating hours will be ticketed and towed. By leaving these zones free for taxis, you help ensure Calgarians have a safe ride home.

 

This initiative is part of a larger effort being made by The City of Calgary to take a pro-active approach to ensure our Centre City continues to be a vibrant and safe place to work, visit, live and play during the evening and early morning hours.

The Late Night Ride Home Stand program is brought to you through the collaborative efforts of The City of Calgary, the taxi industry and the business community.

Peace Bridge Project Update

We've seen illustrations of what it would look like and now we get to see the Peace Bridge almost entirely in place. It's truly a sight to behold:

(Peace Bridge photo by Leighton Klassen, CBC)

...and on such a grey day, that vibrant color and wonderful helix shape over the Bow river is a great addition to our Centre City.

Graham Construction slowly pushed the Peace Bridge across the temporary bridge structure along a rail system. It has been quite the process to witness this week.The pedestrian bridge is in its final construction stretch and is slated to open early 2012.

If you're out and about this weekend, you should definitely ride or walk by it to check it out.

To read more about the Peace Bridge project in the Centre City, click here and here.

4th Street Underpass Now Open

 

It's official - life is about to get a whole lot easier (and lovelier) for thousands of Calgarians. The sun shone down like a bright, happy welcome mat at the 4th Street SE underpass grand opening today in our Centre City.

The underpass has been a while in the works and it means East Village and Victoria Park will now be linked, generating new commuter and pedestrian flow, shortening travel times, and generally just contributing to a vibrant atmosphere in our city.

The $70 million dollar project sits right across from the future home of the National Music Centre and down the street from Stampede Park. The underpass is bright, inviting and functional beyond belief. It certainly sets the bar for any future underpass redevelopment in Calgary. We're very proud of Calgary Municipal Land Corporation and the many teams at The City for making this happen!

One of those teams is the Urban Design group. During the early stages of this project, the Urban Design team brainstormed with architect, Bill Marshall of Marshall Tittemore Architects, and came up with an inspiring collection of public realm ideas - the basis of which you'll see reflected in the underpass today! (This team is also behind the Downtown Underpass Urban Design Guidelines, feel free to check them out.)

Here are a few photos from the opening event today:

 

And here's what some stakeholders are saying about the new underpass: "Both Beltline and East Village benefit from the new 4th Street SE underpass. So do all Calgarians. Now everywhere in east downtown connects to the rest of Centre City as well as to communities north and east," says Beltline Communities President Rob Taylor. "On top of it all, the underpass is wide and functional and beautifully designed. CMLC did a great job." 

And for more information about the overpass, click here. You can also see a few videos (below)  about the underpass, courtesy of evexperience.com  and Calgary City Newsroom

 

 

Check out some of the buzz we found on Twitter today about the underpass - lots of photos here as well. 

Super Mario CTrain Map

Sometimes we come across something so amazing - there are simply no words necessary.

So without further discussion, we now present to you, Super Mario 3-style CTrain Map via Dave Delisle at Davesgeekyideas.com: CLICK HERE and prepare to have your inner transit/videogame nerd fully satisfied.

 

High-Fives for Being Fifth Most Livable City!

(photo by Stephenccwu)

We've always heard talk from folks all over who think Calgary is a pretty amazing city in which to live...and now it's being confirmed: turns out we're the fifth greatest city in the world to live and we're proud of it!

The Economist Intelligence Unit says we ranked fifth out of 140 cities in their livability survey this year. We're in good company with Toronto (4th) and Vancouver (3rd) just ahead of us; Vienna takes 2nd place and Melbourne takes first. 

Great news for us all. Let's pat each other on the back because after all, it takes great people to make a great city. What do you think is our secret to being such a livable city? We'd love to hear your thoughts so leave a comment when you have a moment. 

To read the full breakdown of the livability rankings, click here. For GlobalTV's news report, click here. 

Images From Chinatown Mural Bus Wrap Launch

Starting this week, keep your eyes peeled for this great looking bus in our Centre City:

(the route 301 Calgary Transit bus in all of its glorious wrap - looking great)

The bus wrap is meant to showcase many of the murals and cultural highlights of our much-beloved Chinatown. The project was launched Wednesday and it's a great way to get people talking about the art and buildings and parks in Chinatown that bring us all together. To read more about the Chinatown Mural project, click here and here. This project is made possible by Calgary Transit, the Calgary Chinese Community Association (CCCSA), and the Pattison Group.

(a sample of what you'll see inside the Chinatown wrapped bus on route 301)