East Village: Lust of the new playground
As tempting as it is, one of the key lessons to learn when judging new public spaces, retail developments or communities is not to judge them too quickly.
Too often when a new playground, park, restaurant or store opens it is very popular for the first few years and then the popularity wanes.
I was reminded of this lesson one Sunday this summer when I visited East Village in the morning and Eau Claire in the afternoon.
Eau Claire Market when it first opened was very animated with market stalls, cafe, restaurants, patios, cinemas and Calgary's first IMAX.
East Village's Riverwalk has become a popular meeting place.
Eau Claire's River Promenade is enjoyed by thousands at noon hour on weekends and all day on weekends.
Lust of the new playground
It was delightful to see all the families enjoying the pebble beach area of St. Patrick’s Island and the other areas of East Village, Calgary's new urban playground. The two and half year old I went with loved it as did his parents - so much so his parents took him back there after his afternoon nap that same day.
East Village's Riverwalk was also animated - people walking, cycling and boarding along the promenade, as well as playing PokemonGo (whose popularity was at its peak). The area around the Simmons Building was literally packed with people.
It is great to see East Village come alive after years of dormancy. However, I wonder will this last, or is it just the “lust of the new?”
What will happen when the marketing and programming funding is no longer available and it become just another of Calgary’s 200+ communities? Fortunately Calgary Municipal Land Corporation will continue to fund and manage St. Patrick’s Park and all of the East Village public spaces until the end of the Community Revitalization levy term, which is 2027.
East Village's pebble beach.
Eau Claire's wadding pool.
Test Of Time
I remember when Eau Claire Market and Plaza (with wading pool) opened in the early ‘90s. It was a big hit. Then came the new Sheraton Hotel and Eau Claire Y, as well as a new office building. Prince’s Island got a makeover with a new stage for the Calgary Folk Festival, improved space for Shakespeare in the Park, River Café, enhancement of the lagoon and redevelopment of the eastern edge of the island as the Chevron Interpretive Trail.
New condos followed and there was even the creation of Barclay Mall with its wide sidewalk, large flower planters, trees, public art and a traffic-calming, snake-like road design linking to the downtown core and 7th Avenue transit corridor.
It seemed to be the perfect recipe for creating a mixed-use urban village. In the early ‘90s, everyone had great hopes Eau Claire would become a vibrant residential community on the edge of our central business district.
Sound Familar?
Fast forward to today - Eau Claire Market and plaza have been struggling for more than a decade and are now waiting for a mega makeover that will totally change the scale and dynamics of the Eau Claire community - for better or worse? Only time will tell.
The good news is Prince’s Island is thriving. As a member of the Prince’s Island Master Plan advisory committee in the mid ‘90s, I am pleased the renovations to the Island have proven very successful. There are no longer any complaints about the festival noise by the neighbours. The Island is able to nicely accommodate the main stage, as well as several smaller stages for workshops and a mega beer garden to create a special music festival experience. And yet, at the same time, the public is able to freely enjoy the eastern half of the island, the lagoon and the promenade.
So while Eau Claire Market, plaza and surrounding developments have failed to create a vibrant urban community, Prince’s Island has. Our hopes are now pinned on East Village.
Eau Claire's lagoon and pedestrian bridge.
East Village's river's edge and pedestrian bridge.
Eau Claire's other pedestrian bridge is also a playground.
Eau Claire's proximity and link to the downtown office core makes it a very attractive lunch spot.
Calgary’s best communities may surprise urbanists
I often say to people “don’t judge a new community until the trees are as tall as the houses.” It is interesting to look at old photos of some of Calgary’s inner city communities in the early 20st century. The Beltline and Mount Royal look exactly like Calgary’s new communities on the edge of the city today – huge homes with no trees.
Too often urbanists are quick to criticize Calgary’s new communities for their bland, beige, cookie-cutter architecture and lack of walkability. However, it takes decades for communities like Bridgeland and Inglewood or Lake Bonavista and Acadia to evolve into unique communities. The old cottage homes of Sunnyside, when they were built, were pretty much all the same but over time each has taken on a unique charm with paint, plants and renovations. Also as the trees have grown taller and broader, the streetscape has become less dominated by the houses.
It is interesting to look at Avenue Magazine’s Top 10 Calgary Neighbourhoods in 2016. Three are early 20th century communities – Beltline (#1), Hillhurst (#5) and Bridgeland/Riverside (#9). Three are mid-century communities – Brentwood (#2), Dalhousie (#3) and Acadia (#4) while four are late 20th century communities – Signal Hill (#6), Arbour Lake (#7), Riverbend (#8) and Scenic Acres (#10).
I doubt many urban advocates would have Brentwood, Dalhousie, Acadia, Signal Hill, Arbour Lake, Riverbend or Scenic Acres on their list of Calgary’s best communities given they don’t meet the density, mixed-use and walkable benchmarks.
One of the interesting results of the annual Leger (a research and marketing company survey commissioned by Avenue) was in 2015 respondents valued walkability as the most important attribute for a good neighbourhood, but in 2016, walkability dropped to #8. In 2016, the two most important elements of a good neighbourhood was access to parks/pathways and low crime rates.
I am often very suspect of survey results, as people will often respond to questions based on what they think they should say or do or what is trendy and not what their actual behaviour. People might say they want a walkable community, but that means different things to different people. For some it might be the ability to walk to the park or pathway; for others the ability to walk to most of their weekly activities. Walkability also depends on an individual’s lifestyle, family situation and commitment to walking (I know too many individuals in my neighbourhood who could walk to the gym or the squash courts but never do).
Eau Claire condos along the Bow River.
New condos next to Eau Claire Market.
Eau Claire office buildings add a weekday population that is missing in East Village.
Eau Claire's Sheraton Hotel.
I would venture to say the Eau Claire Y will attract as many people in a day as East Village's Bell Studio and perhaps the new Central Library. Time will tell.
Last Word
So, I plan to head my own advice and not judge new developments to quickly. I will reserve judgement on the success of St. Patrick’s Island, Simmons Building and East Village, Studio Bell and the new library for at least a decade.
I also am not prepared to judge Calgary’s experiments with creating more urban (mixed-use) new communities like SETON or Quarry Park for at least a decade.
And, I am also going to wait for a few years to judge if Calgary’s bike lane network is successful or not.
Note: An edited version of this blog was published in the Calgary Herald's New Condo section on Saturday, November, 12, 2016 titled "Don't Rush To Judgement On New Developments."
If you like this blog, you will like:
St. Patrick's Island: The Good, The Bad, The Nice
East Village: A Masterpiece In The Making