I'm especially interested in replies from those living in newly built communities themselves.
After consulting with City of Calgary Developmental Engineers for the last 6 months, I'd like to gather opinions from the public on how the newly built communities in Calgary are coping with their delegated infrastructure development. Of course, any and all opinions are valued.
My personal opinion can be summed up in 1 carefully chosen word : Insufficient.
It is the opinion of every arrogant city official that I've spoken to, that new communities such as Copperfield, Chaparal, etc ... Are being supplied with enough community resources to satisfy the residents. I'm quick to argue this point.
While I live in a FULLY developed community (grocery store, auto service, dining options, community hall), I think it's beyond laughable that a City Engineer (who lives in the downtown core) finds it "Satisfactory" that the residents of Copperfield are left with a gas station and liquor store until the year 2010. Even though some houses have been there for over 4 years. The people making these decisions haven't got a fucking clue as to what it's like to drive 12km to get groceries. Or drive your kids to school everyday.
I'm curious to see how people enjoy paying $500k for a basic home on the city limits, and then get stuck with a gas station, liquor store, and *maybe* a video store as amenities in their communities. Also consider that some of these communities haven't even had their major roads paved yet. No schools ... No healthcare facilities (hospitals are over an hour away!) ... No public recreational options ... Not even a bus route, let alone a C-Train station for 10km sometimes.
So are you happy having paid for your home to get the amenities surrounding you?
What would you add to your community?
What would you have prioritized?
My opinion, and the focus of my topic, is that infrastructure in Calgary is of an extremely poor quality. This is why we succumb to the retarded "crash & boom trends" of late. Government priorities are on building and expanding, instead of maintaining and developing (where they should be).