What do you not like about Calgary?

[CMW403]

Originally posted by thetransporter


example of a disconnected neighborhood?

Sage/Nolan hill for the entire summer.

[kertejud2]

Originally posted by clem24
TL;DR

We don't have any honest to goodness cheap mom and pop restaurants. Not many places here impress me, and the ones that do (like Rouge) charge an arm and a leg.

Edmonton, in contrast has many. For example, name me a place in Calgary that is equivalent to the Route 99 Diner in Edmonton? And a bunch others like it.

Otherwise, most restaurants in Calgary are pricey and mediocre; many serve food that I can make better at home, especially the steak places.

We definitely have a shortage of the all day "greasy spoons". Naina's might be the closest. But most of the good competitors close early in the day. Loads of awesome breakfast spots, not so many that go beyond lunch sadly.

[FixedGear]

Originally posted by kertejud2

Loads of awesome breakfast spots, not so many that go beyond lunch sadly.

I think calgary has a pretty sad breakfast scene, there aren't really any good spots that don't have a 45 minute wait, which is odd as hell considering most cities have one on every corner it seems.

[kertejud2]

Originally posted by FixedGear


I think calgary has a pretty sad breakfast scene, there aren't really any good spots that don't have a 45 minute wait, which is odd as hell considering most cities have one on every corner it seems.

Can't say I've experienced the same problem, even at the more known spots in the Beltline (I don't go up to Edmonton Trail much). One of the most undervalued breakfast spots is probably 'Western Coffee Shop' on 4th. Typical full breakfast with good pancakes and pretty cheap to boot.

[Maxt]

Originally posted by kertejud2


We definitely have a shortage of the all day "greasy spoons". Naina's might be the closest. But most of the good competitors close early in the day. Loads of awesome breakfast spots, not so many that go beyond lunch sadly.

I never have a hard time finding good food, even keeping to my low carb diet. Just follow the City of Calgary trucks around, you'll find the good places to eat.
Mug shotz right behind Naina's is very good for lunch, along with Olivers Cafe, Sunny's cafe farther down on Ogden, and the smokehouse chicken place down there isn't bad either. There is a little place up on 4st NW at 26 ave that is decent food/value.
Edmonton trail is becoming the go to street to eat though, Cerezo, Bonasera, Spicy Hut, Carino,Diner Deluxe, Bob's burgers, Open Range etc.

[Brent.ff]

with the fuckshow that was transit yesterday, it's hard to enjoy getting to and from work...

[a social dsease]

Weather has been great this winter so can't complain about that. I have to agree, getting to work downtown from the suburbs sucks. Transit is unreliable and bicycle route network is pathetic. Seems like the city is working to improve both of these, but we still have a long way to go.

[btimbit]

I don't like how centralized Calgary is, especially for a city that's so big. Luckily, other than Flames games or the airport, there's not much reason to go north of Glenmore anymore, but sometimes it can't be avoided

[speedog]

Originally posted by btimbit
I don't like how centralized Calgary is, especially for a city that's so big. Luckily, other than Flames games or the airport, there's not much reason to go north of Glenmore anymore, but sometimes it can't be avoided

Your post is sort of confusing - you complain about how centralized Calgary is and yet in your second sentence, you seem to indicate you can pretty much get anything you want/need outside of that centralized area.

What exactly is the central area of Calgary to you?

[Manhattan]

Originally posted by a social dsease
bicycle route network is pathetic

It's one of the best bike networks in any city I've lived in. The whole city is connected from the airport to Fish Creek. Every corner of the city is connected through bike lanes.

[btimbit]

Originally posted by speedog

Your post is sort of confusing - you complain about how centralized Calgary is and yet in your second sentence, you seem to indicate you can pretty much get anything you want/need outside of that centralized area.

What exactly is the central area of Calgary to you?

Everything revolves around the downtown area too much, and it can be hard to avoid. There's a few things you can't get outside of the core, which sucks, because the downtown core is something I like to avoid.

[woodywoodford]

My only real complaint is how there's very little historical architecture around here or cool apartments. Everything's cookie cutter or manufactured for character (ie. fake exposed brick walls) which just isn't the same as an authentic 19th century warehouse conversion from out east. Problem with living in a city that's only 150 years old I guess.

[speedog]

Originally posted by btimbit
Everything revolves around the downtown area too much, and it can be hard to avoid. There's a few things you can't get outside of the core, which sucks, because the downtown core is something I like to avoid.

I worked in the downtown core for 19 years but have now been out of the core for 14 years and can honestly say there's nothing I can't get that necessitates me having to go into the downtown core. As such, it would be interesting to hear what it is that you can't get anywhere else except for the downtown area and I would surmise that by downtown area, you mean from the Bow River south to the 17th Ave strip and from 14th Street on the west side to the Elbow River on the east side (even though many wouldn't include the south belt line area as part of the downtown area).

[speedog]

Originally posted by woodywoodford
My only real complaint is how there's very little historical architecture around here or cool apartments. Everything's cookie cutter or manufactured for character (ie. fake exposed brick walls) which just isn't the same as an authentic 19th century warehouse conversion from out east. Problem with living in a city that's only 150 years old I guess.

In 1901 (the beginning of the 20th century), Calgary had a population of 4,091 people - I seriously doubt there was much in the way of larger buildings back then that would have been even been feasible to convert into a cool apartment project these days.

Calgary circa 1900 (looking WNW from area of Elbow River and CPR tracks?)...


Calgary Bridgeland area circa 1900 (looking ESE)...


Calgary downtown circa 1900-1910 (looking SE? from McDougall Center...


Calgary downtown circa 1900-1910 (looking North from McDougall Center...

[a social dsease]

Originally posted by Manhattan


It's one of the best bike networks in any city I've lived in. The whole city is connected from the airport to Fish Creek. Every corner of the city is connected through bike lanes.

Just curious, are you saying this as a recreational cyclist, or a commuter?

I'm sure Calgary is fine for recreational cyclists, however for commuting Calgary isn't very good. Commuters don't care about scenery, they want the shortest and most direct route. It's no different then someone commuting to/from work in a car, again the preferred route is the shortest and most direct one. The type of road network that best connects all origins & destinations is a grid network, and for bicycle path infrastructure it's no different - a network of straight lines arranged in a grid is the best way to link origins & destinations.

The problem with Calgary is most bicycle paths/routes are not straight lines arranged in a grid, but pathways that meander all over the place (example - any river pathway) which may be fine for recreational cyclists who value scenery over travel time, but not good for commuters.

Just for fun, let's compare Calgary to Chicago. See the difference?




Another factor is the quality of the bike lanes. In Calgary aside from 7th St for a few blocks downtown, most of our "bike-lanes" consist of nothing more than a sign that says a road is a bike-route. No street marking, no physical separation, sometimes not even a parking restriction. Again compare Chicago, Click Here even though there's no physical separation the bicycle lane is clearly delineated which keeps cyclists away from cars, and cars away from cyclists.

Not trying knock Calgary, the bicycle infrastructure we have is a good start, but to say its one of the best is an extreme stretch. We still have a ways to go to even be close to a place like Chicago (and before all the bicycle-haters jump in and say Calgary is too cold - the average January high temperature in Chicago is only 0.6°C higher than Calgary and they get a similar amount of snow).

[flipstah]

Originally posted by woodywoodford
My only real complaint is how there's very little historical architecture around here or cool apartments. Everything's cookie cutter or manufactured for character (ie. fake exposed brick walls) which just isn't the same as an authentic 19th century warehouse conversion from out east. Problem with living in a city that's only 150 years old I guess.

Calgary is a 'young' city with prairie-town roots. Why build buildings when you had so much open land?

So... No dice.

[suntan]

Meh. Calgary's roads also meander and are hardly the best way from A-B. If anything you can easily bike a shorter distance.

Chicago's also flat as a pancake, Calgary's a hilly mess.

[kertejud2]

Originally posted by a social dsease

Another factor is the quality of the bike lanes. In Calgary aside from 7th St for a few blocks downtown, most of our "bike-lanes" consist of nothing more than a sign that says a road is a bike-route. No street marking, no physical separation, sometimes not even a parking restriction.

Not trying knock Calgary, the bicycle infrastructure we have is a good start, but to say its one of the best is an extreme stretch. We still have a ways to go to even be close to a place like Chicago (and before all the bicycle-haters jump in and say Calgary is too cold - the average January high temperature in Chicago is only 0.6°C higher than Calgary and they get a similar amount of snow).

The Cycle Network pilot project will see dedicated cycle tracks on

5th St from 17th Ave to 3rd Ave (so a path for the underpasses through the heart of the Beltline)
12th Ave from 11St SW to 4th St SE
8th Ave from 11St to 3 St, shared space on Stephen Ave, then again on 8th/8th Ave from 1st SE to 4th St SE

Planned to be open by July.

The main reason the 5th St doesn't go to the Elbow is because 5th St south of 17th isn't big enough to put one in without taking away parking so a fight wasn't put up. It's listed as a "Potential supporting bikeway" which would just make it like the 2nd St or 11 St. lanes

http://www.calgary.ca/Transportation...k-network.aspx

There will also be cycling lanes put in as part of the 8th St. renovation that isn't considered part of the Cycle Track Pilot Project.


On an related note:

http://metronews.ca/news/calgary/124...inter-weather/

“Even the coldest week, which was in November when we had the -20 C, we still had 2,000 bike trips happening,”

[suntan]

Those are terrible, terrible usage numbers.

[FixedGear]

Originally posted by Manhattan


It's one of the best bike networks in any city I've lived in. The whole city is connected from the airport to Fish Creek. Every corner of the city is connected through bike lanes.

What other cities have you lived in, Camrose and High Prairie?

Calgary has by far the WORST bike network of any city I've ever lived in. In fact, where I live now, essentially every road is either a low-traffic bike route, or has a dedicated bike lane (for the busy roads). People use the infrastructure too, there's basically bazillions of bikers all over the place.