downtown – Mack & Cheese

Episode 59: Alberta goes orange, new life for the Galleria, the Rush might be gone, dead streetscapes downtown

mastermaq — Wed, 17 Jun 2015 21:05:56 +0000

In our fifty-ninth episode, we discuss the big NDP victory in the Alberta election, the latest Council decision to support the Galleria project, the risk that the Edmonton Rush might be leaving Edmonton after this season, and the vast swaths of downtown that remain either vacant or unfriendly toward pedestrians.

How did the NDP go from 5 seats to more than 50? Where did Prentice and the PCs go wrong? What does this mean for the NDP going forward? Who will the cabinet ministers be? On the Galleria project, why is Council now supporting it? Do we really need this project? Is it a social enterprise, or should the private sector really be taking this forward if it is actually needed? With such a successful season, why are the Edmonton Rush at risk of leaving the city? There’s a lot of great things happening downtown, but why are there so many vacant storefronts still? Will the new stuff be more pedestrian-friendly?

We discuss those questions and more.

Here are some relevant links for this episode:

Thanks for listening!

Episode 57: City Branding, New Casino, Funicular, Revitalized Varscona Theatre

mastermaq — Thu, 16 Apr 2015 23:00:33 +0000

In our fifty-seventh episode we discuss the City’s ongoing branding efforts, the new Baccarat Casino downtown, the funicular proposed to improve access to the river valley, and the revamped Varscona Theatre.

Why is city branding important? What has Make Something Edmonton been up to? Why is it taking so long to get some sort of result? Could we have done it more quickly? What can we learn from other successful branding efforts, like ATB Financial?

We finally have some news about what’s happening with the Baccarat Casino, so what’s the story? What other kinds of announcements should we expect about the arena district? The City says the funicular is going to happen this year – what do we think about that? Will it be enough to get people into the river valley? The Varscona Theatre is being revamped from the ground up and looks to be a beautiful new arts facility.

We discuss those topics, questions and more! We close with a few thoughts on the provincial election.

Here are some relevant links for this episode:

Thanks for listening!

Episode 56: Budget 2015, Little Brick, Galleria, Best Streets in Edmonton

mastermaq — Thu, 09 Apr 2015 22:22:01 +0000

In our fifty-sixth episode, we discuss the Alberta budget, the incredible growth taking place downtown especially around the arena, Riverdale’s new cafe Little Brick, the Galleria project’s apparent demise, and the best streets in Edmonton.

We start with an interesting discussion about the buildings going up around town. Some of the new buildings going up will bring a splash of color to an otherwise beige array of structures. How do we feel about that? (hint: we love it). There’s also some great public art with the Alex Janvier’s selection for the winter garden and we share our thoughts on that too.

Then we get into the budget. Why was everyone so disappointed in the budget? What could Prentice have done differently? What does this mean for the election? Has the PC strategy backfired? The Galleria is not mentioned in the budget, so it looks like it won’t receive any funding required to go forward. What does that mean for the project?

We both like Little Brick, but what is it that we like about it? What could other local business owners learn from them? Metro has listed Edmonton’s best streets. Do we agree? What others should have been considered? We discuss those questions and more.

Here are some relevant links for this episode:

Thanks for listening!

Episode 42: Summer Food & Festivals

mastermaq — Wed, 06 Aug 2014 01:20:48 +0000

In our forty-second episode, we discuss some of the latest food news and also chat about Edmonton’s summer festival scene.

With exciting new additions to the local food scene like District, Burrow, Rostizado, Jacek, and many others, we’re really enjoying Edmonton’s restaurant renaissance. It seems others are too, as Edmonton is increasingly mentioned in the national media. Should we be surprised at the recognition or can we leave our modest selves in the past and embrace the new Edmonton wholeheartedly?

We also discuss Edmonton’s summer festivals, with the Heritage Festival taking place over the long weekend the Fringe on the way. Should we be concerned that K-Days attendance was down again this year? Is the Fringe our Stampede? Do we even need a Stampede? We discuss those questions and more.

Here are some relevant links for this episode:

Thanks for listening!

Episode 41: High Level Bridge Lights, 104 Street Closures, Digital Parking Meters, Touch the Water

mastermaq — Tue, 15 Jul 2014 17:41:33 +0000

In our forty-first episode, we talk about the new lights on the High Level Bridge, businesses closing on 104 Street, an update on the Commonwealth Games bid, the end of coin-operated parking meters, and the touch the water project.

Do you like the lights on the High Level Bridge? They’re here to stay either way! There have been a few closures on 104 Street recently, such as Sobeys and Corona Shoes. Is there an issue there? Are they closures something we should be concerned about? Now that the bid committee has been named for the effort to host the Commonwealth Games in 2022, should we be optimistic? Edmonton is getting rid of coin-operated parking meters, replacing them with digital ones as they have in Calgary. Is there an opportunity to do something more, or should we just take this progress and build on it? Finally, what are the prospects for the touch the water project? We discuss those questions and more.

Here are some relevant links for this episode:

Thanks for listening!

Episode 40: Urban Beach, Fort Edmonton Park upgrades, FIFA Women’s World Cup, Innovation Infrastructure

mastermaq — Thu, 03 Jul 2014 21:55:45 +0000

In our fortieth episode, we discuss the urban beach or sand park being considered for Louise McKinney Park, Fort Edmonton Park upgrades, the U-20 FIFA Women’s World Cup taking place this year and the FIFA Women’s World Cup taking place next year, and innovation infrastructure here in Edmonton and Alberta.

Why are we talking about the Urban Beach now? Should we really be spending $150 million to upgrade Fort Edmonton Park? Could we really build a more exciting attraction with the proposed upgrades? Does any of that cost include improving access to Fort Edmonton Park? How do we create the necessary excitement around the FIFA Women’s World Cup? What does the Province’s push for improve innovation infrastructure tell us about Premier Dave Hancock? What can we expect from the Innovation Council? We discuss these questions and more.

Here are some relevant links for this episode:

Thanks for listening!

Episode 35: Wayfinding, Census, Public Engagement, and French Events

mastermaq — Mon, 28 Apr 2014 21:38:41 +0000

In our thirty-fifth episode, we stick with the four topic format and discuss: wayfinding, the 2014 municipal census, public engagement on construction projects, and some new events coming up, Nuit Blanche and Diner en Blanc.

Have you seen the new wayfinding signs downtown? This is your last week to provide feedback to the City of Edmonton! Another cool new initiative was the online census, which wrapped up on Sunday night. Door-to-door collection starts May 10.

Graham has a bee in his bonnet about NIMBYism and people complaining about things moving ahead at the last minute, but Mack feels there is a lot more that could be done with public engagement. Certainly you need to do your part as a citizen to pay attention and to learn about the things that are important to you, but there’s also a responsibility on the part of the City to make it easier for citizens to be consulted on projects.

What’s with these French events coming up? A late night art festival and an outdoor dinner in white are both coming to Edmonton.

Here are some relevant links for this episode:

Thanks for listening!

Episode 29: Lots of projects underway in Edmonton!

mastermaq — Mon, 03 Mar 2014 20:56:12 +0000

In our 29th episode we have a discussion about the many exciting projects that are underway around Edmonton. New condo towers, hotels, and other projects are popping up all over the place. It’s one of our favorite topics – cranes dominating the skyline!

Where did all of the resources for these projects come from? What is the impact of our continued population growth? What does it mean for Edmonton to have so many projects underway? We discuss these questions and more.

Thanks for listening!

Episode 28: Mayor Iveson the Operator

mastermaq — Wed, 19 Feb 2014 01:48:54 +0000

In our twenty-eighth episode, we discuss the new City of Edmonton office tower and the way that Mayor Iveson handled the situation. Graham thinks he’s a smooth operator, and I have to agree.

There wasn’t a lot of fuss about the building, and Council was more or less on the same page about the deal. Even though it went to the Katz Group, no one questioned that the process followed was fair. On the whole, the announcement came and went rather smoothly. We suggest it’s because Mayor Iveson is great at the behind-the-scenes action.

And if he did that for the arena and the tower, can he do it for the LRT? Or for other big infrastructure projects? We dive into those questions and more.

Here are some relevant links for this episode:

Thanks for listening!

Episode 24: Election Recap, Air Canada, The Edmontonian

mastermaq — Tue, 12 Nov 2013 23:00:13 +0000

In our twenty-fourth episode we do a brief election recap, and also tackle a couple of issues that have been in the news lately.

Graham called it – a big win for Don Iveson. How did he get it right? We also talk about the disappointing turnout for 2013, just 34.5%. Why don’t more people vote? Did we get young people voting? Finally, we touch on what the new City Council looks like and what we can expect.

We also discuss the proposed 71-storey building known as The Edmontonian. While it is a positive sign for downtown, how realistic is the project really? What can we expect? What kind of track record does the developer have? How does it relate to the CRL?

While some seem pretty happy about Edmonton’s prospects, others appear to be non-believers. We’re talking about Air Canada and its decision to cancel the daily YEG-LHR flight. What gives? Why don’t they support Edmonton?

Here are some relevant links for this episode:

Thanks for listening!