Alberta hasn't had a new shopping mall built in twenty years. This isn't because Albertans hate shopping malls, quite the contrary, our malls are some of the most popular locations in the province. The lack of new shopping malls in Alberta boils down to (like so many other things) making money. Shopping malls are expensive to build and strip mall retail centers are considerably cheaper. Sure, they lack roofs and you have to drive from one end to another just to get to all the stores, but the people will still come, enclosed mall or not. Why? Because with developers building poorly designed suburbs in search of a better bottom line and people looking to live in a house a little bigger than their means buying into them, these strip malls are often the only shopping available that is anywhere near. Everyone wins, well, except your gas tank, and the environment. But you get a quiet neighbourhood and the developers maximize their profits.
When I found out CrossIron Mills was defying the trend and being built as an enclosed shopping mall, I got excited.
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So, I have set out to write the best post I have ever written. No pressure or anything. Why? Well, it's been an absolutely ridiculous amount of time since my last article here at CalgaryUrbanite, and although we have some other great contributors on the site, things have to been too slow around these parts for my liking. So I need a stylish comeback. Something with gusto. Something with pizzaz. Something with a lot of other pseudo-adjectives. How am I going to do this? Well, I've compiled a list of everything I'd like to see from a comeback post.
Ironic title? Check.
Tackling an issue that Calgarians seem opinionated about? Check.
Being able to include a photograph I've randomly taken on my travels? Check.
Having a completely irreverent opening paragraph? Check.
Seriously, the most irreverent paragraph ever, probably enough to turn most people off reading this article? Check.
Using the word irreverent? Check.
Shall we get down to business?
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Plan It Calgary recently released news they would build a bridge through Edworthy Park as part of their 40-year plan. The bridge would be constructed within the next 10 years and would see buses run down it every 10 minutes for 15 hours a day. In response to this, I emailed the city the following letter:
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It seems that it's way easier to stick to the status quo instead of challenging it. But I don't like to trust people unwilling to challenge the status quo, the ones who frequently tell us to 'stay the course', because to stay the course would imply that the course we are on can't be improved. Now, that isn't to say I'm up for change just for the sake of change, but when someone presents an idea that's forward thinking and refreshing, with little to no down side, I'm in full support.
The city is proposing using a portion of Memorial Drive as a pedestrian area for a few Sundays in August. This idea has many critics and even more people confused about the potential benefit of the idea, but regardless, it is definitely the type of forward thinking Calgary needs if we want to improve as a city.
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There's probably two things you can talk to any Calgarian about to fit in. The first is the weather. You can fit in with any Calgarian talking about the weather because you can make statements and get an expected response back, like they were an old friend. "Man, this winter just never ends" usually yields a "No kidding". It feels good to know what a stranger in the elevator or at the checkout will most likely say... it's like you get them. You suddenly have confidence talking to members of the opposite sex that you never had before because you know they'll appreciate your anecdote about how the weather sucks here (getting to a new line of conversation after the weather is the tricky part, and I wish all CalgaryUrbanite readers good luck in your romantic endeavours).
The other sure fire line of conversation on which Calgarians relate is of course, our public transit.
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