Urban Infill
Core Neighbourhood Vacant Lots, Part II: Westmount
Jun 3rd
Today I’ll highlight the vacant lots listed for Westmount. The Westmount neighbourhood is located just west of Caswell Hill and features homes generally built in the 1930′s and later.
Surprisingly, there are far fewer vacant lots in Westmount compared to Caswell Hill. A majority of these vacant lots are located along 22nd St. W. Over the past year there has been an increase in commercial activity along this major thoroughfare, resulting in the construction of a long-term stay hotel (beside the Blue Diamond restaurant) and the planned construction of a commercial office space building. There have been a number of in-fill houses built in Westmount over the past couple of years, none of which are inspiring by any stretch of the imagination and of designs you would expect to see in any of the new suburban developments (i.e. boring dull cookie cutter homes).
The following is a map detailing the 17 vacant lots listed on the City’s master list (as of May 31, 2010; denoted by blue markers). Where possible, I have included additional information on the status of the vacant lot. New, uninspiring, infill developments are denoted by purple markers:
View Vacant Lots in a larger map
From Elsewhere – Smart Growth In Action
May 28th
Remember back to elementary school when the teacher, tired from a long week, would pop in some random VHS tape during the last class of the afternoon? It didn’t really matter what the video was about, there was something relaxing about elbows on the desk, lights turned off, and absorbing whatever was on the screen. It still does it for me, so I thought I would try to make sharing a good video a regular Friday exercise here – hopefully with a bent to educate on how we can improve the livability of our City, by learning from others. This video, yet again brought to my attention by Gordon Price, focuses on the concept of Smart Growth. Specifically, it considers cities from Southern California and the thoughts of those on the frontline – including architects, planners, and civic politicians. So kick back, turn off the lights, and enjoy:
Choices and Transformations from FWFocus on Vimeo.
A (North) Bridge Too Far: Let’s Get Our Priorities Straight…
May 7th
With the South Circle Bridge about to put the first pilings into the South Saskatchewan this summer for the cool price tag of $250 million, it hasn’t taken long for Council’s focus to shift North.
The Provincial government has been quietly laying out the ground work for a perimeter highway to by-pass Saskatoon over the past few years. The ground work all ready underway includes preliminary planning of the route, land acquisitions, and consultation with the affected municipalities. In tandem, the City of Saskatoon a few months ago expropriated a huge swath of farmland to the NE of the City that brings their borders to the edge of this planned route. The working timeline for any construction of this by-pass, which would jog around the NE part of Saskatoon crossing the river above 71st St., is 12-15 years. All well and good, there is a need to ease the amount of truck traffic coming through the City along Idylwyld and around Circle Drive (though if you listen to the rhetoric surrounding the imminent South bridge, it was supposed to be the solution to all our City’s problems).
However, where we should be taking a long pause to consider the implications of plunging More >
Railway Yard Removal in Regina?
Mar 1st
Today the feasibility study for a new domed stadium in Regina was released. I’ll leave it to others to dissect the merits of spending upwards of $430 million dollars of taxpayers money on a recreational centre to others. However, one aspect of the announcement caught my eye as it could relate to Saskatoon (bold my emphasis):
[...]
The report notes that CP is planning to move its 20-acre intermodal operations to the global transportation hub west of the city, likely by fall of 2012 pending regulatory approval. CP is also looking at whether it could change its rail operations to free up another 10 acres downtown, the report said.
“CP has agreed in principle, subject to conditions and approvals, to sell the downtown site provided issues relating to its relocation of its operations can be resolved,” the report said.
[...]
I written at length about the need for the CP/CN railyards and lines to be removed in order to properly utilize the huge hole currently occupying the land to the immediate north of Saskatoon’s downtown (here).
If such an agreement can be reached between all three levels of government to remove rail yards and rail lines from within city boundaries, thus freeing up important lands for development, More >
Core Neighbourhood Vacant Lots, Part III: King George
Jun 7th
Posted by Sean Shaw in City Planning
No comments
Today I’ll highlight the vacant lots listed for King George. It is bounded by 11th Street to the south, Avenue P to the west and the South Saskatchewan River to the east. The northern boundary starts at South Saskatchewan River and follows west down 17th Street; it then runs down the easement between Avenues M and N until 16th Street; finally, it follows 16th Street to Avenue P.
The following is a map detailing the 15 vacant lots listed on the City’s master list (as of May 31, 2010; denoted by blue markers). Where possible, I have included additional information on the status of the vacant lot. New, uninspiring, infill developments are denoted by purple markers:
View Vacant Lots in a larger map