Why do Canadians prefer huge houses squeezed together in the middle of nowhere?

[Asher]

I dunno, it's just my opinion. It wasn't as nice as Edmonton, and there wasn't enough to do.

Okay, now I know you're bull****ting.

Even Edmontonians wouldn't say that.

What is a guy like you "looking to do", exactly? Were you looking for a chess club or something?

[regexcellent]

I'm not talking metro areas, I'm talking city. You can't do urban planning when you have 10 competing governments.

And yet somehow Denver manages to do it.

Quick look at Google Maps shows that Calgary doesn't have a beltway, which is criminal for a city on COMPLETELY FLAT LAND with no major bodies of water. Rochester has two beltways and half the population of Calgary. Hampton Roads, Virginia has a beltway and it has a 5 mile wide estuary to cross.

Doesn't Edmonton have the West Edmonton Mall?

[Jaguar]

I just feel like a city that's built so recently just doesn't have as much character as one with some older buildings. I dunno, I just didn't find it very exciting.

[Asher]

And yet somehow Denver manages to do it.

Quick look at Google Maps shows that Calgary doesn't have a beltway, which is criminal for a city on COMPLETELY FLAT LAND with no major bodies of water. Rochester has two beltways and half the population of Calgary. Hampton Roads, Virginia has a beltway and it has a 5 mile wide estuary to cross.

Is a beltway a ring road?

And Calgary is most certainly not on completely flat land.

Doesn't Edmonton have the West Edmonton Mall?

Yes, they have a mall with something like 5 GAP stores. It's what they're famous for.

'nuff said, really.

[snoopy369]

And yet somehow Denver manages to do it.

Quick look at Google Maps shows that Calgary doesn't have a beltway, which is criminal for a city on COMPLETELY FLAT LAND with no major bodies of water. Rochester has two beltways and half the population of Calgary. Hampton Roads, Virginia has a beltway and it has a 5 mile wide estuary to cross.

Doesn't Edmonton have the West Edmonton Mall?

Reg, have you even been reading this thread? There was a ten or fifteen post long discussion of the beltway issue a page or two back.

[Asher]

I just feel like a city that's built so recently just doesn't have as much character as one with some older buildings. I dunno, I just didn't find it very exciting.

So now your complaint is Calgary isn't centuries old?

Calgary had something like 500 people in 1885, 600,000 in 1983, and 1.1 million in 2012. It has grown ridiculously fast -- no, it is not old. It is modern.

[Kuciwalker]

Reg, have you even been reading this thread? There was a ten or fifteen post long discussion of the beltway issue a page or two back.

It appears to have amounted to "residents of Calgary are too cheap to actually invest in necessary transportation infrastructure".

[Asher]

It appears to have amounted to "residents of Calgary are too cheap to actually invest in necessary transportation infrastructure".

I like how Americans spin a desire for low taxes as being "too cheap" when it pleases them, and immediately start whining about how high the evil taxes are.

It's like you guys have no concept of how taxes work.

[Jaguar]

It would be nice to see more variety in design. More interesting buildings on the skyline, and less sprawl. I just wish there was more character to it.

[Asher]

BTW, a quick google shows that Denver isn't exactly a good example of transportation management. They have higher taxes and higher commute times.

http://www.bizjournals.com/denver/blog/broadway_17th/2010/04/hopefully_youre_not_reading_this_in_traffic.html

Denver has nation’s 16th longest commute times

If you’re steering your car in a traffic jam and reading this on your smartphone, put it down now. This post isn’t worth the risk, frankly.

For the rest of you, be aware that Denver has the 16th longest commutes out of 52 metro areas nationwide.

That’s according to G. Scott Thomas, projects editor of the Denver Business Journal’s sister paper, Business First of Buffalo, N.Y.

Thomas crunched Census Bureau numbers covering 2006-2008, and learned that Denver-Aurora area residents have an average commute time of 26.66 minutes.

Ranking worst in Thomas’ reckoning is New York, with commutes averaging 34.55 minutes. Close behind are Washington (33.23 minutes) and Chicago (31.08 minutes).

At the other extreme, Rochester, N.Y., has the nation’s shortest big-city commute, at 20.37 minutes, followed by Buffalo, N.Y. (20.78 minutes) and Oklahoma City (21.35 minutes).

Thomas compared 52 U.S. metro areas with populations of 1 million or above.

[Kuciwalker]

I like how Americans spin a desire for low taxes as being "too cheap" when it pleases them, and immediately start whining about how high the evil taxes are.

It's like you guys have no concept of how taxes work.

It's almost as if I think that some infrastructure spending is useful (the basic road network we see in every halfway decent city) and some is not (high-speed rail).

[Asher]

It would be nice to see more variety in design. More interesting buildings on the skyline, and less sprawl. I just wish there was more character to it.

While its skyline is no doubt nothing as majestic as McLean, VA's, it suffices.

[Asher]

It's almost as if I think that some infrastructure spending is useful (the basic road network we see in every halfway decent city) and some is not (high-speed rail).

Calgary's transportation network is perfectly adequate. Our commutes are shorter than most American cities, our taxes are definitely lower.

If you were a true right-wing man, you'd be pumping your fist.

[Jaguar]

I like my office. I can see the Washington Monument and the National Cathedral from it.

I just don't feel like there's a signature flourish to the Calgary skyline, like the CN Tower or the Shanghai Pearl Tower or something like that.

Everyone's entitled to his opinion, though. I guess it's OK.

[Kuciwalker]

The DC metro area is not exactly short on attractive architecture with real culture and history.