Jul. 13, 2011 - Issue #821: The Beer Issue
Vuepoint
Commerce, naturally
Recently it was revealed a new cafe would be opening in the river valley, in Louise McKinney park. It's an idea that has continued to crop up—development of the natural space in the heart of our city. The repeated reasoning is that more people would come to enjoy the space, people who never come to the river valley. Wouldn't it be great to attract all Edmontonians to this beautiful space if they could have a cup of coffee and a glass of wine and observe nature?
It's hard to begrudge Edmontonians for wanting to develop local spaces, but it's a proposition that deserves serious reflection as to what we want our river valley to become. While this first cafe is a small space in Louise McKinney Park, owned by local operators, it is the first step in starting commercial development along one of the largest stretches of parkland in North America.
Developing a local business occasionally over the stretch of parks and walking trails may seem inoccuous, but it has the potential to become the next commercial zone welcoming Starbucks across the trail from a Second Cup. One only has to look at the recent decision by city council to engage Daryl Katz in the mega-complex that will be the downtown core, an area city council is also interested in bringing more people to and increasing usage of.
The development of Strathcona along Whyte Ave is another cautionary tale: while local businesses give the stretch of street character and serve Edmontonians with a unique experience, there is not one locally-owned coffee shop left on that strip. Not to mention the continued problems the city has ensuring proper policing and bylaw enforcement occurs.
Of course this development will increase usage of the space, but is it the type of usage that we want? And the question remains: why aren't you there already? To quote one man interviewed in the Edmonton Journal, "It's an area many Edmonton residents never visit—one man on a Segway tour told him he'd never been there before during the 70 years he has lived in the city." The source of Edmonton's self-esteem issue—where we consider ourselves to be less than a great city, because we are not Toronto or Vancouver or Montréal—becomes evident when you realize people aren't using what already exists. It's difficult to improve a city if you're unwilling to get out and experience it in the first place. V
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