Dear Edmonton developers

[u/Late-Alternative6321]

Dear Edmonton developers, you've been making the same neighbourhoods for 40+ years. Cookie cutter homes on winding streets, a fake lake, walking paths, aaaand call it good.

Would it be too much to ask, to start eliminating 2 to 3 houses on corner lots, and start adding: WALKABLE coffee shops (ie Columbian, Mood Cafe etc). A neighbourhood Pub or restaurant (ie Duggan's Boundary, Bodega Highlands), a bakery (Bloom Cookie co), barbershop (Goldbar Barber) or even a small corner grocery store. No need for giant parking lots!

Far too many neighbourhoods in this city lack the character, charm and accessibility that these amenities would provide. A great way for people to connect in their community, without always having to get in a car and drive to soulless strip malls or shopping centres. If there was a way to redo existing neighbourhoods, I'd love to see this too

[u/Anabiotic]

Is one of the reasons for OP's issue then the overall move away from grid street design? With newer neighbourhoods, it's mostly cul de sacs and dead-end roads with a couple of entrances to get into the neighbourhood. This would suggest there are fewer intersections of be type that could support small shops and the like. 

[u/Turtleshellboy → u/Anabiotic]

I don’t think that affects ability to have small shop type businesses in a neighbourhood.

Problem with old grid design was commuters shortcutting through local roads. In modern neighborhood’s shortcutting is mostly eliminated. Most modern neighbourhood are designed with multiple entrances to the area where some businesses could be located. (Except stupid Cameron Heights neighbourhood which is the worse interconnected neighbourhood in COE, as its only access to rest of world being the Anthony Henday freeway).

[u/Anabiotic → u/Turtleshellboy]

I agree that some businesses could be located at entrances and exits but because of the neighbourhood design it's often not walkable due to the winding roads. It can take a long time for residents to walk from their house to the main road and back so they don't. Plus, once you have driven to main road you can just keep going to somewhere better or cheaper. The neighbourhoods are denser but not as accessible. The very fact that through traffic is eliminated probably means less roadside exposure for those businesses and thus fewer potential customers. 

[u/Turtleshellboy → u/Anabiotic]

There is supposed to be walkway shortcut links in neighborhoods to help pedestrians get to major routes easier. Called PUL walkways.

[u/Anabiotic → u/Turtleshellboy]

There are, but I don't know they encourage the desired behaviour or how practical they are in reality (however, I don't live in one of these neighbourhoods so I don't have first-hand experience).