Following up on my last post, I had a quick look at the U of M stadium location in comparison to the Edmonton stadium location. The parking ban around the Edmonton location covers residential areas from 0.8 km to 1.4 km at it's farthest reaches. So, just for kicks, I drafted a proposed residential parking ban area for Fort Richmond:
Red areas represent residential areas that might be covered by the hypothetical ban. It covers all housing (at least that I could tell from memory and Google Maps) within 2.4 km of the new stadium -- a far larger area than the Edmonton no-park zone, yet there is far less housing. Sure, some people have no problem walking further than that, but a 2.4 km zone ought to be good enough.
I think the map above demonstrates how little residential there is to worry about at this location. By comparison, Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton is almost completely surrounded by residential areas:
Without building on the fringes of the city, you would be had pressed to find a location where fewer people are impacted.
There is also the distinct possibility that some people in the area are Bomber fans, and are happy that the stadium is moving into their neighbourhood.
I was at an open house awhile ago and I've gotta say, Asper has this parking thing covered. Top, down, sideways, low side, high side, every side.
ReplyDeleteThe thing is he plans on running shuttles from the locations you highlighted, as well as offering free transit shuttles on game day and all sorts of stuff.
At the end of the day, there is such a simple solution to this problem of residential parking on game day, that it makes this whole argument fuckin ludicrous. Game day parking bans, and give residents of the area parking passes. Send Dave Hill's army of tow trucks out there and haul anyone's ass away who parks for free and walks.
Polo park can manage do it in their mall. And not just for game day either, for people parking and jumping on the bus. I'm sure the WPA and Swandel can work something out.
Key point you are missing though, is that Commonwealth is in the centre of the city and directly serviced by the LRT. Many if not most come by LRT.
ReplyDeleteU of M stadium will be a long jaunt with poor public transportation for most Winnipeggers.
The rest of the world is relocating stadiums to city centres- is there no viable space in the core?
Edmonton's Commonwealth Stadium has light-rail transit that stops right there, along with extensive bus service. The LRT there goes all over, not just to one spot like Winnipeg's will.
ReplyDeleteBut that said, I still support the new stadium.
ReplyDelete@Graham: thanks for the insight from the open house. I was not there. I guess one might ask: do you trust Asper to run the shuttles and do everything that he says he will do?
ReplyDelete@Anon1: where in the core would you put it? I think the U of M location is great because it's a BRT/xRT destination (eventually), and you got yer synergies with the Bisons and other University sports.
@Anon2 (assuming your different than anon1): yes, Edm LRT is better, but it's still a large city and there are many people who are not serviced by it. Perhaps their bus service is better too. Also, with Commonwealth Stadium being close to the river trails, biking to the game should be an option for some people.