Welcome Guest!
In order to take advantage of all the great features that Waterloo Region Connected has to offer, including participating in the lively discussions below, you're going to have to register. The good news is that it'll take less than a minute and you can get started enjoying Waterloo Region's best online community right away.
or Create an Account




Thread Rating:
  • 0 Vote(s) - 0 Average
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
PanoTowns | 3fl | U/C
#1
PanoTowns
54 Bridge Street West, Kitchener

   
Reply


#2
   
   
   
Reply
#3
Reply
#4
Developments like this look so promising, then you realize 54 walk score...and that's not even considering the lack of sidewalk on that side of the road.

Building density, while requiring cars is not going to lead to a good outcome.

Oh, and forget about biking.
Reply
#5
Yeah. A nice design … but it's really not suited for active transportation. Is there transit available?
Reply
#6
(01-31-2019, 09:32 PM)tomh009 Wrote: Yeah. A nice design … but it's really not suited for active transportation. Is there transit available?

There is the 6 bus along bridge...which is a reasonable way to get to DTK, but pretty...umm...local.

The 5 to uptown and the 202 and 12 are also a reasonable walk away, but again, no sidewalks (except possibly to the south for the 5, not sure if it will connect, or how easy that is).

Even for the 6 however, you still would have to cross bridge street, with no crossing, over a blind hill.

Edit: taking a closer look at streetview, pretty certain there will be a sidewalk to the south. So 6 and 5, not bad actually, but there should be a god damn sidewalk!
Reply
#7
(01-31-2019, 09:50 PM)danbrotherston Wrote: So 6 and 5, not bad actually, but there should be a god damn sidewalk!

Yes!
Reply


#8
The entrances to 20, 24, 26, and 30 are around back and require an excessive walk from the entrance and from the parking lot. They should be re-arranged to be more like the entrances to 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, and 18. Also the City should extend the sidewalk from the southeast at least across the entire front of the development.
Reply
#9
(01-31-2019, 09:50 PM)danbrotherston Wrote:
(01-31-2019, 09:32 PM)tomh009 Wrote: Yeah. A nice design … but it's really not suited for active transportation. Is there transit available?

There is the 6 bus along bridge...which is a reasonable way to get to DTK, but pretty...umm...local.

The 5 to uptown and the 202 and 12 are also a reasonable walk away, but again, no sidewalks (except possibly to the south for the 5, not sure if it will connect, or how easy that is).

Even for the 6 however, you still would have to cross bridge street, with no crossing, over a blind hill.

Edit: taking a closer look at streetview, pretty certain there will be a sidewalk to the south.  So 6 and 5, not bad actually, but there should be a god damn sidewalk!

Based on the Region of Waterloo's 2019 Budget, reconstruction of Bridge St. from University to Woolwich is scheduled for 2020. It will include sidewalk infill on the east side of the street (where this development is located), and bike lanes.
Reply
#10
(01-31-2019, 10:11 PM)ijmorlan Wrote: The entrances to 20, 24, 26, and 30 are around back and require an excessive walk from the entrance and from the parking lot. They should be re-arranged to be more like the entrances to 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, and 18. Also the City should extend the sidewalk from the southeast at least across the entire front of the development.

The pathway seems to indicate those units are on a grade, so a side entrance might be a challenge.

But the back walkway could connect directly to the sidewalk instead of requiring residents to walk up the hill the parking lot, but the lack of smart sidewalk connections is par for the course even in places where there are sidewalks.
Reply
#11
Everyone's different. I happen to think the location is pretty decent as a cyclist. Easy access to riding east of the city right near the Walter Bean Trail and right near Bechtel Park (not biking, but I like the trails for running).
Reply
#12
(01-31-2019, 10:56 PM)jamincan Wrote: Everyone's different. I happen to think the location is pretty decent as a cyclist. Easy access to riding east of the city right near the Walter Bean Trail and right near Bechtel Park (not biking, but I like the trails for running).

It depends, I find Bridge extremely intimidating as a cyclist, I've had a number of close passes, and certainly neither Lancaster, nor University are safe routes over the highway.  If you can deal with Bridge, and don't need to go south or west, there are maybe some options using Bridge/Lancaster/University, and obviously recreational riding in the township and Walter Bean are possible.  But I do feel that for the vast majority of people, especially for utility cycling on busy days, it is in the middle of an impenetrable wall of scary roads.
Reply
#13
(01-31-2019, 10:25 PM)BSLO Wrote:
(01-31-2019, 09:50 PM)danbrotherston Wrote: Edit: taking a closer look at streetview, pretty certain there will be a sidewalk to the south.  So 6 and 5, not bad actually, but there should be a god damn sidewalk!

Based on the Region of Waterloo's 2019 Budget, reconstruction of Bridge St. from University to Woolwich is scheduled for 2020. It will include sidewalk infill on the east side of the side (where this development is located), and bike lanes.

That's good news right there!
Reply


#14
(02-01-2019, 12:09 AM)tomh009 Wrote:
(01-31-2019, 10:25 PM)BSLO Wrote: Based on the Region of Waterloo's 2019 Budget, reconstruction of Bridge St. from University to Woolwich is scheduled for 2020. It will include sidewalk infill on the east side of the side (where this development is located), and bike lanes.

That's good news right there!

Indeed!
Reply
#15
(01-31-2019, 10:53 PM)danbrotherston Wrote:
(01-31-2019, 10:11 PM)ijmorlan Wrote: The entrances to 20, 24, 26, and 30 are around back and require an excessive walk from the entrance and from the parking lot. They should be re-arranged to be more like the entrances to 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, and 18. Also the City should extend the sidewalk from the southeast at least across the entire front of the development.

The pathway seems to indicate those units are on a grade, so a side entrance might be a challenge.

But the back walkway could connect directly to the sidewalk instead of requiring residents to walk up the hill the parking lot, but the lack of smart sidewalk connections is par for the course even in places where there are sidewalks.

In a modern development, grade is not a big issue when it comes to details like placement of entrances. The amount of earth moving that is done means that the existing grade is mostly irrelevant. I agree that some of the units are better than others. If the entrances to 24 and 26 were just moved to the side, even in the same corner of the building as now, that would be OK — it would just shorten the walk significantly without really changing the design much. But look at 20: there is a parking spot not 3m from the unit, but to get to the entrance one would have to walk all the way around the entire building. 30 is in a similar situation, albeit slightly less extreme. Overall, on second viewing, I still consider it sloppy design.

I would just eliminate the back sidewalk entirely and put stairs down to the lower level units right at the parking lot. This would also give the “private amenity area”s more feeling of privacy, and allow them to be bigger without any additional cost because they could extend right to the border fence.

Also I would put roofs over all the exterior stairs. I don’t believe in outdoor stairs — they’re just a snow shovelling nuisance. In a new development it should be possible to design things so that all snow shovelling can be done by plows, without small areas that require hand shovelling.
Reply
« Next Oldest | Next Newest »



Forum Jump:


Users browsing this thread: 1 Guest(s)

About Waterloo Region Connected

Launched in August 2014, Waterloo Region Connected is an online community that brings together all the things that make Waterloo Region great. Waterloo Region Connected provides user-driven content fueled by a lively discussion forum covering topics like urban development, transportation projects, heritage issues, businesses and other issues of interest to those in Kitchener, Waterloo, Cambridge and the four Townships - North Dumfries, Wellesley, Wilmot, and Woolwich.

              User Links