[archited]

I think one of the best solutions -- and it wouldn't be inexpensive but it would be transformational -- would be to depress Gateway starting from the 80th avenue intersection north and under Sask. drive with a new (less of a hairpin) access to the 105th Street bridge (in fact I would abandon the existing connector at QE Park Rd. altogether). With the road depressed the opportunity would present itself for branched-off UG parking along the way thereby reducing auto presence in large part. Pedestrian bridges could criss-cross the now-depressed roadway at points like "End of Steel Park", "Yardbird Suite", "OS Farmers' Market", "Strathcona Hotel", "Station Park" and the "Historic Railway Station". a very large UG parking structure could be accessed from the depressed roadway between 83rd and 85th Avenue on the east side of Gateway (perhaps tied into a mixed use development atop the parkade). Access ramps from the depressed roadway need only be provided at Sask. Drive. This would surely seam Old Strathcona into a much stronger pedestrian realm and allow for a significant eastward expansion of retail and hospitality.

Who's talking about freeways??? The current Gateway is a 3 lane highway already and one of the main downtown entry points coming by car (or bus) from YEG. I would reduce it to two thru-lanes with the rightmost lane separated as access to UG parking (a chance for Edmonton to join much of the rest of the world with automated parking and at the same time putting car convenience for Old Strathcona without them (the cars) taking up a sea of surface parking - as is the current situation). Also I would see a convenience ramp from the submerged roadway to access Saskatchewan Drive. I agree with @fromyeg's support for making 80th Avenue an alternate east-west crossing point (an alternative to Whyte). The car-free pedestrian bridges would then aid in promoting a walkable OS with the following features (and an access to Station Park is not front of mind here):
1. an unfettered Streetcar crossing over Gateway to its new terminus at Whyte conjoined with a wide pedestrian bridge that builds on the Tram feature rather than negating it;
2. the pedestrianization of the sidings of the Tram between Gateway and 104th Street up to and including Steel Wheels Park and for all of the land fronting and surrounding the Farmers' Market (as I mentioned on another thread I see this facility evolving into a 7-day event centre akin to the downtown L.A. Market with niche eateries, fresh produce and, if pedestrianized, a stopping place for outdoor pop-up kiosks and food trucks) -- the farmers market via the over-Gateway-pedestrian link would have convenience access to the UG parking (the area above the parkade preserved for a parklike-setting for a mixed use development that only Beljan, Rohit, and Cantiro are expert at creating;
3. a "cool" pedestrian link that dead-ends 81st Avenue across from the historic CPR station turning its front into a mini-park and removing the parking in front of CC Saloon to the 81Street, the CC front-piece adding to the park and when the weather allows enabling outdoor music events (I am sure that the original vision by Dale Cook and Barry Sparrow would be greatly honored since they were the pistons of the engine that began the transformation of Old Strathcona into the current day success that folks experience today).
4. another pedestrian link from the now mostly pedestrian alley behind the Strathcona Hotel to the east side of Gateway in prep for the rebirth of the Aerial Tram that, landing at Whyte, will conjoin two major travel modes -- Streetcar and Airship -- into a prominent focal point for Old Strathcona. I would like to see the Streetcar cross Whyte onto the CPKC "reserve" and eventually wind its way to the nascent Ritchie District rebirth and the Beer Ally that is developing there along 99th Street.

I see this as an investment in Old Strathcona as a whole and not serving any specific master (especially the automobile), particularly not any one developer.

 

[Out of Towner]

Lots of people in Edmonton still have the first nickel they ever earned and if you ask them to pay $18 for a hamburger and fries plus pay for parking, they're going to look for another place to go. PS: The parking meter in from of the Commercial Hotel doesn't work. Same goes for one in the convenience lane on south Gateway just off of Whyte.

 

[wormwood]

Who's talking about freeways??? The current Gateway is a 3 lane highway already and one of the main downtown entry points coming by car (or bus) from YEG. I would reduce it to two thru-lanes with the rightmost lane separated as access to UG parking (a chance for Edmonton to join much of the rest of the world with automated parking and at the same time putting car convenience for Old Strathcona without them (the cars) taking up a sea of surface parking - as is the current situation). Also I would see a convenience ramp from the submerged roadway to access Saskatchewan Drive. I agree with @fromyeg's support for making 80th Avenue an alternate east-west crossing point (an alternative to Whyte). The car-free pedestrian bridges would then aid in promoting a walkable OS with the following features (and an access to Station Park is not front of mind here):
1. an unfettered Streetcar crossing over Gateway to its new terminus at Whyte conjoined with a wide pedestrian bridge that builds on the Tram feature rather than negating it;
2. the pedestrianization of the sidings of the Tram between Gateway and 104th Street up to and including Steel Wheels Park and for all of the land fronting and surrounding the Farmers' Market (as I mentioned on another thread I see this facility evolving into a 7-day event centre akin to the downtown L.A. Market with niche eateries, fresh produce and, if pedestrianized, a stopping place for outdoor pop-up kiosks and food trucks) -- the farmers market via the over-Gateway-pedestrian link would have convenience access to the UG parking (the area above the parkade preserved for a parklike-setting for a mixed use development that only Beljan, Rohit, and Cantiro are expert at creating;
3. a "cool" pedestrian link that dead-ends 81st Avenue across from the historic CPR station turning its front into a mini-park and removing the parking in front of CC Saloon to the 81Street, the CC front-piece adding to the park and when the weather allows enabling outdoor music events (I am sure that the original vision by Dale Cook and Barry Sparrow would be greatly honored since they were the pistons of the engine that began the transformation of Old Strathcona into the current day success that folks experience today).
4. another pedestrian link from the now mostly pedestrian alley behind the Strathcona Hotel to the east side of Gateway in prep for the rebirth of the Aerial Tram that, landing at Whyte, will conjoin two major travel modes -- Streetcar and Airship -- into a prominent focal point for Old Strathcona. I would like to see the Streetcar cross Whyte onto the CPKC "reserve" and eventually wind its way to the nascent Ritchie District rebirth and the Beer Ally that is developing there along 99th Street.

I see this as an investment in Old Strathcona as a whole and not serving any specific master (especially the automobile), particularly not any one developer.

You get a lot of hate my man but you have a lot of good ideas. I respect you for having so much invested in a city you don't live in. Everything sounds good except for reducing lanes from 3 to 2. It just isn't practical.

 

[archited]

except for reducing lanes from 3 to 2. It just isn't practical

It seems that it would be if all cross intersections north of 80th Avenue were eliminated -- there would be nothing to slow traffic in two lanes which now faces controlled intersections at Whyte (a major one), 83rd Avenue, the Streetcar crossing, 85th Avenue, Saskatchewan Drive, and QE Park Road -- all traffic impediments. The right hand lane would be barrier separated from the two lanes for both parking and Sask. Drive access. I guess you haven't got the word that I am moving back to Alberta.

 

[thefreezebreeze]

There’s a couple of developments adjacent to Station Park that might see it benefit from some more proximal foot traffic in the somewhat distant future: Cook County’s expansion, street improvements west on 80th ave, Old Strathcona’s public realm strategy which will turn the area just north of Whyte into a “greenway” park/path. Better pedestrian connections south, near 81/80th ave, across gateway boulevard might help integrate the area a little more too. Especially for those poor retail spaces along gateway, all seemingly up for lease after one year.

Even then, I kinda think they’ve missed the mark with the Epic food hall concept… Been there a couple times now and I’m failing to see the vision, beyond maybe a corporate event space (which I think they’ve now mostly pivoted to). I remember Station Park originally being touted as an opportunity for new, emerging venders to break into the scene by offering relatively cheap “micro retail spaces”. And some of those spaces did actually work! DRTY Ice cream, a Filipino, small-batch ice cream store, which operates with usually one person in a 200sqft seacan, seemingly attracts more people than their marquee food hall!

I just don’t understand why they wouldn’t extend that thinking to Epic. Lease those spaces inside to new, interesting, emerging restauranteurs. Instead they opted for uniformly boring, generic food categories, brought to you by one chef…

Wait is that what they did with the food hall? I've been meaning to go but just haven't gotten the chance yet, and when the food hall was on 105 st downtown what you're saying is exactly what it was. A bunch of emerging restaurants in separate kitchens prepping different types of food. Weird that would move away from that concept.

 

[yeggator]

Sometimes these lines are invisible, sometimes there’s real physical barriers, sometimes a bit of both.

Kind of annoying that our central urban areas have really been screwed over by historic rail yards. The big CN railyard downtown is only finally filled and I think Downtown still carries lots of scars from that. And CP’s railyard in Old Strathcona still holds it back in terms of aesthetics and connectivity.

 

[Slitch]

Wait is that what they did with the food hall? I've been meaning to go but just haven't gotten the chance yet, and when the food hall was on 105 st downtown what you're saying is exactly what it was. A bunch of emerging restaurants in separate kitchens prepping different types of food. Weird that would move away from that concept.

Yeah, now there’s 5 kitchens, 2 bars, each offering some general variant of popular regional cuisine. They’ve each got some kitschy name, like the kitchen serving Mexican food is called ‘Puebla’. Though you wouldn’t care less since they are all completely devoid of any branding or personalization. The food I’ve tried is actually not bad and I know they’ve got some really talented bartenders running the cocktails but still… Like noted above, pretty soulless imo.

I remember going to the 105th street food hall and having a good time! The ordering felt a little disjointed and strange but at least there was some interesting stuff happening there! If im not mistaken, Backstairs burgers, who I think now have 2 locations, started there.