What do you think of this project?

  • I like it a lot

    Votes: 73 78.5%

  • I like it

    Votes: 14 15.1%

  • I neither like nor dislike it

    Votes: 6 6.5%

  • I dislike it

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • I dislike it a lot

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Total voters
    93
Didama said:
what's with the fountain obsession on here? I mean, I love fountains as much as the next guy, but let's face it...we live in a place that has winter 6 months of the year. I think this ribbon will blow people away when it's actually set up and in use. You'll see some funky light work that will mimic the northern lights etc. Much more suited to our climate and dark winter nights, in my opinion. And a fountain isn't going to be super instagrammable and won't draw people from across the city to come see it, but this ribbon just might. It'll be cool, very cool. That's just my prediction though
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The northern lights display kinda feels like a feature that's supposed to be a sales pitch for surrounding high rise development. It seems like something what would be pretty awesome to see from the air. We'll see how it feels at the pedestrian level. Probably still pretty cool.
 
Stevey_G said:
The northern lights display kinda feels like a feature that's supposed to be a sales pitch for surrounding high rise development. It seems like something what would be pretty awesome to see from the air. We'll see how it feels at the pedestrian level. Probably still pretty cool.
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I agree. It’s a swing, and I’m hoping at least a double, if not a HR.

Maybe it’ll be a miss. But I appreciate the effort at something unique and very contextualized in inspiration and the reality of our dark winters. We need more lighting DT, both functionally and artistically.

A fountain would be nice. I would have loved a mixed water fountain/gas fire pit art piece that could be year round. But we have great fountains elsewhere too.
 
The City of Edmonton Parks Department is going to have a difficult time living down its inability to manage a fountain in what is deemed to be the city's premier downtown park. Particularly when jurisdictions with budgets a fraction of the Parks Department budget are able to do it. The budget of the Ponoka Lions Club has to be tiny compared to the City of Edmonton's parks department budget but somehow or another the Ponoka Lions Club is able to manage a fountain for the enjoyment of the towns folk. When it's time to hand out retirement watches at the City of Edmonton's the inscription on the parks department leaders watches should read "Couldn't Get It Done!"

Can't we all agree though that at the very least the Northern Lights ring complements the appearance of the Parks.
 
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Didama said:
what's with the fountain obsession on here? I mean, I love fountains as much as the next guy, but let's face it...we live in a place that has winter 6 months of the year. I think this ribbon will blow people away when it's actually set up and in use. You'll see some funky light work that will mimic the northern lights etc. Much more suited to our climate and dark winter nights, in my opinion. And a fountain isn't going to be super instagrammable and won't draw people from across the city to come see it, but this ribbon just might. It'll be cool, very cool. That's just my prediction though
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Like many people on this forum, I would've loved to have seen a nice, big fountain, but I also have the feeling that people on this forum at the 99th percentile among the general population in wishing that there were a fountain here.
 
Out of Towner said:
The accuracy of these representations is questionable. It shows lots of people strolling around the park at dusk but most people leave parks when its getting dark. Does the brief time that people are able to enjoy the light feature justify the cost of having it?
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Not sure I understand the logic here. These lights will only be in use past sundown true. But a fountain would only be functional in the Summer. Why is one a necessity and the other a waste?
 
Out of Towner said:
The accuracy of these representations is questionable. It shows lots of people strolling around the park at dusk but most people leave parks when its getting dark. Does the brief time that people are able to enjoy the light feature justify the cost of having it?
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Well, I’m originally from Montreal, and I can tell you that a lot of people go to parks and even stroll around in parks after sundown! Will it be the case for this park? Maybe not right away, but if we continue attracting the right demographic such as students downtown, I can definitely see it being used at night during summer. Give it 5–7 years, and you might be shocked.
 
an_edmontonian said:
Not sure I understand the logic here. These lights will only be in use past sundown true. But a fountain would only be functional in the Summer. Why is one a necessity and the other a waste?
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Day versus night activities. Nobody hangs around a park at night - especially in winter - because there's nothing to do. So what's the purpose of the light? Only use that I can think of is to potentially hi-light some ice sculptures. A fountain can be enjoyed all day in summer by visitors.
 
HelpEd said:
Well, I’m originally from Montreal, and I can tell you that a lot of people go to parks and even stroll around in parks after sundown! Will it be the case for this park? Maybe not right away, but if we continue attracting the right demographic such as students downtown, I can definitely see it being used at night during summer. Give it 5–7 years, and you might be shocked.
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Attracted by the light! lol. Got it. (ps: nothing personal but the architectural firm that did the library was from Montreal too, so let's hope that you're right)
 
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HelpEd said:
Well, I’m originally from Montreal, and I can tell you that a lot of people go to parks and even stroll around in parks after sundown! Will it be the case for this park? Maybe not right away, but if we continue attracting the right demographic such as students downtown, I can definitely see it being used at night during summer. Give it 5–7 years, and you might be shocked.
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Out of Towner said:
Day versus night activities. Nobody hangs around a park at night - especially in winter - because there's nothing to do. So what's the purpose of the light? Only use that I can think of is to potentially hi-light some ice sculptures. A fountain can be enjoyed all day in summer by visitors.
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It’s a massive over generalization to say nobody would use the park after dark, especially considering that the sun sets by the time a lot of people get home from work in the winter. Keep in mind that there is a lot of residential construction around the park, so even if the park isn’t drawing visitors from beyond Downtown, there are people who are and will be living right on the doorstep of the park, particularly students (considering the new housing incentive). They might use that park at all times of day for the most mundane activities like walking their dogs, going for a jog or just clearing their head (and especially if they’re students, maybe add in some weed, booze or late-night make-out sessions), and a cool ambient lighting feature would be heavily appreciated by those users. Yes, the park could have been enhanced with a fountain, but remember that it was created first and foremost as an amenity to make this area of downtown more liveable, not necessarily as a tourist draw, and it still does a fantastic job as a local park for neighbours. Most neighbourhoods in the city don’t have a basic water feature anyway, and when we get in a better budget position, there will be room by the park for a fountain. And that would be in addition to Churchill Square and the Leg, which have very popular water features already.
 
Out of Towner said:
Day versus night activities. Nobody hangs around a park at night - especially in winter - because there's nothing to do. So what's the purpose of the light? Only use that I can think of is to potentially hi-light some ice sculptures. A fountain can be enjoyed all day in summer by visitors.
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As well as fountains, I love ice sculptures! Many think Edmonton is such a cold city, but in fact our winter weather can be quite variable.

Ironically, nothing seems to bring about warm spell even in our coldest months like having ice sculptures out. Its like taking your car to the car wash seems to lead to rain.
 
Didama said:
what's with the fountain obsession on here? I mean, I love fountains as much as the next guy, but let's face it...we live in a place that has winter 6 months of the year. I think this ribbon will blow people away when it's actually set up and in use. You'll see some funky light work that will mimic the northern lights etc. Much more suited to our climate and dark winter nights, in my opinion. And a fountain isn't going to be super instagrammable and won't draw people from across the city to come see it, but this ribbon just might. It'll be cool, very cool. That's just my prediction though
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I also think that it will add much needed light in those darker months. And thankfully, there are safety factors related to that.
 
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