You're in Calgary When...

Chris Erb: 13th Jul 2006 - 17:54 GMT

Although there are currently no plans to remove bridges or to discontinue building new ones, the system has received some criticism and controversy in recent years. The system has been blamed for being a potential causitive agent for the decreased street life in the Downtown Commercial Core.[2] Street life is instead concentrated on certain streets (such as Stephen Avenue) or in neighbourhoods where there are no bridges (such as Eau Claire and the Beltline). This may be due (at least, in part) to the removal of much of the commercial and retail real-estate from the street and to the interior "+15 level" of the buildings connected by the system.

This is what I don't like about enclosed pedestrian walk ways. it turns urban downtowns into building to building shopping malls.

I like the hat though. Do all the signs have it?

Peter: 13th Jul 2006 - 17:58 GMT

i was gonna mention something similar. ksedge, do you find that there are fewer people on street-level because of these pedestrian walkways? i was wondering... it seems like that might be the case, but then again, perhaps that would be tantamount to saying that there were fewer people on the streets here in nyc because they were alll on the subway, heh.

Chris Erb: 13th Jul 2006 - 18:10 GMT

In the discussion section on Wikipedia (which is where I got the above quotation I should add) many people were talking about how some streets with +15 are quite desolute where other streets without the walkway have much more activity.

In Saint John, New Brunswick, there is a walk way in some of uptown. In these areas, there is a noticeable decline in people on the streets (it makes travelling the city a little easier as the weather is often quite terrible there though).

EvilGentleman: 13th Jul 2006 - 19:07 GMT

Winnipeg has the same sort of inner-city interconnected retail walkway network. You can go quite a ways, even including the main branch of the city library. All quite interesting, but I can't help but notice that it has had the effect of putting the middle and upper classes indoors, while the poor and homeless are sitting outside on the streets.

Peter: 13th Jul 2006 - 19:10 GMT

do you have to pay a fare to go on these walkways?

ksedge: 13th Jul 2006 - 20:30 GMT

i just moved here and the first thing i said when i went downtown was, "where is everyone?" the downtown core felt completely empty and emotionless. i soon found out that everyone just walks through the +15's from building to building. if you go inside and walk through the skyways there are all sorts of people walking around. you can basically walk from one end of downtown to the other without going outside. although it's quite incredible when you think of it (an city within a city almost), i can't say i like them because of the empty feeling it leaves on the streets. in my opinion it really doesn't do much for the city but i guess once the winter comes (as it can get quite cold in calgary) it probably helps the businesses as people are more willing to go somewhere if they don't have to get bundled up to go outside.

EvilGentleman, i couldn't agree more. calgary seems to have a major homeless problem and you're right about everyone being inside while they are left on the outside.

Chris Erb, all the +15 signs have the hat, i'm still on the lookout for other signs that do too.

Peter, the walkways are 100% free, basically just an elevated enclosed sidewalk.

C.: 14th Jul 2006 - 09:35 GMT

Anyone seen Waydowntown?
www.imdb.com/title/tt0219405

I've gotten lost in the +15 numerous times. It's always fun to explore though.