01-15-2024, 10:49 AM
I am tentatively in favour of the Great Land Use Shuffle proposal, by putting the hospital on the Aud property by way of building a new Aud downtown - particularly if some existing adjacent city land is used to expand the space (ie: the parking lot across Gaukel behind the 44 Gaukel Creative Space, or the small parking lot near Grand Trunk with one of the buildings on Charles purchased to create a pedestrian link over Charles St, or build the Creative Space into the new Aud to absorb that space too). Having the Aud directly on the LRT instead of several blocks away would be fantastic, and ideally the downtown restaurants would get a boost from people getting dinner before a show or a game. The parking garages at Duke St, City Hall, and Frederick/Benton are all within 2-3 blocks of the site, and would see good evening usage and bring in some additional revenue for the city without needing to build a new parking structure for the Aud specifically. The new Aud could be built, or at least well-started, before the current one is ripped down to avoid being without that venue for a good few years between demolition and reopening.
If the LRT Phase 3 does turn out to be Ottawa St (Sunrise Centre to Breslau), then I imagine that having the hospital at the current Aud lands would create additional demand for that line and streamline the way for an approval. Pop a stop (with traffic lights) right at George Eugene and Ottawa for front-door access to the hospital. It would be very centrally located for all of KW, and has good bus access already that could easily be boosted to more frequent service.
I would prefer if some existing amenities on the site were kept - the dog park, the skatepark, and maybe add a basketball court or something into that corner as well, so that the neighbourhood doesn't lose out on those everyday amenities, but they could remain along Stirling to help keep things quieter on that side of the property.
For some wishful thinking, it would be cool to see a pedestrian bridge reconnect Stirling back to Wedgewood (or Burbank) over the highway, and to the Expressway Trail, for extra pedestrian accessibility but also an option to get to the hospital that doesn't require walking across the Ottawa St bridge.
I do live close to the Aud (1.5km away), and I'd be sad to see it go elsewhere, but I do think it could be a good move for the city. As a wild (read: impossible) alternative, I'd like to see the giant parking lot beside GRH get bought up and turned into hospital land, but I can't imagine that it'll get given up for a reasonable price when condo towers could get built there instead.
If the LRT Phase 3 does turn out to be Ottawa St (Sunrise Centre to Breslau), then I imagine that having the hospital at the current Aud lands would create additional demand for that line and streamline the way for an approval. Pop a stop (with traffic lights) right at George Eugene and Ottawa for front-door access to the hospital. It would be very centrally located for all of KW, and has good bus access already that could easily be boosted to more frequent service.
I would prefer if some existing amenities on the site were kept - the dog park, the skatepark, and maybe add a basketball court or something into that corner as well, so that the neighbourhood doesn't lose out on those everyday amenities, but they could remain along Stirling to help keep things quieter on that side of the property.
For some wishful thinking, it would be cool to see a pedestrian bridge reconnect Stirling back to Wedgewood (or Burbank) over the highway, and to the Expressway Trail, for extra pedestrian accessibility but also an option to get to the hospital that doesn't require walking across the Ottawa St bridge.
I do live close to the Aud (1.5km away), and I'd be sad to see it go elsewhere, but I do think it could be a good move for the city. As a wild (read: impossible) alternative, I'd like to see the giant parking lot beside GRH get bought up and turned into hospital land, but I can't imagine that it'll get given up for a reasonable price when condo towers could get built there instead.