Are Calgary and Edmonton walkable cities? (neighborhood, to live, restaurants)

[irishimm]

I wa surprised by the large populations sizes and impressive skylines of both of these cities, but Im curious about the streetscape in these towns.
Are they like Houston or Phoenix, totally unwalkable with tall buildings? OR do they have an urban, vibrtant feeling to them? Do you feel like you're in a city when you're in Calgary and Edmonton? Could you walk around from neighborhood to neighborhood? Are the two cities that different from each other (i.e. is one much more walkable and urban than the other)?

Thanks in advance!

[insertusernamehere]

Not sure what you mean by "walkable". Both Edmonton and Calgary are walkable in the sense that you can walk easily within the downtown areas and residential areas. Going from neighbourhood to neighbourhood would be quite a "walk" since neighbourhoods are large. There are usually wide boulevards in both cities that include the sidewalk and grass between the sidewalk and curb so you are never in fear of being run over. You may or may not feel like you are in a big city depending on where you live. Some neighbourhoods are miles away from the downtown area and very quiet, while others can be noisy and have traffic noise.

Edmonton is large (264 square miles) larger than Chicago in area. Calgary is 280 square miles.

The two cities are quite different. Edmonton is a Government city while Calgary is a financial center. Both have a lot to offer. If you research their websites (City of Edmonton :: Home and http://www.calgary.ca/) you can find a lot of useful information.

Cheers!

[irishimm]

Thanks for the response!

I guess what I mean by walkable is...if you lived in these places how easy would it be to get by without a car? Examples of very walkable cities are New York City, Vancouver, and San Francisco. Examples of very unwalkable cities are Phoenix or Houston. I guess another question is how "pedestrian friendly" the streets are, how convenient the public transit is, how interesting the streetscape is. Could I just park my car in the middle of downtown Calgary or Edmonton and walk around and see most of the sights, go bar-hopping, etc? Could I live in parts of these cities and do everything I needed/wanted to by walking or transit?..Wide boulevards are great but is there a lot of pedestrian-friendly infrastructure nearby? (i.e. not big box stores and parking lots, but blocks of shops, restaurants, bars...). Also, how different are Calgary and Edmonton in these respects?

Any more thoughts would be much appreciated...

Originally Posted by insertusernamehere

Not sure what you mean by "walkable". Both Edmonton and Calgary are walkable in the sense that you can walk easily within the downtown areas and residential areas. Going from neighbourhood to neighbourhood would be quite a "walk" since neighbourhoods are large. There are usually wide boulevards in both cities that include the sidewalk and grass between the sidewalk and curb so you are never in fear of being run over. You may or may not feel like you are in a big city depending on where you live. Some neighbourhoods are miles away from the downtown area and very quiet, while others can be noisy and have traffic noise.

Edmonton is large (264 square miles) larger than Chicago in area. Calgary is 280 square miles.

The two cities are quite different. Edmonton is a Government city while Calgary is a financial center. Both have a lot to offer. If you research their websites (City of Edmonton :: Home and http://www.calgary.ca/) you can find a lot of useful information.

Cheers!

[insertusernamehere]

My personal opinion as an Albertan, is that you need a vehicle to get around in both cities unless you live downtown and are comfortable to live and walk in a limited area (especially true in winter). There is good bus and rapid transit service in both cities, so I guess you could get by with no vehicle if you had to go to areas outside of the downtown.

Edmonton has the beautiful river valley just steps away from the downtown with miles and miles of trails next to the North Saskatchewan river. Calgary has the Trans Canada Trail with easy access from downtown. Both cities have a vibrant nightlife with bars and clubs in the downtown and other areas.

If you parked downtown and walked around you would only see a few of the sites. Some historical buildings, art gallery, etc. but you would have to travel to see other places of interest depending on what you like to see. For example if you wanted an interesting streetscape in Edmonton that is very walkable and has unique shops, older buildings and ample pubs/bars with outdoor seating, then Whyte (82) Avenue in Old Strathcona is the place to be, but is a little ways from the downtown (about 4 km).

[irishimm]

Thanks again...I guess my next question would be, how big are the downtown areas in these cities? Are they pretty small, or are they actually a good size?

Originally Posted by insertusernamehere

My personal opinion as an Albertan, is that you need a vehicle to get around in both cities unless you live downtown and are comfortable to live and walk in a limited area (especially true in winter). There is good bus and rapid transit service in both cities, so I guess you could get by with no vehicle if you had to go to areas outside of the downtown.

Edmonton has the beautiful river valley just steps away from the downtown with miles and miles of trails next to the North Saskatchewan river. Calgary has the Trans Canada Trail with easy access from downtown. Both cities have a vibrant nightlife with bars and clubs in the downtown and other areas.

If you parked downtown and walked around you would only see a few of the sites. Some historical buildings, art gallery, etc. but you would have to travel to see other places of interest depending on what you like to see. For example if you wanted an interesting streetscape in Edmonton that is very walkable and has unique shops, older buildings and ample pubs/bars with outdoor seating, then Whyte (82) Avenue in Old Strathcona is the place to be, but is a little ways from the downtown (about 4 km).

[irishimm]

Also, how do the "red mile" (17th ave) and Whyte Avenue compare? Are they pretty much the same thing?

Originally Posted by insertusernamehere

My personal opinion as an Albertan, is that you need a vehicle to get around in both cities unless you live downtown and are comfortable to live and walk in a limited area (especially true in winter). There is good bus and rapid transit service in both cities, so I guess you could get by with no vehicle if you had to go to areas outside of the downtown.

Edmonton has the beautiful river valley just steps away from the downtown with miles and miles of trails next to the North Saskatchewan river. Calgary has the Trans Canada Trail with easy access from downtown. Both cities have a vibrant nightlife with bars and clubs in the downtown and other areas.

If you parked downtown and walked around you would only see a few of the sites. Some historical buildings, art gallery, etc. but you would have to travel to see other places of interest depending on what you like to see. For example if you wanted an interesting streetscape in Edmonton that is very walkable and has unique shops, older buildings and ample pubs/bars with outdoor seating, then Whyte (82) Avenue in Old Strathcona is the place to be, but is a little ways from the downtown (about 4 km).

[Robynator]

In short, no. If you want walkable cities in Canada in the same way that San Francisco is, Vancouver and Montreal are the two that immediately come to mind. Even Toronto would be better than Calgary and Edmonton. Calgary and Edmonton are much more in tune with Phoenix, Houston, etc - very car-centric and suburban sprawling by nature. There are pockets which are walkable, but in essence, it doesn't dominate the urban landscape of those cities.

[clunkerider]

I would say Calgary is very car-centric. However, I do commute by bicycle to work and back most days of the year with no trouble. I have also walked with no trouble, there are sidewalks on all major streets. Transit here is not the greatest if you live in the suburbs...so walking and biking are good ways to go. Traffic can be brutal.