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And it's very plausible that a lot of tourists would stay in Santa Monica, Beverly Hills, West Hollywood, etc., as they are major tourist cities surrounded by the city of LA but with their own municipalities. This is turn can affect LA's tourism numbers depending on whether a report/study is using city or metro stats.
Haha that is exactly what I was going to say. What on earth is MichiVegas talking about? I guess he/she got Gatsby with Venice but it's sort of isolated and has a strong place-name so I can see why someone would think it is its own city.
As far as the second sentence, I think someone clarified that it is by metro division, which would include SM, BH, Weho, Pasadena, Long Beach, etc. Not sure if it includes Orange County, which obviously has one of the largest international draws in the nation with the original Disneyland (I'm sure it doesn't draw as much as Disneyworld though).
Yeah I wouldn't go that far as to say New England or New York have snowboarding or skiing on Colorado's level, they don't. The eastern half of the country doesn't compete with the western half in elevation, mountains, or the like. It would be like comparing Disney World thrill rides to Slappy's Sealion World or something.
Aspen is a power-keg in this country, overpriced, yes but there's a reason why it's one of America's premier luxury ski resorts. Vermont and New Hampshire and such, are not.
Actually, the eastern mountains compare surprisingly well with western mountains. In regards to vertical drop, Whiteface in the Adirondacks sits between Snowbird and Park City while Killington in Vermont is a mere 500 feet short of Aspen Highlands and barely 200 feet short of Aspen Ajax.
However, quality of snow is a different ball of wax. Eastern mountains can be icy compared to the champagne powder of the western peaks.
I don't think people should take Chicago being ranked 10th as an affront. Chicago is a top notch city not just in the US, but North America, and even the world.
Europeans love Disney (especially those from the UK) because it's dirt cheap and they can get some sunshine.
Chicago is great it's just that it doesn't have enough of a pull to make Europeans or Asians want to travel to the middle of the country.
Actually, the eastern mountains compare surprisingly well with western mountains. In regards to vertical drop, Whiteface in the Adirondacks sits between Snowbird and Park City while Killington in Vermont is a mere 500 feet short of Aspen Highlands and barely 200 feet short of Aspen Ajax.
However, quality of snow is a different ball of wax. Eastern mountains can be icy compared to the champagne powder of the western peaks.
The first two, of course. When you say implement laneways, are you talking about how Melbourne transformed its alleys? I tried suggesting that in the Chicago forum before in a topic--didn't really get too many people who were into it. I still think it's a great idea though. That and more large recreational cruises and Lake Michigan and maybe a ridiculous Dubai-esque underwater hotel for Lake Michigan. Another two sort of great things Chicago could do with its great urban infrastructure is to have some street level commerce in some of the different layers of streets it has (since it has some bi and tri level streets) as there's just one bar I know of that's in one of the lower levels (and it's a fantastic one partially because of its odd location) as well as developing a better, more cohesive underground city such as the one Montreal and to some extent Toronto has which can be made into both an interesting attraction for visitors and very functional for the cold winters for residents.
Agreed, agreed, and agreed. The underwater hotel sounds great for Chicago, anything underwater really. I remember seeing renderings for some island plan, that would have an underwater lagoon type of portion to it. That would be a boon.
Also agreed. My take is that a laneway sort of model will give people to use them, it's just there right now not being implemented for anything other than housing trashbins that await garbage day. I think with some public art and food vendors and cute little souvenir shops and sundries, people would embrace it. They could use laneways as a shortcut to where they're going, thus traffic would be stable, and it would really utilize unused space optimally.
The laneways are the most distinctive feature to Melbourne, it's such a roaring success there and so vibrant at that.
One more thing I'd like to put on a Chicago wish list is heated stations, yes, exactly like the ones in Dubai. Modern, sleek, and efficient. No one likes standing outside on nights like last night (3 degrees Fahrenheit!) in blistering cold while waiting for public transportation of all things.
Beyond that, I'm pretty content with everything Chicago has. It may not be New York but it doesn't have to be nor compete with that. It's tier is the Singapore's, Toronto's, Nagoya's, Santiago's, Frankfurt's (it resoundingly beats Frankfurt as it stands), Kuala Lumpur's, Melbourne's of the world. The second unit places.
And it's very plausible that a lot of tourists would stay in Santa Monica, Beverly Hills, West Hollywood, etc., as they are major tourist cities surrounded by the city of LA but with their own municipalities. This is turn can affect LA's tourism numbers depending on whether a report/study is using city or metro stats.
Of course it's plausible. It's also plausible that visitors to NYC don't stay in NYC proper, or visitors to Miami don't stay in Miami proper.
The claim was that most visitors to LA don't stay in LA, which sounds crazy. And Redondo Beach was one of the examples. If anyone knows Redondo Beach, it isn't a tourist city, has only a few hotels, and is nowhere near major attractions.
Actually, the eastern mountains compare surprisingly well with western mountains. In regards to vertical drop, Whiteface in the Adirondacks sits between Snowbird and Park City while Killington in Vermont is a mere 500 feet short of Aspen Highlands and barely 200 feet short of Aspen Ajax.
However, quality of snow is a different ball of wax. Eastern mountains can be icy compared to the champagne powder of the western peaks.
Yeah but there is something about being way up in the mountains that just has a different feel to it. There is nothing on the East Coast like being deep into the Rocky Mountains.
That alley is actually rather huge compared to most in the city. Typically a car can squeeze by the dumpsters, and that's about it.
I wouldn't mind them trying it out in some of the touristy areas to see if it takes off, specifically in the larger alleys, but there's no way they'd implement something like that throughout downtown. It's not just that dumpsters in the alley is the Chicago way, it's that keeping the dumpsters in the alleys allows for Chicago to be considered one of the cleanest major cities in the country. People would be far from happy if the Loop, River North, etc, suddenly became dirtier than before simply so that people could grab a taco in an alley.
I wouldn't think that cleanliness would be an issue. The bigger problem with laneways in Chicago is ultimately the authorization to make the alleys into commercial lifelines, it depends who owns the alley lands. If it's privately owned, then it's tricky but negotiable, city-style incentives. If it's city owned, they can implement some sort of tax (for those wanting to set up shop) and make the alleys low-fare for bazaars and kiosks to exist while still collecting sums on it. It's profitable to the city. Private owners need more encouragement before they sign on to something like this on their property, especially while holding the liability if something went wrong but even that isn't impossible with collaboration efforts.
For the cleanliness, I agree. I'm a BIG aesthetics person, if it looks filthy, dirty, gritty, grimey then it's not my thing personally, even though I can understand if it is for someone else. I'm all for a presentable city but you CAN keep the city clean without putting the alleys to dormancy. Look at Washington DC, no alleys in downtown (wall to wall, hip to hip the buildings are) and we're one of the most clean city centers in the country, Manhattan over the last ten years (and nearly every time I go back) is becoming less gritty and way more polished and "taken care of". Manhattan, alleys are rare, very few exist, it's a city mostly built wall to wall as far as the eye can see. Present day Manhattan is an aesthetically clean place, for the most part. It looks nurtured and well taken care of, the way a un-neglected power-keg of a city should look like, in my opinion.
Whatever regulations New York has for street food vendors/food kiosks on their sidewalks could be similar blueprints to the regulations Chicago can borrow from.
Yeah but there is something about being way up in the mountains that just has a different feel to it. There is nothing on the East Coast like being deep into the Rocky Mountains.
I agree, and Red John was correct in his remarks that the western peaks are certainly a much better experience therefore a much bigger international draw.
Chicago just doesn't have the enamor and fame that L.A., SF, NYC, Miami, and Vegas get around the world. Why visit Chicago when I can visit NYC, SF or LA for a big city experience? Why visit Chicago for lakeshore beaches when I can go to Miami for a real tropical vacation? Why visit Chicago for nightlife fun when I can go to Vegas for the best nightlife in the states? There's not much of a reason for a foreign visitor to see Chicago over other well known cities.
It's like if I were to go visit Tokyo in Japan. Why visit Osaka when I can visit Tokyo for a Japanese cultural filled big city experience?
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