Dear Mayor and Councillors,
“Take a risk. It’s the most Edmonton thing you can do”. That’s supposed to be Edmonton’s slogan/catchphrase. It’s even painted on the side of an Edmonton downtown office building courtesy of an Edmonton business that knows how to successfully take a risk and what the rewards are.
Too bad it’s not true. It seems that if you’re the City of Edmonton the most Edmonton thing you can do is identify those things that are uniquely successful and figure out some way and some reason – any way and any reason? – to stop doing them and never do them again.
Edmonton’s City Hall inside and out is one of the few things in Edmonton that is truly spectacular, truly world class, and truly egalitarian. It is accessible and open and possibly the most egalitarian amenity we have. It is enjoyed equally by visitors staying in four-star hotels and new immigrants alike. It has fulfilled that role virtually every day for a quarter of a century.
But, like too many other successful Edmonton ventures, we seem to have a municipal culture that seems to think they can somehow reinvent the wheel and do things better any chance they get with little or no consideration for historical or daily significance for Edmontonians.
Paving stones that are unique to City Hall and both whimsically mirror and anchor theTyndall stone structure it surrounds? That will never do – replace them with the same granite surfaces you can find anywhere else in the world.
Trees that are some of the tallest, broadest and healthiest in the downtown core? Take them out and replace them further away from the chlorinated water that has been so hard on them so the replacements offer no shade for those in the pool or those watching those in the pool.
And then there’s the pool. One of the most used and most loved amenities in the entire city. Instead of figuring out some way to make it a “signature Edmonton element” and duplicating it in neighborhoods throughout the city, we’ll figure out some way and some reason to make it so generic and so plain that instead of coming from throughout the city to play in it and spend time around it, it won’t be worth walking a few blocks out of your way for.
We all talk about how much we miss the Tegler Building and the Carnegie Library and the old Courthouse and how much poorer our city is for their loss. It will be too bad if we start talking about those things that make City Hall special the same way once they’re gone.
There has been some public discussion of late in regard to the proposed depth of the wading pool at City Hall. That same discussion and critical oversight needs to take place in regard to all of the elements being proposed, not just the depth of the pool. Done correctly with the correct results, perhaps we can pay for the pool water by not paying to throw the baby out with the bathwater.
Regards,
Ken
Bookmarks