Week of July 2, 2009, Issue #715
BESTEST
Bestest trend in Edmonton
Ambitious, artsy young people buying up homes near Alberta Avenue. FM
Giving young artists high-profile goverment money. A rapper as Poet Laureate and an indie rock concert in the park to kick off a sustainability conference are a pretty nice start. I hope this one lasts a while. DB
Despite the headaches of tearing up Edmonton’s busiest streets, the LRT expansion is one sure sign that City Hall is finally putting its money where its mouth is and embracing public transportation. While other big-ticket infrastructure projects, like the 23 Avenue overpass, mount at a snail’s pace only to facilitate greater automobile traffic to nowhere, the relative speed at which the LRT expansion is addressing the challenges of core neighbourhood traffic is a welcome break from Edmonton’s penchant for creating car-dependent neighbourhoods. Who knows? At this promising rate, the much-needed night bus service might not be far off either. MA
Construction. No, really. Much of the recent construction is for LRT expansion. Any action that our city can take to improve the public transportation system is a very, very good thing. I just spent a few weeks in Europe, and was blown away by the subway systems of cities such as Berlin and Vienna. These places have two train lines, with each of those lines having six or so routes branching in different directions. That’s about 12 different routes that reach all parts of the city and even the neighbouring towns. Edmonton? One route. Maybe one day we’ll go really crazy here and build a second line going east-west. MK
Long for days of refinement? Edmonton’s Tweed Ride gives you the sport you crave under the auspices of style and grace. They met once this spring, and will meet again sometime in the fall, but you can participate daily by putting on your finest sportswear, a cap and oxfords and taking a stylish spin around your neighbourhood. SH
Little restaurants serving delicious food in faraway neighbourhoods. VW
A trend that fits Edmontonians like a glove is the infamous flannel shirt. And the funny thing is, you don’t even have to be a poser to pull this one off as everyone has either owned a flannel shirt or had a grandpa or uncle with a background in roughing it in the woods who does. Forget Uggs, skinny jeans and wayfarer sunglasses, wearing a flannel shirt is actually practical and makes sense in our harsh northern climate, plus you will fit the part if you have been summoned to chop down a tree. XC
Its history stretches back to the dawn of civilization, but I love watching it rear its head in Edmonton’s popular culture after a long hiatus. I’m referring to the local food movement. Though the Strathcona Farmers’ Market has been around forever, City Centre’s new outdoors incarnation and weekly markets in spots both exurban (Sherwood Park, St. Albert) and gritty (118 Ave) have proven a vanguard in Edmontonians questioning where their food comes from. An independent association of Urban Fare restaurants helped usher the idea into the culinary scene as well.
Now even Sobeys has gotten into it with the Urban Fresh market. Better products delivered at a lower environmental cost by people you can meet and talk to is a great change for the bestest. CT
It might be cliché by now, but I’m still really enjoying the enviro-turn for the better. I actually feel guilty if I don’t bring my reusable bags to the grocery store, and it’s amazing to see just how many other people are doing the same. ED
1, 2, 3, 4 ... so many cupcake stores. 5, 6, 7, 8 ... yum, yum, cupcakes are great. BS
Contributors: Mike Angus (MA), David Berry (DB), Xanthe Couture (XC), Erika Domanski (ED), Maria Kotovych (MK), Sarah Hamilton (SH), Fawnda Mithrush (FM), Bryan Saunders (BS), Chris Thrall (CT), Vikki Wiercinski (VW)
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