Serious question. Have you been to the DT lately. Abandoned is the word that comes to mind. Nobody wants to work there, play there, live there. Anything not around Ice District the streets are deserted or filled with homeless and addicts.
So has all the DT impetus made the city better? No. The DT has never been worse place to visit.
The biggest single improvement to the city and its industry and infrastructure AND population was the Henday Ring Road. That transformed everything and shot up real estate. That was a provincial undertaking, and imo money well spent as it actually supports the industry and economy. DT spending, not so much.
Not isolated to here but few cities have paid so astronomically to try to make their nothing DT happen. Dt is retail dead. That meaning even less reason to go there. unfortunately so many pundts figure if a DT is the shits it means a city is dying and they try everything possible to prop it up. Edmontons strength and power structure has been outlying regions and industry for nearly a Century.
Craig and Lee discuss the challenges facing downtown retail in North America, focusing on Edmonton's decline. They explore the impact of suburban shopping centers, changing consumer behavior, and potential solutions for reviving downtown vibrancy, touching on issues like crime and urban planning.
retail-insider.com
A new study by the University of Alberta's School of Business found 33 per cent of downtown Edmonton's storefronts are sitting vacant.
globalnews.ca
So tell me how all this DT expenditure has made the city better. Waiting for it.