Imagine Edmonton

Retail is in for a world of hurt. The tsunami of change that is approaching the shores of this economic sector is going to wreak havoc and leave many dead, empty shells in its wake. The recipients of most of the pain are going to be the so-called ‘big-box’ outlets but, that noted, there will be few that are completely immune to the onslaught. The reason for the radical change is quite simple and the underlying cause is once again technology.
The Internet has already created a public buying platform that enables direct-to-customer shipping and price-points that are greatly reduced over what can be seen in most brick-and-mortar stores. As new devices and software are brought to bear—devices like the recent iPhone app that enables a shopper to scan the bar code of a product and then be presented with the least expensive source of that item anywhere on Earth—retailers will be forced to compete not only with other retailers but also the ‘e-tail’ version of themselves on the Internet. There will be less and less incentive to make the heavy investment in real property and all of the accouterments and personnel needed to stock and staff the end result.
Why are big boxes least adaptive to this change? Their whole raison d’etre to date has been selection and price point. And now they are clearly running second in that race for customers. It is why Google and Amazon are worth billions—and why Circuit City no longer exists.
The small retailer who does stand a chance to weather the storm will have to look to several key operational changes in order to survive and, even then, will have to maintain a creative and constantly updated Internet presence.
The store of the future will have to offer unique products. Art galleries are on safe ground, as are gift and souvenir shops. The trend toward one-of-a-kind items will be supported by another arm of technology that enables the ‘home garage entrepreneur’ to develop some sales muscle. Inexpensive CNC (computer numeric controlled) machines attached to saws, drills, lathes, routers, plasma cutters, water jets and welders allow solitary individuals to create the most fantastic shapes and assemble them into all kinds of devices—an assembly line of one, you might say. Equally dominant computer-driven 3-D modelers are now available in the under $10,000-range, extending the scope of creativity to include composition. It will be a marriage of these ideating individuals with retailers that will allow for the uniqueness of future retail experiences.
A second factor that will support sustainable retail is the whole concept of in-store entertainment. No, I don’t mean a Frank Sinatra impersonator crooning I Did It My Way. There are amazing 3-D projection devices that enable ever-changing store-front window scenes to distract and entice pedestrians to come in to shop. Some of these exceed the category of awe-inspiring and go all the way to jaw-dropping. A recently coined term, telepresence, describes an event whereby an individual or group or animated cartoon characters can be filmed in one location and “teleported” electronically to another. I predict that telepresence endorsements will soon be commonplace at book stores or fashion boutiques, drawing crowds to see Anne Rice or Vera Wang or Madonna or Daffy Duck promoting some article of retail.
A third element that will help sustain the store of the near future can best be described as social convening. This factor goes hand-in-hand with entertainment. It entails the creation of a social environment where the like-minded can gather to enjoy the company of their own kind. The more successful retailers will become masters at creating this environment. Designers and architects who are expert in this endeavor will be in high demand.
The retailer who employs the effects of all three of these doomsday armours will prevail; others will not.

REPURPOSING THE HIGH LEVEL
I have offered this preamble so the focus of this article bears a little more credulity in the examination of its components.
A replacement of the High Level Bridge and the repurposing of that venerable structure to a new function is my subject of choice.
There is a quiet little node of extreme importance that thousands of Edmontonians go by every day without giving so much as a nod of acknowledgment. It is the discreet intersection of the tunnel that connects the Grandin LRT station to the government building due east on 109th Street, interposed with the remnants of the north-south running CPR line that parallels 109th Street a few metres to the west of that prominent artery. This node is significant—not so much at the present time—because in the foreseeable future it will become the site of an au courant transportation centre that connects LRT to the rebirth of the venerable, early 20th Century street car and a high-speed rail connection that joins downtown Edmonton to the International Airport (I predict that this will happen first and soon), and to other more distant locales such as Red Deer and Calgary. Both the high-speed conveyance and the rebuilt street-car line will share the upper deck of the High Level Bridge. The Grandin station extension will connect both of these transportation entities to the rest of Edmonton via LRT and buses.
So the High Level’s future is secure from at least three perspectives: It is a capable transportation structure. It is an historical presence of great importance. It is an Edmonton icon—one of only a few that remains.
The auto deck below is another matter altogether. The approaches are nightmarish in their construct.
From a pedestrian and shop-going perspective, 109th Street peters out heading south from Jasper Avenue toward the river valley. Equally, the Garneau district centered on 109th Street on the south side of the river lacks any kind of demanding presence. Both of these areas can, in substantial measure, blame the positioning of the High Level Bridge and its constricted routing of traffic for this anemic existence.
So, let’s build a new bridge.
The new river crossing would align with 109th Street on both sides, thereby leaving the existing bridge to remain un-bothered and stately eminent in its new uses. The upper deck would become significantly busier as a rail- or maglev-way. The lower deck would be rebuilt in the mode of neo-modern retail. Each of the north and south approaches, or rather the land entailed therein, would become building sites for elegant new river-view hotels, anchoring both ends of the iconic, historic, black bridge. These hotel structures, straddling the rails, would be encouraged to provide internal stations and stops for the re-born streetcar line and, further, to develop conveyances of their own devises to ferry their patrons to Old Strathcona and downtown Edmonton. Edmonton is going to need new five-star hotels at the time when it is awarded the 2017 World’s Fair and beyond that date.
The rebuilt auto deck of the High Level could maintain its outward appearance by constructing the retail elements within entirely out of glass. The walls and roof so-built would be largely sheltered by the steel elements of the bridge, thereby minimizing solar heat gain. In-deck electric heating coils would warm the space on cold days. Cross-flow ventilation—none better than on the High Level, if you have ever walked across the span—would provide ample air changes with sensitively metered devices. Plumbing runs could be concealed below the deck and kept near the land-abutting edges of the span.
Retail on the bridge deck should be high-minded in its construct. We should be looking for small-scale pubs and eateries that enable incredible views… calling for unique fashion boutiques and shoe stores… enticing hand-craft artisans, jewelers and artists. Pedestrian shoppers should have the choice of traversing a connected indoor path or an outdoor esplanade. The retail construct should have exceptional appeal to the Edmonton tourist. The repurposed High Level Bridge would support high-level retail and two enviable hotels. We don’t lose a bridge, we gain a revived icon.
The new bridge, constructed to the east of the High Level, would also be high-minded. Following the historical precedence of the old, now-defunct London Bridge and the Ponte Vecchio in Florence, Italy, it should be a ‘living bridge’, something more than a single-purpose traffic conveyance. Broadly, its elements, apart from a vehicle traffic deck, should include retail, hospitality, offices, residences, parking decks, entertainment venues, plazas, pedestrian ways, view outlooks, and parks and green belts. Viewed from afar the bridge would be shrouded in planting elements and waterfalls, blending with the river valley rather than affronting it. In this age of dangerous extremists, the bridge should be structurally redundant, supported by deep space frames and by cable-stay structures, both.
The traffic deck should support two lanes of automobiles in both directions with a separate and distinct lane for buses on either side of the car pathways. The autos should be able to access and egress parking stations that, by automated shuttles, connect to two or three below-deck parking tiers.
The east side of the bridge deck, adjacent to the Legislature Building and grounds, should have a seamless connection to that park area and, by that extended route, to the river’s edge and the new park planned to take advantage of that prospect. The adjacent west side should connect to the new north-end hotel and, by extension, to the upper High Level deck ‘rail’ conveyances.
The support piers, located on land at river’s edge, could be developed into significant towers of multi-floor, mixed-use occupancies—condos, apartments and offices with as many as 30 floors each, 15 below the valley rim; 15 above. Between these piers, on the surface of the bridge, would be a neo-retail experience with shops and eateries that follow the guiding principles outlaid in the preamble to this article. In and around these shops would be landscaped plazas where licensed buskers entertain with music, magic and myriad performance art pieces. Awe-inspiring outlooks would cascade down the edges of the bridge, buffered with landscaped outcroppings and multi-stepped waterfalls.
The south end of the bridge would have two fair-ways, one on either side of the traffic lanes. The one on the west side could be a more old-time carnival emplacement with a few permanent rides in and on the bridge deck. In my mind’s eye, I can see a giant ferris-wheel that gives riders a magical view of the skyline and river valley… a roller coaster and a merry-go-round that have over-the-edge elements could complete the trio of rides. Between and among the rides, a carnival fairway replete with barkers, games of chance, and snack-food stands would round out the memorable experience.
On the east side of the span adjacent to the ‘old-time’ fair-way, a neo-modern counterpart would employ space-age rides. In lieu of a ferris-wheel, there would be an LSM (Linear Synchronous Motor) propelled elevator loop, similar in height, similar in depth below the bridge deck, but much faster in its ride-course. Too, an LSM driven coaster, speed enhanced by progressing through a vacuum tube, would be unconfined by bridge deck parameters, shooting off the edge here and dropping below deck there. Instead of a merry-go-round, a number of virtual reality rides could take patrons through dreamscapes, fantastical worlds, and heart-pounding pseudo-danger dioramas. An IMax theatre could be located here along with outdoor concert venues.
At the ends of the bridge, on both the north and south sides, the deck‘s span would blend seamlessly into a revamped Garneau street scene and an enhanced Grandin retail/entertainment area. Pedestrian bridges would crisscross 109th Street offering fair balance to both sides of the intervening road.
In all, vehicular traffic would be greatly improved, alternative conveyances would thrive, river valley integrity would be protected, views of the Legislature Building and grounds would be highlighted, as would views of the river valley in general. Edmonton’s skyline would be featured. A destination tourist spot would be created where there is barely one now.
Prohibitive cost? Not necessarily. With development rights over the river assured, the new bridge could be developed at no cost to the City or any of the other levels of government. A long term land, air-rights lease, say 99 years, would make the development viable. The developers would rationalize that there are no up-front land costs… that they would be building a three-tiered parking garage not a roadway… that the (primarily) horizontal development would have far more building economies than a series of high-rises (shorter erection time and easier construction site management). The High Level Bridge is already there; it simply requires ‘interior’ improvements. The hotel sites would be among the most prominent on the globe, overlooking the river valley with conveyances leading to and from major destinations like Old Strathcona, the River Valley park system, the University of Alberta, downtown Edmonton, the Legislature Building and government centre.
I’ve got a spade; let’s do a ceremonial sod-turning. √

Ted Powell is an architect and a futurist. He lives with his wife Laura in Arroyo Grande (Big Ditch), California. He has studied technology as it applies to the construction industry and his company, Design to the Nines, represents a number of nascent high-tech ventures. Ted has lived in many cities across Canada, the U.S. and Europe, but his roots, nonetheless, remain firmly attached to Edmonton -- a city that is dear to his heart. He follows with intense interest all new and proposed developments for the city and boldly adds his own ideas into the mix.