Green Avenue

[fluffy]

There is no upscale retail locations that provide an exclusive service to the valley.

Interesting thought. High end fashion malls that cater to those who can afford it are not uncommon, but usually pop up around more populated centers where the numbers on such a slim target market are higher. Again this brings me back to the current economic climate and the obvious question of who is out there buying $100 shirts right now? Still, the "outlet mall" concept is meeting with big success where they are built, but so far there seem to hover around major centers.

[Dawnland]

Large retailers are staying away from increasing their square footage and looking at optimizing product availability and energy efficiency.
Amazon was looking at building a number of distribution centers so that on-line purchases can arrive within hours instead of days. They use algorithms to predict what people in the area are buying and stock their nearest distribution center with those items. It could possibly be that the vehicles using the bridge will be all delivering products to your door.
My point was basically that there are many different types of retail experiences and it is a very real possibility that the projects happening on PIB are a bit more forward thinking than a big box / dollar store / parking-lot wasteland given the recent developments are winning national architectural recognition.
Completion of the bridge is only a small part of a very large picture and to consider it a bridge to nowhere is short-sighted in terms of the scale of land being made available.

[twobits]

Large retailers are staying away from increasing their square footage and looking at optimizing product availability and energy efficiency.
Amazon was looking at building a number of distribution centers so that on-line purchases can arrive within hours instead of days. They use algorithms to predict what people in the area are buying and stock their nearest distribution center with those items. It could possibly be that the vehicles using the bridge will be all delivering products to your door.
My point was basically that there are many different types of retail experiences and it is a very real possibility that the projects happening on PIB are a bit more forward thinking than a big box / dollar store / parking-lot wasteland given the recent developments are winning national architectural recognition.
Completion of the bridge is only a small part of a very large picture and to consider it a bridge to nowhere is short-sighted in terms of the scale of land being made available.

Was there some foreshadowing in there? I hope you are right. I also said in a previous post that I hoped it would not be a bridge to nowhere. I am not rooting for failure here. Am hoping for a surprise announcement that will blow our socks off.

It's just the silence that makes me a bit concerned and that fosters skepticism when it drags on.

[Static]

Building more retail will not fill the empty ones that already exist. The project will be a lost cause so long as retirees on fixed incomes are the predominant demographic.

[fluffy]

...so long as retirees on fixed incomes are the predominant demographic.

You talk as though retirees on fixed incomes have no disposable income. Various pensions from both government and and employment sources, plus investment income, along the fact that most are not carrying mortgages any more make this demographic a significant economic driver in Penticton.

[driveangry]

When is this bridge going to be done, it only took the Romans 10 days to build a bridge across the Rhine.

[twobits]

When is this bridge going to be done, it only took the Romans 10 days to build a bridge across the Rhine.

Romans didn't work silly.
If we had 1000 slaves focused on the Green Ave bridge working 14 hrs a day 7 days a week it might be done in 10 days as well.

[driveangry]

OK, no slaves, but the Army can build a bridge in 30 minutes with just 10 guys. LOL
Saw it on the History channel the other day.

[twobits]

OK, no slaves, but the Army can build a bridge in 30 minutes with just 10 guys. LOL
Saw it on the History channel the other day.

LOL ya, but somehow I don't think a Bailey Bridge is going to instill any investor confidence.

[Tony]

Well, it's starting to look like a bridge now. I think the construction team has done a great job not disrupting traffic too much. I see that Palmer Sather's cattle are getting excited now they'll have someway to cross the channel.

Seriously, when is there going to be an announcement on what they are going to do on the other side? Right now, people are getting frustrated seeing the money being spent on the "bridge to nowhere".

[fluffy]

Well, it's starting to look like a bridge now.

I'll have to pencil in a looky-loo on my itinerary for today, I drove by there a couple days back and there was a parade of flat beds with big precast concrete beams on board waiting to get unloaded.

I haven't heard much about any definite leases signed yet. I think the thing spent so much time in red-tape-limb that a lot of the players have stepped back. There was a blip in the news a while back about Costco shopping around for sites for scaled down versions of their big box outlets, and I have heard from a semi-reliable (heard it from a guy who heard it from a guy...) source that they are looking at the south Okanagan but that the PIB development was not on their radar as they prefer to own rather than lease.

[Symbonite]

Waste of time and money if you ask me....the only thing i really hope is that they do not put a light there...thats what the purpose of that road was made to by pass penticton without going through penticton...but I doubt it...just turn penticton into a westbank and have a few thousand stop lights..

[XT225]

Waste of time and money if you ask me....the only thing i really hope is that they do not put a light there...thats what the purpose of that road was made to by pass penticton without going through penticton...but I doubt it...just turn penticton into a westbank and have a few thousand stop lights..

No problem with a light. If there are no businesses over there, nobody will be going there. No problem.

[ToddT]

I thought they already confirmed a light would be going in? I don't like it either but I don't see how you can't have a light there. I understand people want things to remain a certain way for a long time, or in the way they were originally intended, but unfortunately the "bypass" is becoming a main thoroughfare. Penticton is growing and developing infrastructure is a part of it.

Comparing Penticton to say, West Kelowna, or even Kelowna for that matter isn't really on point either. West Kelowna and Kelowna have their main road running right through the middle of town. Penticton's busiest road is on the outskirts. I'd say that's kind of a nice feature. Maybe if you don't like the hubbub of a busy main route, you should consider taking the lesser traveled paths through the centre of town and you could potentially regain some of that old timey charm you are looking for.

In a society where the transfer of information has become literally instantaneous for all intents and purposes, it is amusing that those that complain about technology and change can't find the patience to wait for a couple of minutes at a red light.

[driveangry]

IMO,,, It has little to do with patience sitting at a red light, it has more to do with respect and responsibility. Ministry of transportation has a responsibility to keep highway traffic going with little to no interruption. Time to respect the traveler, not trap them for economical reasons. If traffic is starting to get to heavy for locals to cross then build an over/under pass. Traffic lights just add to the congestion.

There is already a road along side the channel. It could have been improved to use as a service road.