North, south, east and west -- streets are all turned around
Column: Gimme Some Grammar appeared in Fort McMurray Today Aug. 18, 2006
By MICHAEL HALL
Today staff
I had a long talk with a longtime local resident this week. He opened my eyes to something I've been getting wrong.
While he didn't ask me for confidentiality, I'm pretty sure Ken Hill won't mind my dropping his name.
I'm writing about this here because I agree 100 per cent with the point he made.
It's not earth-shaking news, but Hill pointed out something I -- and the paper -- have been getting wrong on a regular basis.
Franklin Avenue does not run north and south.
In fact, it heads northwest from L. Robert Enterprises to the go-kart track.
And the pair of bridges -- the Ralph Steinhauer and the Grant MacEwan (it's the one with the metal superstructure) run east-west. Not north-south.
We have probably referred to these geographic facts incorrectly many times over the years.
It's not that we're ignoramuses. It's just that we strive for clarity and simplicity in communicating with you, the reader, in stories.
While it's correct to refer to the Steinhauer as a northbound bridge -- the traffic heads to Fort McMurray's north side -- noting it runs from east to west is just confusing for someone who is headed to the other side of the Athabasca River.
It's also confusing to contemplate the fact that parts of Thickwood Heights are actually south of some points in the Lower Townsite.
Back to Franklin Avenue. It's canted on an angle, more to fall in line with the landscape -- perhaps to run parallel to the Abasand Heights escarpment or the Clearwater River -- than anything else.
Many of us are used to streets and avenues laid out on grids aligned to the compass. Edmonton, where many McMurrayites have either lived or stayed, is like this -- in the older subdivisions.
The new subdivisions in Edmonton -- think Millwoods -- are just like many parts of Fort McMurray, ranging from Timberlea to Chickweed. What passes for urban design these days mandates curving streets -- the opposite of the grid system -- to ensure everyone lives within a predetermined distance of a transit bus stop.
The upshot of this is, unless you track your direction with a GPS, compass or follow the location of the sun in the sky, you have no idea where you are.
That's me. I grew up in cities, so I never relied on the yellow orb that shines down on us.
That's why I approximate directions, and have passed on this bad habit to scores of reporters over the years.
The lack of a grid system for streets, apart from a few blocks downtown, is part of the charm of Fort McMurray. The system in place elsewhere in Alberta with numbers instead of names, and a system that steers you precisely to your destination based on the street address alone, is too smart for us. Better the system elsewhere in Canada with names that make little sense.
To sum up:
* Few streets in Fort McMurray are on a grid system or run north-south, east-west.
* Franklin Avenue runs southeast-northwest.
* It's better to avoid map co-ordinates altogether.
* * *
I was delivering newspapers last week when I noticed something startling.
Everyone knows about the many tenants being put up at homes throughout McMurray's residential neighbourhoods. I've written about it here.
The municipality looks the other way on this issue.
It's gone past basements. There are hundreds of large trailers in local driveways, each one housing one or more workers. Probably oilsands workers.
Many of these aren't normal trailers. They're referred to as fifth wheels. They're usually bigger than the normal holiday trailers you can tow behind almost any car, and they're smaller that semi-trailers.
I saw several fifth wheel trailers on my stroll with pop-outs, where the living space inside is made bigger when the trailers is at rest. I wonder if the municipal census takes these trailer residents into account. While there may be a category for basement rental suites (that are probably under-reported, because homeowners fear a crackdown), I bet this one was overlooked.
There could be hundreds of additional "shadow population" residents out there.
Heck, maybe even some full-time McMurrayites.
* * *
The newspaper has been under a full-court press this week from representatives of the Chipewyan Prairie First Nation. You may have read here that Chief Walter Janvier is the target of a petition to unseat him.
Curiously, the chief has not been able to schedule an interview with us, but he took time to meet with the local CTV reporter this week for an interview.
This dispute is between band members who oppose the chief's rule, and the chief and his supporters.
Some are trying to drag the newspaper into the dispute. We are being accused of various transgressions. They're bogus. There are two sides in this issue. We are not one of them.
The safe course would be to not cover this story. We didn't take that route.
I was told it's not good enough for me to issue an invitation in this space to the chief to propose positive stories about his hamlet. It should be by e-mail.
I reject that.
The invitation is still open.
In the meantime, stories about Janvier residents without running water will continue to make the news. It's a scandal. Everyone should be outraged.
Over to you, Chief Janvier.
Unless you track your direction with a GPS or follow the location of the sun in the sky, you have no idea where you are.
© Copyright 2006, Fort McMurray Today.
By MICHAEL HALL
Today staff
I had a long talk with a longtime local resident this week. He opened my eyes to something I've been getting wrong.
While he didn't ask me for confidentiality, I'm pretty sure Ken Hill won't mind my dropping his name.
I'm writing about this here because I agree 100 per cent with the point he made.
It's not earth-shaking news, but Hill pointed out something I -- and the paper -- have been getting wrong on a regular basis.
Franklin Avenue does not run north and south.
In fact, it heads northwest from L. Robert Enterprises to the go-kart track.
And the pair of bridges -- the Ralph Steinhauer and the Grant MacEwan (it's the one with the metal superstructure) run east-west. Not north-south.
We have probably referred to these geographic facts incorrectly many times over the years.
It's not that we're ignoramuses. It's just that we strive for clarity and simplicity in communicating with you, the reader, in stories.
While it's correct to refer to the Steinhauer as a northbound bridge -- the traffic heads to Fort McMurray's north side -- noting it runs from east to west is just confusing for someone who is headed to the other side of the Athabasca River.
It's also confusing to contemplate the fact that parts of Thickwood Heights are actually south of some points in the Lower Townsite.
Back to Franklin Avenue. It's canted on an angle, more to fall in line with the landscape -- perhaps to run parallel to the Abasand Heights escarpment or the Clearwater River -- than anything else.
Many of us are used to streets and avenues laid out on grids aligned to the compass. Edmonton, where many McMurrayites have either lived or stayed, is like this -- in the older subdivisions.
The new subdivisions in Edmonton -- think Millwoods -- are just like many parts of Fort McMurray, ranging from Timberlea to Chickweed. What passes for urban design these days mandates curving streets -- the opposite of the grid system -- to ensure everyone lives within a predetermined distance of a transit bus stop.
The upshot of this is, unless you track your direction with a GPS, compass or follow the location of the sun in the sky, you have no idea where you are.
That's me. I grew up in cities, so I never relied on the yellow orb that shines down on us.
That's why I approximate directions, and have passed on this bad habit to scores of reporters over the years.
The lack of a grid system for streets, apart from a few blocks downtown, is part of the charm of Fort McMurray. The system in place elsewhere in Alberta with numbers instead of names, and a system that steers you precisely to your destination based on the street address alone, is too smart for us. Better the system elsewhere in Canada with names that make little sense.
To sum up:
* Few streets in Fort McMurray are on a grid system or run north-south, east-west.
* Franklin Avenue runs southeast-northwest.
* It's better to avoid map co-ordinates altogether.
* * *
I was delivering newspapers last week when I noticed something startling.
Everyone knows about the many tenants being put up at homes throughout McMurray's residential neighbourhoods. I've written about it here.
The municipality looks the other way on this issue.
It's gone past basements. There are hundreds of large trailers in local driveways, each one housing one or more workers. Probably oilsands workers.
Many of these aren't normal trailers. They're referred to as fifth wheels. They're usually bigger than the normal holiday trailers you can tow behind almost any car, and they're smaller that semi-trailers.
I saw several fifth wheel trailers on my stroll with pop-outs, where the living space inside is made bigger when the trailers is at rest. I wonder if the municipal census takes these trailer residents into account. While there may be a category for basement rental suites (that are probably under-reported, because homeowners fear a crackdown), I bet this one was overlooked.
There could be hundreds of additional "shadow population" residents out there.
Heck, maybe even some full-time McMurrayites.
* * *
The newspaper has been under a full-court press this week from representatives of the Chipewyan Prairie First Nation. You may have read here that Chief Walter Janvier is the target of a petition to unseat him.
Curiously, the chief has not been able to schedule an interview with us, but he took time to meet with the local CTV reporter this week for an interview.
This dispute is between band members who oppose the chief's rule, and the chief and his supporters.
Some are trying to drag the newspaper into the dispute. We are being accused of various transgressions. They're bogus. There are two sides in this issue. We are not one of them.
The safe course would be to not cover this story. We didn't take that route.
I was told it's not good enough for me to issue an invitation in this space to the chief to propose positive stories about his hamlet. It should be by e-mail.
I reject that.
The invitation is still open.
In the meantime, stories about Janvier residents without running water will continue to make the news. It's a scandal. Everyone should be outraged.
Over to you, Chief Janvier.
Unless you track your direction with a GPS or follow the location of the sun in the sky, you have no idea where you are.
© Copyright 2006, Fort McMurray Today.
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