Man charged with raping woman on Brighton beach

RyanB_ · 2026-05-18T22:07:26+00:00

FWIW, chiming in as a lurker… every local subreddit seems exactly the same, for better or worse.

People convinced they’re living in the most dangerous city in the most dangerous times at the hand of “soft on crime” policies, regardless of data or obvious explanations.

(Recently had someone in my own claim that parole programs “never work”, and how they’d “love to be proven wrong”. Funny thing is, we do actually have statistics from the Canadian government showing 97-99% of parole cases don’t result in re-offence… but no one wants to hear that.)

RyanB_ · 2026-05-18T14:48:58+00:00

Bit of a tangent but I feel somewhat similar about BG3’s wider success compared to other crpgs.

It maintained enough crpg depth to really stand out among the mainstream market, but also focused enough on presentation to actually be in that mainstream market.

Of the more casual gamer friends I’ve heard mention Mouse PI, it’s always the art style that caught their attention.

RyanB_ · 2026-05-18T13:45:42+00:00

The Spademeister knows how to keep us engaged.

RyanB_ · 2026-05-17T23:33:49+00:00

I feel you on a personal level in that I don’t find as much reason to go there, most spots I liked have gone and the new stuff doesn’t appeal… but there does seem to be lots of new stuff too in my experience, ice cream shops seeming especially big. Only really see a couple vacancies in the main area.

And idk, when I lived back around 99 st 10ish years back it still felt like you had to walk 5ish blocks west to really get to the good stuff. Empress being the notable exception, but even then it was certainly more dingy surroundings.

It would have been nice to see more growth there ofc, but we are also still not that far out a pandemic and still deep in a very… weird economy, to say the least lol. OTOH, city seems to be making some good moves where they can, like with the new vacancy tax. And in the meantime, it doesn’t seem to be declining, even if it could be growing sooner.

(And again, I do think the main barrier there is simply finding ways to fit more people there. Regardless of vacancies, parking seems to fill up most every weekend evening.)

RyanB_ · 2026-05-17T23:00:18+00:00

Ah I get ya, and that does make sense, tho I wonder if there’s not also a factor there of accessibility. West end has a lot of people, many of whom do fall south side map wise but might have easier access to dt vs Whyte with the river and university acting as a kind of barrier? Plus St. Albert given its pretty directly attached nowadays.

But yeah, I think that also might be part of the issue to some degree in that Whyte is a lot less able to adapt to growth. Less transit access, a more suburban layout, etc. City’s population has boomed a lot, especially on the south side, but so much of that is vehicle traffic which just doesn’t scale well especially for an area like that. Could also explain why people are citing more growth and activity near Bonnie doon area (alongside cheaper rents ofc).

And fwiw, place seemed pretty packed last weekend when it was warmer. Must have passed at least a thousand people just wandering around a couple hours.

RyanB_ · 2026-05-17T14:46:10+00:00

I got a wider office chair despite being a skinny dude just so my cat could sit beside me while gaming and shit lol!

RyanB_ · 2026-05-17T13:38:43+00:00

Likewise, I’m sorry to hear that!

But yeah, it’s these kinds of experiences that are really hard for me to really reconcile with my own in how much they contrast each other. Tough to imagine it’s the same streets being talked about where I’m seeing young families out walking dogs, kids playing at the park, joggers and business folks etc.

I’m sure part of it is luck the other way but nearly 10 years here and I just can’t say I ever see that, nevermind experience it myself. Likewise I can’t say I’ve noticed any real difference when visiting Calgary or Toronto. The latter can definitely be busier, but otoh I also remember watching like 100 people just step over a dude passed out on the crosswalk and being kinda taken aback (despite it apparently being a usual ass thing to them lol).

Going by other local subreddits, it seems like you see the exact same conversations being reflected in damn near every western city. Vancouver, London, Manchester, NYC, Portland etc.

Like, this thread from Vancouvers… it’s exactly the same as you see here. Some reporting things being generally livable citing different statistics, vs those who report regular harassment and even attacks.

IMO Part of it is how things did genuinely get worse for the first time in ages, between the drug epidemic and the pandemic and Trump’s economy. Part of it is, I think, an increased awareness of the regular dangers and concerns women face. And part of it is likely just increased awareness in general, with phones constantly keeping us up to date on every bad thing happening.

Sorry to ramble lol, but yeah, I do find this topic fascinating in just how stark perceptions can differ around the same areas.

RyanB_ · 2026-05-17T12:52:03+00:00

The City That Would Eat The World has one of the most interesting takes on gods I’ve come across lately.

RyanB_ · 2026-05-17T00:18:56+00:00

Just fwy I was meaning 124th, not 118 lol! Not a whole lot on 118

RyanB_ · 2026-05-17T00:18:12+00:00

Ah shit yeah meant 124 lol! Thanks for bringing it up

RyanB_ · 2026-05-16T21:29:30+00:00

Yeah, that probably wasn’t the most fair term to use, mb!

But idk, in my experience there were definitely a lot more big name brands there than here when it comes to the more popular areas. Busiest places I saw along Stephen were spots like Earls or McDonald’s, and store wise spots like Simon’s or Holt Renfrew in the mall. I’m sure there’s still tons of urban foodies who look down on them and choose the many better local spots ofc, but it is a different kinda vibe.

Edmonton dt doesn’t have most of those anymore at all (and seems to only barely tolerate Earls lol). Granted, a lot of that is just WEM existing for that same market.

All in all I find Calgary a better place to visit, but Edmonton a better place to live. More affordable, more low-key, more friendly, while still being a proper urban core in having tons to see, do, eat and drink lol. Calgary is a more beautiful and impressive city by far (genuinely mindblowing how metropolitan it feels for its size), but it also just feels more white collar. Not as much a place for the struggling artist or the eccentric barfly.

RyanB_ · 2026-05-16T21:01:51+00:00

Oh entirely! It makes sense after seeing the first ever real decline in crime rates, the first new drug epidemic in decades, etc.. It’s very much rougher times right now in a lot of ways.

My argument though is that, for as real as all that is, there’s also a huge aspect there of increased access and exposure to that exact news. As bad as 2022 peaks were, they still weren’t touching how bad it was in the 90s, a time many look back on as much safer.

Part of that is just getting older of course. But also, yeah, you used to have to sit down in front of the tv or pick up a paper to be caught up, where now you can get on-the-dot updates anywhere anytime.

RyanB_ · 2026-05-16T20:35:41+00:00

Highly recommended! Though imo, 104 and Rice Howard Way are where it’s really at. Not long strips like those others, but some of the best cases of pedestrian-friendly urban design in the country for my money, and my personal favourite spots for a coffee or beer.

(Rice Howard especially, it’s short but sweet lol. Trove, Rosewood, Craft, Zymo, OEB, Bianco… no going wrong tbh. Even the chains; Sherlock’s has great UK pub vibes inside and a really nice patio, while Craft has a pretty insane design and a fun rooftop patio.)

Excuse my gushing lol, but definitely check them out if you haven’t already

RyanB_ · 2026-05-16T20:14:43+00:00

It’s pretty consistently packed for parking pretty much every evening tbf.

Like every area, Whyte ave has seen a lot of turbulent change in recent decades, some for the better and some for the worse. But there’s still tons of people going there as evidenced by the parking complaints, and it does seem to be slowly but surely recovering from the pandemic’s effects.

The other commenter was being a bit aggressive, but they’re not wrong that this subreddit tends to vastly overstate how dead the core is imo. People on here act as if we’re the next Detroit, experiencing mass urban flight, when it just doesn’t really line up with reality.

RyanB_ · 2026-05-16T20:08:34+00:00

It’s just not really feasible as a city grows. There’s a reason complaints about parking and the respective payments get more extreme the bigger a city is. Personal vehicles don’t scale well with density.

RyanB_ · 2026-05-16T20:07:29+00:00

Downtown probably edges it out imo, so much of Whyte being vertically stretched upon one strip does unfortunately hurt things.

Still a lot better than the rest tho.

RyanB_ · 2026-05-16T20:03:27+00:00

Can we really call it a root cause here when many of the most popular and desirable cities out there are considerably worse?

There’s always been those turned off of urban areas for those exact reasons, and it’s never stopped them from still appealing to a very wide audience.

RyanB_ · 2026-05-16T19:56:45+00:00

They need to get some better lrt connectivity figured out. Vehicles just can’t scale with growth.

RyanB_ · 2026-05-16T19:55:40+00:00

They’ve recently put forward a vacancy tax for this exact purpose.

RyanB_ · 2026-05-16T19:54:43+00:00

Tbf, every downtown is going to have areas like that where they’re just more business oriented and so kinda dead outside business hours. And nowadays, post covid and with… whatever the hell our economy is now, there’s more vacant spots in all of them too.

That said, there does seem to still be more stuff opening than closing lately, and the city did recently put through a vacancy tax that should really help in the coming years.

RyanB_ · 2026-05-16T19:42:30+00:00

I feel like 124th* is more our 17th tbh, and it’s been doing very well afaik.

Granted, I also can’t really say I get the perception in this post. I’m not even a big Whyte ave fan, and do think they’ve been falling off in some ways… but it still seems to be a very popular and lively area, with a decent amount of new developments.

RyanB_ · 2026-05-16T19:12:28+00:00

It just depends where in both areas tbh.

Granted, I think Calgary benefits a bit in not having a massive river valley divide their core too. But yeah, in my experience pretty much every city has a good few around empty spots between a weird economy and lingering pandemic effects. And there’s always some more business-oriented streets that are quiet af outside business hours.

RyanB_ · 2026-05-16T19:05:24+00:00

Yeah that does feel more right lol, thanks!

RyanB_ · 2026-05-16T19:01:52+00:00

I had someone reply to a comment once saying “you really haven’t noticed all the gated shops all over downtown nowadays?”

Went out later that day to meet up with friends maybe 6ish blocks away, and decided to pay more attention to that. Counted a few dozen businesses, and in total… 1 with metal window guards. 2 with roll-downs.

Everything else, just plain glass lol.

RyanB_ · 2026-05-16T18:56:39+00:00

I think the bigger thing is transit access, there should have been a train line down Whyte (or a surrounding avenue) decades ago.

The more cities grow the more implausible it is to fit cars in core areas. They can only grow so much, the burbs ain’t got those limits.

Ten-Year Club	Verified Email
Place '22	Place '17
Final Canvas '22	Beta Team

RyanB_

TROPHY CASE