Downtown was already in decline

Downtown Edmonton has substantially deteriorated since I landed in this city decades ago. Yesterday I was in downtown and saw two instances of security personnel questioning people in the Central LRT area. That made me compare this downtown with Vancouver's old Chinatown on Main Street and East Pender.

I guess the problem is more subtle than just homelessness and mental illness. Most of the major banks moved into rental spaces, having sold or even demolished their own HQ buildings. Holt Renfrew left the city, the downtown Bay closed, and Birks was in shopping malls elsewhere. This all happened before the pandemic.

The heyday of this downtown was probably between the late 1980s and 2000. I think the present situation is a sign of Edmonton's lack of attraction and perhaps vigour as a whole.

Edmonton and Vancouver belong to different ranks of cities so cannot be fairly compared. Having said so, walking in Vancouver's downtown around Hotel Vancouver gives me a feel of a big and thriving city in Canada. Is it safe? That is another question.

L.W. Chor, Edmonton