Corydon Avenue Construction 2021

It was scheduled for spring of 2020 but put over to this year. Why? Not sure. With the pandemic and everything closed and I mean everything, it seemed construction was the only thing running. But not in this case. Nothing happened till this year.

Corydon has always been an oddball. You have two autobody shops next to posh coffee places and barber shops. It has apartments on one side a lot of the time and commercial on the other side.

Sidewalk cafe at Cocoabeans might be a little dusty and noisy.

Corydon remains a street where you have to slow down even when construction isn't happening. Unlike some streets like Jubilee that banned parking, stopping, loading, Corydon by its nature can't be a speedway.

I didn't enquire about the boarded windows at Corydon Cycle but I have seen it a bit all over the city. Thom Bargen Coffee windows smashed for a bike inside, CPR Cellphone window smashed across from St. Vital Shopping Centre. So tough for small businesses.

We have had some arsons. Twice in one abandoned house recently.  Drug addiction, grinding poverty, lack of housing and the pandemic. And crime rising. We need to do better.

If we can see shop windows smashed on major commercial streets it suggests a desperation, a brazenness. It doesn't go away running to the suburbs. Or exurbs. Or cottage. It follows you around.

The end of the pandemic will help populate the outside. But will it stop the desperation? And sending people to prison here results in deaths that even U.S. prisons would find hard to match.

Corydon remains attractive for a lot of reasons that Osborne Village struggles with on the main strip. It has people living in higher densities right on the street. Now, the Village could make up for it with people of Stradbrook and River but there have been empty spaces for years as result of land hoarding.

And while it might seem like a lot of restaurants on Corydon, there are grocery stores, convenience stores and hardware stores on the street. Never underestimate what 7 Eleven is in a neighbourhood. It is a place to buy a paper, get a lottery ticket, Slurpee.

There are a few street killers that are more effective than front facing parking. No offence to these businesses. They do try with patios and have parking for their customers but is a big open area when you walk past. 

The service window for restaurants is something that should continue for pick-up and delivery for yeas to come even without a pandemic. Bar Italia here has one.

Another example of how front parking kind of kills the street vibe. It always will.

The King George Courts built in 1913 is the type of building now fought in neighbourhoods all over as not in characters with the area. It is gorgeous but resisted by many. However, it is what is needed for higher densities and for people starting out, downsizing and the like.

Character homes so close to Corydon at Jessie and Cockburn.

At Jessie/Cockburn with Corydon in background. This was a 1/ 1/2 size lot. Not sure what house condition was but as you can see already sold as it nears completion.

Not sure how it will look when complete. As houses age past 100 years, some will fall to wrecking ball.