Smart Centres Aurora

Aside from the fact that I think outdoor shopping centres in Canada are absurd, there are many factors that make this plaza worse than others I’ve seen; it is counter-​intuitive, unsafe and not pedestrian friendly. In the last decade developers appear to have jumped on the outdoor mall bandwagon, presumably to cut down on the additional costs of running the public spaces in traditional indoor malls. Smart Centres (and other outdoor malls) to me represent the epidemy of capitalist greed; they are all about selling a lot of stuff to the masses with no consideration for environmental impacts, community or aesthetics. The Aurora plaza has huge parking lots making the stores just far enough apart to make it impractical to walk from one to the next (especially with packages, while dodging impatient drivers coming around blind corners) forcing customers to drive unnecessarily. Unlike some «Smart» centres there are no archways or walkways to shelter customers from inclement weather. There is no safe way to cross on foot from one cluster of stores to the next. There is a laneway at the side of the Walmart that is meant for in and out traffic but isn’t wide enough for two cars side by side. The entrances and exits to the plaza are not where you would expect them to be making navigating the parking lot very frustrating. The entrances to some of the shops are completely backwards, like the Boston Pizza, which faces Wellington but all the parking is at the back so you have to walk all the way around the building to get in; seriously whose idea was that? The logical thing would be to put the door facing the parking lot.
I hope going forward we will turn back to people-​friendly, small shopping areas that are suitable for our climate and community, but as long as the developers are allowed to fund the politicians’ election campaigns I am not going to hold my breath.