Entry 24 - The Dawn Will Come (5E132)
Hiya, and welcome back to Glenvale!
Dawn is breaking upon Glenvale, but for the city council, this year will be very busy.
The City Council has led major efforts to clean up parks across town after it was revealed every single one was constantly littered. Flytipping is now a jailable offence.
The Haaler River flows across Glenvale. It goes south, then back north on the other side of the Glenvale Bay, and is a major river in Kingscote.
As for Burbank Bridge, it's over fifty years old by now - well beyond its lifespan. It needs to be rebuilt, and so is being disassembled, bit by bit.
The project is controversial. In the short term, it involves the destruction of an entire housing estate, not to mention the severing of a major road link. In the long term, there are concerns about a rise in the local council and city taxes. Finally, environmentalists claim the project will have a negative impact on the environment - ironically the Green party is in power, and pushing for construction of the new bridge.
The reconstruction of the Burbank Bridge also involves the construction of a dam. It should generate enough electricity to shut down one nuclear reactor. The dam will also help redefining the banks of the river, including massive land claims downstream and the creation and landscaping of a small lake in the middle of town.
Here's the dam being built...
The dam means water levels will rise by about 9 meters. Some neighbourhoods, especially near Forest Hills, need to be flooded, causing more people to require rehoming.
The one bridge still operational has to cope with twice as much traffic as usual, and a single accident can block the entirety of traffic going in one direction - such as here, where the southbound lanes are all but empty when they should already be jammed.
At the end of the year, both the dam and new Burbank Bridge are finally complete.
The new bridge has 40% more capacity than the old one, and the dam also provides an extra roadway between north and south Glenvale.
However millions were lost when a wind farm on the south bank of the river was partially submerged after a storm. To political commentators, this picture shows the irony of a Green Party drowning out its own policies in a bid to redevelop the city. Other see the effects of Green Party policies on itself.
The fact is, the creation of the dam ruined the City Beach, and because of budget overruns residents were left with a muddy waterfront. The approval ratings are at their lowest, and the major struggles with constant criticism.
The improved transit times between the north and south sides of Glenvale can barely offset the major's terrible rating.
This is especially true amongst the 1200 people that have to be rehomed after their housing estate needed to be destroyed to make way for the new bridge, or those whose homes were flooded.
Maybe another project can help with the major's disastrous tenure. Do you see it - that big tower in the background.
The other big project of the year is a massive redevelopment of the Stark Tower complex. For years, Glenvale had little in the way of a skyline. Of course, buildings like the Stark Tower were known landmarks, but they were barely visible even from Rochdale, let alone the rest of the area. Glenvale needs something iconic - something that would thrust it to world city status.
The old plaza was destroyed. Along with undeveloped land, a new tower was built : thus, the Marigold Tower was created. The name itself was chosen to resemble another famous tower in Tamriel, the Imperial City Whitegold Tower.
Amazing artwork of the Whitegold Tower in the Imperial City in the early decades of the Fifth Era, about 80-100 years ago. This artwork was meant to be the inspiration behind the new picture, but the final project was deeply modified. (Picture by Lelek1980, not myself)
This is what the Marigold Tower finally ended up looking like. There's a massive restaurant and a few condos on top! While it looks very different from the Whitegold Tower, it is the tallest building in Glenvale - and the five tallest in all of Cathnoquey.
The plaza has been entirely rebuilt, too, in order to meet up with the Concord Plaza and form one single landscaped area. It does seem to work.
Predictably, everyone is moaning. Too expensive, too ugly, too ambitious : the city council is spending money on frivolities while unemployment is on the rise again.
Yet the new tower unmistakably redefines the cityscape, and Glenvale was ranked 7th out of 100 in the authoritative Tamrielic Sights to See classment, published yearly in the Imperial Times magazine. A boost for the economy and for tourism.
Same view a few hours later. From the right of the picture to the left : the twin Commerce Towers, the City Hall / Civic Center tower, the Marigold Tower, the Stark Tower, the Cookie Inc. Tower. In the bottom right, the Chirper Inc HQ can be seen.
View of the city at night. The Marigold Tower will soon be completed and lit up too.
The Briar Lodge lighthouse and the new Marigold Tower in the background.
The toll gate on the M1 motorway has been completed!
This seems to be a success, and now the city council wants to build more across town - but will the opposition let them?
Meanwhile the State of Kingscote has decided to split its legislative and executive branches. While its executive will stay in Albany, the State Congress has been moved to a new building in Glenvale. For the state government, this is meant to reduce corruption in the capital Albany, as well as to promote Glenvale across the nation - and all of Tamriel.
Yet for some people in Glenvale, life hasn't really gotten easier. The Bluerise Tower might have been replaced by a zoo but what good is it if the poorest classes can't afford to visit it?
The Library Tower now stands as the second-tallest building in Glenvale, but what is it, if not a symbol of capitalism? Many in the city feel betrayed by a Green Party they thought would change things for the better, but who have only clumsily carried out a policy of massive consumerism.
Though many would also disagree, and point out the major is inexperienced yet traffic and environmental issues in the city have improved. And indeed, despite unemployment rising though by just 1% against a national average of 3%, median income has also increased throughout the city and many city services are now either free to the poorest through heavy subsidies, mostly from trade taxes.
In the 3rd year of the major's first mandate, things finally begin to look bright. As soon as unemployment falls again, the major's ratings should go right back up. Well, hopefully. Election's in two years now.
And as part of the celebrations for the city's 160th anniversary, a new ATC tower was built for Glenvale Airport, which is slated to undergo major reconstruction in the coming years.
Manufacture in Glenvale is all but gone, but it is being replaced by an economy based on tourism, services and finances. It's been hard work for many years, but it seems that it's finally paying off for the inhabitants as a whole - even if it ruins some people's political careers.
People may moan and decisions may be clumsily made, but there's some hope really. Hope that Glenvale becomes one of the nation's biggest cities and one known the world over to boot. Dawn has broken, hail the new day.
Hope you liked this entry, please lease some feedback and see you next time!
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