Raise the Hammer

Thanks to JonC for succinctly framing my position. When I read the kind of vapid ignominy being passed by the likes of RobertD I wonder why I even bother trying to at least engage in discourse over issues of public importance. The City Hall forecourt has never been a significant gathering place because of the constrictions of Hunter and Main. It's not an evil place, it just doesn't work, nor is it likely to.
I can easily walk across Queen to get to Nathan Phillips Square, and the surrounding commercial areas provide plenty of people immediately close by to support public events taking place. It doesn't take much contemplation in terms of where people would come from or how they would get there to understand the problem.
If we were to remain at the City Centre, we could negotiate with Yale Properties to take the large rectangle bordered by James, King, the Stelco Tower, and the south boundary of the City Centre, remove the buildings, and create a large plaza that would be the "city hall" forecourt, and an ideal gathering place for the intersect of the East West and North South LRT routes. You would now have an enhanced Gore, which is a great focal point, but lacking in space for large public gatherings.
I'm too old to wait for the day when people come to their senses and realize that Main Street should be two-way. The two significant one-way arteries, Main and Cannon, are commercial and social wastelands. James Street has made an impressive come-back thanks to the two-way conversion, but there are enough souls lost in the thinking of 50 years ago that makes the automobile a body appendage, rather than an accessory. There is no sign in any of our traffic visioning that addresses these streets. I had enough trouble with James-John, and the York-Wilson conversions, which was lost in Committee and had to be won again in a subsequent vote. So RobertD can tilt at the Main Street windmill if he likes.
I have to say in conclusion that assinine statements about soap-boxes against one of only a couple of councillors who come close to being progressive isn't helping the cause of a greater future for Hamilton.