Comment 30444

By Ryan (registered) - website
Posted April 24, 2009 at 08:23:42

Mr Meister,

Who are you even replying to? I don't see anyone trying to say that Boston and Hamilton are the same size.

What I tried to argue above is that Boston is denser and more vital than Hamilton because of the different choices it made over the past 30 years:

Boston maintained and expanded its electric transit system; whereas Hamilton demolished its electric rail and, later, replaced its trolleybuses. While Boston has always seen fit to regard transit as an investment in a vibrant city, Hamilton cut its transit funding continuously for two decades starting in the mid-1980s.
Boston blocked one highway construction and pushing another highway underground (which, despite its extraordinary cost overruns, has breathed new life into the previously isolated North End); whereas Hamilton built a new municipal highway. Incidentally, the Big Dig is already subject to induced demand: http://raisethehammer.org/blog/1155
Boston protected its 18th- and 19th-century urban architecture against grandiose plans to demolish it; whereas Hamilton wiped out much of its downtown core for "renewal" mega-projects and sat by while adjacent properties were neglected until they collapsed.

So I'm left scratching my head that you praise Boston yet refuse to consider adapting Boston's successful urbanization strategies here in Hamilton.

Common sense is that which tells us the world is flat.
-- Stuart Chase

Article Archives

Mental Health for a diverse Hamilton - May 23, 2013, at Crowne Plaza Hotel, 150 King Street East
16 Upcoming Events...

A Trip Down Highway 6by Ryan McGreal, published May 21, 2013 in Transportation (12 comments)
83-Year-Old Pedestrian Struck at Upper Gage and Mohawkby Ryan McGreal, published May 16, 2013 in Transportation (6 comments)
Still Struggling to Make Sense of City Policy on Crosswalksby Nicholas Kevlahan, published May 14, 2013 in Transportation (13 comments)
Tactical Urbanism and the Judgment of Hart Solomonby Nicholas Kevlahan, published May 13, 2013 in Transportation (8 comments)
A Poem in Julyby Shekar Chandrashekar, published May 12, 2013 in Arts (1 comment)
Tactical Urbanism Crackdown in Spacingby Ryan McGreal, published May 10, 2013 in Activism (1 comment)
Hamilton Sustainability Professionals Network Launch Eventby Justin Jones, published May 09, 2013 in Sustainability (0 comments)
20 Jackson Demolition Rumour is Just a Rumour - For Nowby Ryan McGreal, published May 09, 2013 in Revitalization (11 comments)
Staircase Minor Variance Application to Waive Parking Requirementby RTH Staff, published May 08, 2013 in Activism (4 comments)
Merulla Motion Calls for Integrity Commissioner to Investigate Mayor Bratinaby Ryan McGreal, published May 07, 2013 in Politics (8 comments)
Letter: In Defence of Ontario Port Landsby Letter to the Editor, published May 07, 2013 in Revitalization (0 comments)
Mayor Bratina Recuses Himself from Mayors' Vote on Big Move Revenue Toolsby Ryan McGreal, published May 07, 2013 in Light Rail (4 comments)