Raise the Hammer

jason,

I speak from experience, trust me, Barbarossa's patio is perfectly fine.

It is in fact one of the most unpretentious urban patio's in Hamilton.

And speeding traffic is least of its problems - which by the way can be easily curtailed if there is a new found political will to enforce speeding laws in the core. The bend you mention in fact sufficiently slows the traffic down when the traffic lights or the landscaped bump-outs don't.

This patio is living proof of what is already achieved on a one-way street in downtown, without a major shift in one-way/two-way streets.

By the way there are rumors that a Toronto couple is moving into the blue & white building to the east of the cafe, where a most interesting book shop/wine bar may be opening possibly also with a patio.

If anything the big issue in the core is roaring motorbikes mostly on summer evenings & speeding bicyclists who ride wild on sidewalks.

The other bigger issue is wealthy kids zooming by at night throwing eggs at stores, laughing away as they zoom by. Yes! that is true. These are kids who come to gawk at downtown, and reaffirm adult biases they have seen and heard daily, by their actions such as these:

jason, you really need to restart your downtown walks section - and drop in to talk to owners in order to get a more real perspective on prevailing issues in the core. In fact that was the most endearing section of RTH which is sorely missed. That and sections like these which may help reconnect with the original purpose.

I know it is easy to get jaded in this town, but good things are already happening. Drop by Barbarossa's and meet the owner - he may surprise you with his cosmopolitan spirit and Moroccan tea.

It is easy to plan from top down, but difficult to nurture what is already growing. We don't have to be constantly fighting for change. After all, change is incremental and some of it is already here - just waiting for your patronage to take it to the next level.

If businesses such as these have failed and continue to fail in the core it is not due to the direction of the streets or the colour of the lamp posts, or even the type of transportation -- but due to the lack of patronage of those who talk about wanting change in the core, but fail to show up when it is already here.

Comment edited by Mahesh_P_Butani on 2011-09-18 01:44:15