Raise the Hammer

I just wrote a letter to the editor at the Spec, in response to a letter from a visitor complaining about dirty Gore Park and all the birds!!!! It was inspired by what I read here; hope they print it!

“Visitors loved city – except Gore’s fountain” – September 23, 2011

To the visitor who enjoyed her recent visit to Hamilton’s downtown, except for dirty Gore Park full of birds and homeless people, let me assure you that our city has a plan to “pedestrianize” and revitalize this area, closing it off to traffic and making it a real people place, hopefully in time for the Pan Am Games in 2015. Hamilton.ca details the Gore Park Master Plan:

Assessment of the form, function, and essence of the Study Area and any resulting recommendations will pay special attention to the uniqueness of this site. The process and outcome will respect its extraordinary physical identity, and its presence in the collective psyche of Hamilton's people. Although the special character of the Gore is somewhat elusive, it is recognized as significant and borne of over 150 years of attendance as a physical and psychological anchor in Hamilton.

In our City Council’s 2011 budget process, they eliminated funding for the pilot project of the pedestrianization of Gore Park ($200,000) but our local councillor assures us that the project is still on schedule. I agree with you: the benches are filthy and foul, and the park needs some cleanup, but our scruffier citizens have every right to be there, and so do birds. The problem isn’t poor people; it’s the fact that Gore Park has been surrounded by speeding traffic and idling buses for far too long, and it was a victim of previous administrations who had a vision of the downtown that included razing Victorian architecture and paving everything. When at last it becomes a real people place, you will see a mix of all kinds of citizens enjoying the park. We had a taste of what it is evolving into with a Promenade of vendors and music and a wonderful cupcake truck this summer. Please come again; I hope you will be pleasantly surprised!

Anne Marie Pavlov