Raise the Hammer

Sections

List of sections in Raise the Hammer, with links to each article in that section.

Section: Downtown Bureau

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• Farmers Market Renovation Process Painfully Slow - One only needs to look at old photos of our market and market square to realize how much we've sacrificed in this city for the privilege of high speed commuter and truck traffic. Published 2008/11/04

• Downtown Update - There's plenty going on in business, politics and advocacy across the city. Published 2008/10/02

• Downtown Update - September has hit with a plethora of exciting (and a few harrowing) developments in the city. Published 2008/09/11

• Downtown Update - Just a quick run-down on recent events and initiatives in the Hammer. Published 2008/07/07

• Downtown Update - Lots going on in Hamilton over the next couple of weeks. Here's a look at some upcoming events. Published 2008/06/05

• LRT Could Really Happen - Jason Leach is encouraged after meeting with the public works planners studying rapid transit. Published 2008/04/30

• Downtown Update - Everything's coming up Millhouse! Amid all the frustration and despair of crumbling buildings, faceless bureaucrats and clueless politicians, it's good to see evidence of great happenings in Hamilton. Published 2008/04/30

• Downtown Update - Spare a little love for the Hammer. Published 2008/02/14

• Roads: Worst Bang for the Biggest Buck - $6 million can barely build anything in the world of roads, but it could outfit most of Hamilton's main roads with bike lanes. Published 2008/02/14

• Downtown Update - Good, bad, ugly: Hamilton's got it all, and we love it. Published 2008/01/18

• Downtown Update (at Last!) - Jason is a marked man. He was threatened with bodily harm if he did not publish a new downtown update soon. Published 2007/11/27

• Chedoke Browlands Provide the Opportunity to Create a Real Neighbourhood - Who in the western half of Hamilton Mountain wouldn't love their own little mountain-brow village Published 2007/10/22

• Downtown Update - Summer's over, and municipal affairs are springing back to life with several upcoming events. Published 2007/09/09

• Downtown Update - Just a quick update before the summer break, including a couple of projects on the escarpment. Published 2007/06/27

• Downtown Update - The core is cooking! Jason serves up the tastiest treats that downtown has to offer. Published 2007/05/18

• Downtown Update - The good, the bad, and the ugly in recent Hamilton activity. Published 2007/04/30

• Reinventing the Farmers' Market - Improve it, expand it, take it to the streets and surrounding neighbourhoods, but please don't yuppify it or ruin it. Published 2007/04/10

• Laying the Groundwork for Rapid Transit - It's quite exciting finally to see the future of transit being developed in Hamilton after years of neglect. Published 2007/04/10

• Downtown Update - After a long and doleful hiatus, Jason is back with the best new happenings in the core. Published 2007/04/10

• Tidbits from the Census - Despite the obvious problem of sprawl still existing in a big way across Canada, Hamiltonians should take heart that the bleeding has finally stopped. Published 2007/03/19

• Getting On the Right Track - We can learn from Toronto and other cities and develop the right system for our city without the obstacles and negative side effects being incorporated. Published 2007/03/19

• A Plan to Put Streetcars on Main St. - Jason finished evaluating Main Street and King Street and came up with a suggestion for Hamilton to develop a Modern Streetcar system from Mac to Eastgate. Published 2007/02/26

• 'Tacoma Aroma' Smells Like Success - A once-drab place like Tacoma proves once again that any city in any location can revitalize itself when the political will exists. Published 2007/02/09

• HSR Bursting at the Seams - It does the city no good to add new riders in far-reaching areas of Stoney Creek or Ancaster only to lose riders in urban neighbourhoods who can't squeeze on the system. Published 2007/01/24

• Downtown Update - First call for Last Call, the ascent of The Staircase, cranes join the falcons downtown, and Jason gets some funny ideas about a dangling bus. Published 2007/01/10

• One Less Car - The potential for the HSR to become a leader in increasing ridership in Canada is very possible due to the urban nature of our city. Published 2007/01/10

• Downtown Update - As much as Jason loves to scour the city for nuggets of awesome, he can't do it all alone. This issue calls on RTH readers to pitch in and help explore the core. Published 2006/12/13

• Rapid Transit in Hamilton - With BRT/LRT and better pedestrian streets, Hamilton could become a model city in the fight against congestion and poor planning. Published 2006/12/13

• Downtown Update - A plethora of new cafes and studios are opening up through the city. Published 2006/11/23

• The Difference Between Bad Streets and Good Streets - One can't help but wonder why more candidates don't have revitalization at the top of their platforms. Published 2006/11/08

• Downtown Update - Jason tramps around the city and gathers a scintillating flotilla of ephemera in his grasp. Published 2006/10/20

• Downtown Update - Jason spreads a little je ne sais quois in Ontario's burgeoning "Montreal West". Published 2006/10/06

• Downtown Update - Jason is all over the place. Literally. Published 2006/09/20

• Pedestrianize Gore Park - The Gore deserves to become a southern Ontario attraction, not a strip mall parking lot. Published 2006/09/20

• Downtown Update - Jason explores what's going up and what's going down through the core of the city. Published 2006/08/30

• Downtown Update - The pace of reinvestment into James St., recently converted to two-way, should be a wake-up call to City Council. Published 2006/07/05

• Big Plans for the Farmers' Market - Imagine a vibrant, cultural market district in the heart of our historic core. Published 2006/07/05

• Downtown Update - The International Village is well on its way to becoming Hamilton's most multicultural eating neighbourhood. Published 2006/06/16

• Downtown Update - Discover a new cafe on the water, three-car train trolley, public art, restaurant walking tours, funky infill, and a lot more. Published 2006/05/26

• Farmers Marked - Newly proposed regulations on farmers' markets could burden them while more plausible health risks from industrial food processing go unattended. Published 2006/05/26

• Downtown Update - Jason returns with his regular rundown on the downtown. Published 2006/05/05

• Hamilton CAN Kickoff - A citizen's group challenges City Hall's culture of entitlement and disdain for public input. Get ready to watch the sparks fly. Published 2006/04/21

• Downtown Update - Jason's regular round-up of what's up downtown. Published 2006/04/09

• Downtown Update - Jason trawls the core for juicy morsels of news. Published 2006/03/18

• Downtown is Looking Up - Don't look now, but downtown Hamilton is potentially on the verge of a major makeover. Published 2006/03/18

• Downtown Update - Jason rounds up the good, the better, and the missed opportunities for urban revitalization in Hamilton. Published 2006/03/01

• From Bombed Out to Booming - If all of these projects are built and built properly, we will see our downtown become the people place it was originally meant to be. Published 2006/03/01

• Downtown Update - Downtown hamilton is developing all over the place. Here's a scattershot listing of some recent developments. Published 2006/02/15

• A Poverty of Insight - Beasly is home to some of the city's best music, theatre, art, culture, dining, and architecture. Bland suburbanites beware. Published 2006/02/15

• Big Box Blunder - If Centre Mall is going big box, so be it, but stop calling it revolutionary or modern. Published 2006/01/09

• Downtown Update - Downtown's looking up with a flurry of new investments in the core. Published 2006/01/09

• A Decent Proposal - Even City Hall slowly appears to be realizing that investing some public money into core projects brings about a much higher rate of return than investing in sprawl. Published 2005/12/14

• It Lives! - Slowing down traffic and bringing a balance between pedestrians, cars, buses and bikes is essential to seeing downtown Hamilton become full of life and vibrancy. Published 2005/12/14

• Making a List? Check it Twice - Whatever happened to the list of companies just waiting for highway access to Glanbrook Park? It's still there, but it doesn't contain the names you expected. Published 2005/11/28

• Scrooged! - Don't let big business control your Christmas gift-giving this year. Published 2005/11/10

• News: The New Hollywood - Nobody really knows where the stories of $3 a litre gas started, but we do know the media ran with it without any verification or proof. Published 2005/10/07

• All About the Realism - A lot of what politicans call "realism" merely excuses the absence of political will - the desire to make the city a better place for all of us to live in. Published 2005/09/15

• Best and Worst of Summer 2005 - Jason Leach runs down the ten best and ten worst aspects of Hamilton this summer. Published 2005/08/22

• Planning For The Future...the Distant Future - It's not enough for City Counil to develop great urban revitalization plans, only to leave them on the shelf for fifteen years while they ram more big boxes down our throats and pad the pockets of suburban developers. Published 2005/08/22

• Attack of the Clones - Hamilton is in grave danger of becoming another clone town like every other boring suburb from here to Laval, QC. Published 2005/07/01

• Downtown Hamilton Investment Plan - It City Council can scrape up $100 million to expand the urban boundary, it can afford to invest in the core. Published 2005/07/01

• Taking Life from the Gore? - Shouldn't the city be promoting the huge potential of Gore Park? Apparently the Downtown Hamilton BIA doesn't think so. Published 2005/06/16

• Centre Maul: Revitalization or Destruction? - We may be seeing the grand renovation of the centre mall into the form of - get ready for it - a big box power centre. Published 2005/06/16

• Hamilton: Cultural Capital of Canada - As a challenge to our City Council, I offer this: develop a marketing campaign with appropriate funding that will promote Hamilton as Ontario's newest cultural capital. Published 2005/05/31

• Sick Transit - Hamilton has a unique opportunity to invest in transit, walking and cycling to help create a healthy, vibrant city. Published 2005/05/31

• Bringing Life Back to the Gore - Hamilton is blessed to have our city centre, Gore Park, largely intact today just as it was over 150 years ago. Published 2005/05/16

• A Big Victory For Downtown Hamilton - Despite the swath of trendy cafes, and restaurants, and art galleries downtown, people still spend all their time talking about Lister. Published 2005/05/16

• Pedal Power - Walking and cycling provide exercise, conserves gas, saves money, and reduces air pollution. Published 2005/04/14

• Power to the People - Cities are built for people, so why are Hamilton's citizens afraid to live it up a little? Published 2005/04/14

• A Bold Step - Maybe Hamilton needs a bold, signature project to proclaim loudly that we've rediscovered our ambition. Published 2005/04/14

• Save the Tivoli - This may be our last chance to save one of Hamilton's greatest treasures. Published 2005/04/04

• Off the Rails - There is simply no question about it: our VIA rail station must be downtown - another great piece in the downtown revitalization puzzle. Published 2005/03/14

• Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hamilton - Hamilton is a city of contradictions, drab from the outside but filled with hidden wonders. Published 2005/03/14

• Can Hamilton Become a Green City? - I can't think of a better storyline than to have Hamilton proclaimed as Canada's Greenest City someday. Published 2005/02/19

• Some of my Favourite Things - This is simply a sampling of some of my favourite things about Hamilton. Published 2005/02/19

• Hamilton's Café Scene Heats Up - I've noticed a common thread about cities that have thriving, vibrant downtown cores - an amazing café scene. It will vary from city to city, but I've yet to find a "cool" city without great coffee. Published 2005/01/14

• Hamilton: Open for Business, Pleasure & Fun... - Hamilton's potential is amazing, but will never be realized unless our city council determines to make the necessary and difficult choices to bring a balanced approach back to our urban neighbourhoods. Published 2005/01/14

• Proper investment and planning are key - Does downtown Hamilton have a bright future? Only if our city officials choose to give it one. Published 2004/12/14