There are no upcoming events right now.
Why not post one?
Recent Articles
- Justice for Indigenous Peoples is Long Overdueby Ryan McGreal, published June 30, 2021 in Commentary
(0 comments)
- Third-Party Election Advertising Ban About Silencing Workersby Chantal Mancini, published June 29, 2021 in Politics
(0 comments)
- Did Doug Ford Test the 'Great Barrington Declaration' on Ontarians?by Ryan McGreal, published June 29, 2021 in Special Report: COVID-19
(1 comment)
- An Update on Raise the Hammerby Ryan McGreal, published June 28, 2021 in Site Notes
(0 comments)
- Nestlé Selling North American Water Bottling to an Private Equity Firmby Doreen Nicoll, published February 23, 2021 in Healing Gaia
(0 comments)
- Jolley Old Sam Lawrenceby Sean Burak, published February 19, 2021 in Special Report: Cycling
(0 comments)
- Right-Wing Extremism is a Driving Force in Modern Conservatismby Ryan McGreal, published February 18, 2021 in Special Report: Extremism
(0 comments)
- Municipalities Need to Unite against Ford's Firehose of Land Use Changesby Michelle Silverton, published February 16, 2021 in Special Report
(0 comments)
- Challenging Doug Ford's Pandemic Narrativeby Ryan McGreal, published January 25, 2021 in Special Report: COVID-19
(1 comment)
- The Year 2020 Has Been a Wakeup Callby Michael Nabert, published December 31, 2020 in Special Report: COVID-19
(0 comments)
- The COVID-19 Marshmallow Experimentby Ryan McGreal, published December 22, 2020 in Special Report: COVID-19
(0 comments)
- All I Want for Christmas, 2020by Kevin Somers, published December 21, 2020 in Entertainment and Sports
(1 comment)
- Hamilton Shelters Remarkably COVID-19 Free Thanks to Innovative Testing Programby Jason Allen, published December 21, 2020 in Special Report: COVID-19
(0 comments)
- Province Rams Through Glass Factory in Stratfordby Doreen Nicoll, published December 21, 2020 in Healing Gaia
(0 comments)
- We Can Prevent Traffic Deaths if We Make Safety a Real Priorityby Ryan McGreal, published December 08, 2020 in Special Report: Walkable Streets
(5 comments)
- These Aren't 'Accidents', These Are Resultsby Tom Flood, published December 04, 2020 in Special Report: Walkable Streets
(1 comment)
- Conservation Conundrumby Paul Weinberg, published December 04, 2020 in Special Report
(0 comments)
- Defund Police Protest Threatens Fragile Ruling Classby Cameron Kroetsch, published December 03, 2020 in Special Report: Anti-Racism
(2 comments)
- Measuring the Potential of Biogas to Reduce GHG Emissionsby John Loukidelis and Thomas Cassidy, published November 23, 2020 in Special Report: Climate Change
(0 comments)
- Ontario Squanders Early Pandemic Sacrificeby Ryan McGreal, published November 18, 2020 in Special Report: COVID-19
(0 comments)
Article Archives
Blog Archives
Site Tools
Feeds
By Frank (registered) | Posted November 05, 2008 at 12:48:37
Why do I promote making downtown less car friendly despite liking cars? Because although I like cars, I don't see how having a major street/highway running through downtown. I've not only driven downtown, I've walked and shopped downtown. I'm not an idiot and I see how having a street like Main Street running through downtown is a major hinderance to creating a downtown environment that promotes life.
Reducing the bus fare or making it free doesn't transform the image of transit. It actually serves to make it worse because as you can imagine the issue to most people isn't that it's to expensive it's that it's not clean. Bus transit doesn't have a "hip" image. The point of LRT is a transformation of the perception of transit as well as a more effective method (fiscally, environmentally etc) of serving busy corridors.
When did I refer to cars being subsidized by public monies? Roads most definately are. I also don't think that it's our responsibility to keep the economy focussed on backwards practices. As non-renewable resources are used up or get harder to attain it's necessary to refocus. That's something that the North American car industry hasn't been able to do and that's why it's floundering right now. The Big 3 are slowly changing their focus but it's far to late.
Finally, it has nothing to do with car hating and everything to do with loving the city. Sometimes, it's necessary to make sacrifices in order to maintain a city with the image we want to have. I was a proponent of the RHCE (although I'm supremely p.o'd about the "business development" at the top) and I'm also a proponent of shutting down the Gore and making it a pedestrian zone as well as making downtown streets two-way and having desychronized lights. I plan on always having a car (at least for now) in fact I plan on restoring one as soon as I get my own place to work on it and I don't think that the answer to everything is "get rid of the cars" however with respect to our downtown, it's the vehicular traffic that's cutting off the life of it. To go from the Hunter station to downtown one has to cross Main Street which is dangerous at the best of times. Our sidewalks are too small and synchronized traffic is plain scary to a pedestrian. Agreeably, it's not the best for getting from one end of the city to the other, but...that's what the 403, Burlington Street, the Linc and the QEW are for.
Permalink | Context