Thursday, January 31, 2008

Municipal letdown or neighbourhood opportunity?

Everyone knows that it takes more than just a bunch of houses to make a successful neighbourhood. Location, location, location is the mantra repeated often by our realty professionals - and that is often said with an eye towards close neighbourhood amenities that raise both your property values and your quality of life.

So what is a neighbourhood to do when its municipality decides to close those nearby amenities that make your neighbourhood a good one?

Three Windsor neighbourhoods are facing that very fact this Monday when city council makes the decision official to eliminate three recreation/community centre complexes.
With their commitment to the new WFCU centre in the east end, they have concluded that they cannot sustain these three smaller, more community-oriented facilities (let alone the old Barn when its replacement is built). This trend in current municipal decisions, just like in the various school boards, to amalgamate neighbourhood-scaled institutions into large, regionally-focused ones leaves a lot to be desired and really must be re-evaluated. Not only does it strip a livable neighbourhood of yet another reason to actually build a life there, but it encourages the "Mom's Taxi" syndrome with children and the elderly stranded at home unless they have an able-bodied motorist handy to give them a lift to find some activity. Just looking around at the obesity rates associated with sedentary lifestyles, this syndrome is alive-and-well in Windsor/Essex county.

However, let's look at this from a different angle. These older recreation complexes might have not been serving their communities well as they stood. I am not from any of these neighbourhoods so I can't speak to them specifically. But maybe they had outlived their usefullness. So now, the city will have their shiny-new multi-pad areana a short drive away (hopefully it will be well serviced by public transit) and have these older buildings in their inventory, looking for new uses. I realise that the city is looking at selling them, but come on - do you really think old arenas are a hot commodity in this real estate market?

Certainly some use could be found for them to help their respective neighbourhoods develop into a more pedestrian-scaled walkable community. What amenities are lacking in the neighbourhoods and how could these abandoned buildings fill those voids. More mixed-use retail within walking distance to peoples homes? Perhaps an artist live/work loft space with galleries on the main level to help transform the neighbourhood into a lively, creative one. How about an elder-care campus', interspersed with supporting retail that is woven into our regular day-to-day lives, which would accomodate a growing demographic of our comunity while keeping them close at hand instead of feeling alienated out in the suburbs.

We should be looking at these buildings with an eye to strengthening our neighbourhoods. Yes, I lament the fact that our neighbourhood children have less to do with these facilities vacated, but we may be able to make up for their loss with an adaptive reuse that augments our lives instead of just giving up on them and letting them rot. These are our communities and we must take responsibility for them.

This goes before council on Monday, and if you want to speak as a delegate you must call the council services department at (519) 255-6432 by 12:00 noon tomorrow.

In Your Face Art

CBC Radio's Jian Ghomeshi, host of 'Q', interviewed an acapella group from NYC this week. Naturally 7 has become a sensation in Europe while remaining virtually uknown here in North America. What does that say about that status of the arts, and our acceptance of public displays of art, in North America? Check out the YouTube video of their performance on a subway car. [ED: There is some question about where this video was shot, though the most popular opinion online is that it was in France, not NYC as I had previously stated.] (I'd recommend really turning this one up!)

Ultimate Musicians Workshop

The connection has been made between the strength of a cities music scene and its economic growth. Besides the fact that quality arts and cultural offerings just make my city more fun to be a part of, it will be the engine for the creative drive we need to see us to better times.

Which is why we will pass along all the information we can that strengthens our "scene":

Join 96.7 CHYR FM, the ROCK 95.1/100.7 FM, 94.3 CKSY and FACTOR for the “Ultimate Musicians workshop”. Featuring info sessions on FACTOR, which provides funding for Canadian musicians to produce music, tour, and more. The Songwriters Association of Canada will be there with an info session on songwriting. Bring in your Demo and the experts will critique it and give out tips. This seminar is a must for any songwriter. SOCAN will have a seminar on royalties, and the Ontario Media Development Corporation will speak on licensing your music to film, tv, and other media. There will also be a Songwriters Circle and an open mic to finish off the night.

The “Musicians Workshop” will take place February 23rd at The Walkerville Theatre in Windsor and runs from 9-9. You can find the itinerary below with a link to the pre-register form. All music genres are welcome…there’s no admission, and it’s all ages.

We’ll see you February 23rd at the Walkerville Theatre in Windsor for the “Musicians Workshop.”

Walkerville Theatre
1564 Wyandotte St E.
Windsor, ON

9:15am–11:00am – FACTOR info session – how to get funding for tours, production, and more
11:00am-12:00pm – OMDC – Ontario Media Development Corporation – getting your music licensed on film, tv, internet, and other media
12:00pm-1:00pm – LUNCH – sandwiches will be provided
1:00pm-2:30 – SOCAN – will talk on disbursing royalties and how to become a member of SOCAN
2:30pm-4:30pm – SAC (Songwriters Association of Canada) – Date with a Demo. Bring your demo on cd and have it critiqued by the members of SAC
4:30pm-6:00pm – Songwriters Circle – a round table with other songwriters on crafting the next big hit
7:00pm-9:00pm – Open Mic for artists – bring along your guitar, bass, and/or keyboard for an acoustic showcase of your music"

Are you ready to register yet? Click here.

Wednesday, January 30, 2008

Scale Down Predicted to win CBA "Best New Blog" 2007


OK, I admit, when a friend of mine sent me the link to this article (thanks, Paul!), the first thing in my mind was that it was CBC's predictions about the Canadian Blog Awards. I started reading - and then I started dancing.....

I just stopped about 5 minutes ago.

"The deadline for voting on the second round of the 2007-8 Canadian Blog Awards sort of snuck up on me. This might be the drawback of only voting once rather than once a day — a difference that may focus the mind, but then keeps the awards out of sight and out of mind for most of the days of voting.

But whatever the case, if you haven’t yet voted for this year’s finalists, I encourage you to do so. You have until the end of tomorrow (Thursday, January 30) [ED - this should read today - WEDNESDAY, January 30] to get your votes in. This year’s first round voting has produced an ecclectic set of finalists and a diverse collection of blogs to peruse.

So, without further ado, here’s my quick take on the contestants."
It is a fairly long article, and it is obvious from author James Bow's in depth critiques, he has spent a fair amount of time visiting all of the blog finalist. Now, without further ado - I am going to jump straight to the money-shot...

"Best New Blog
Contenders:
The Dinosty, WindsorEats FoodBlog, …Scale Down, Windsor, Uncorrected Proofs, Danielle Takacs: Galloping Around the Golden Horseshoe.

The pace of the expanding blogosphere may have slowed (they’re no longer talking about ten blogs being created every second, or some such), but there are so many new blogs hitting the skids these days, it’s always amazing to see those rare few rise to the surface. The Dinosty is a Canadian basketball fan with an attractive looking blog about his passion. Windsor Eats shows that there are good things to eat in Windsor, whereas Scale Down, Windsor tackles the political issues surrounding this border town (since when did Windsor develop such a happening blog community?). NDP Blogger Uncorrected Proofs has been making waves in the Canadian political blogosphere, and Liblogger Danielle Takacs takes up the Liberal cause from her vantage point in the GTA.

Who Should Win:

I’m voting for Scale Down, Windsor, because I like an underdog, and because I like what they’re doing. All of the blogs listed here are worthy of winning. I like Danielle’s analysis, but I’d strongly recommend darkening up that red column, and giving your site a black background, for ease on the eye."

So you can see why I'm pretty happy right now. I just peeled myself off the ceiling. And speaking of peeling somebody off the ceiling, can someone get ahold of Andrew over at International Metrolopolis for me? I think he's in the same state that I am right now.

"Best Local Blog
Contenders:
International Metropolis, blogTO, Miss604, Spacing Toronto, WindsorEats FoodBlog

Local blogs really represent cities as bloggers; they can be as diverse and eclectic as individual bloggers, and that’s the case here. Compare Spacing Toronto with its urban planning tilt and activist ethic with the wider ranging blogTO and you’ll see what I mean. It’s good to see Vancouver represented with Miss 604, and WindsorEats strikes me as the little local blog that could. International Metropolis mines the relationship between Windsor and its cross-river cousin Detroit.

Who Should Win:

International Metropolis. I nominated Spacing Wire, and they have an excellent blog and an excellent magazine, but I was blown away by this Windsor-Detroit blog. It’s an unusual subject, well written, and excellently designed. It deserves your attention."

Whomever wins deserves all the praise they attract. There are some excellent blogs out there and I thank James Bow for highlight the CBA finalists for us. Here in Windsor, we have obviously shown the world that we have an active blogging community ('happening" as the author calls it) and we have made our mark profoundly. I am very proud to be a part of the local scene with all my Windsor brethen. Congratulations to all of your hard work.

Where have all the leaders gone?

The 60s were magical. It was an era of raucous music and social rebellion that culminated in a revolution of peace and prosperity with politicians and rabble-rousers united in a fight against foreign wars, racism and disparaging wealth distribution. JFK, Martin Luther King and Che Guevara, among others, fought the status quo, challenged the oligarchy and, in the end, were martyred for the transgression of free throught and positve action. In spite of the sacrifice made by these leaders, and countless others on the local and national level, the past quarter century has nearly erased the effects of their profound leadership. Their message of hope for positive change raised a generation of free-thinkers who, on the death of their mentors, were summarily homogenized by the collective gluttony of consumerism, leaving the current generation asking "Where have all the leaders gone?"

As consumerism is down-graded from a national past time to simple survival by a stumbling economy, generations are looking for someone to lead them to the promised land; a proverbial Moses. Our distributed and digital jungle has, for the past decade, prevented us from seeing the changes that were transforming the world around us. Lost in an all-consuming world of web-links, iPods and digital television, finding leaders, and helping them find themselves, requires a unique blend of entrepreneurship and mountain-top guru with a dash of Indiana Jones.

Dr. Karen Stephenson, who was interviewed recently on Smart City Radio, is the founder of Netform.com. A corporate anthropologist, she specializes in helping companies discover and strengthen hidden leaders while advocating for the need to identify and capitalize on the knowledge of the human network. In October 2006 LEADERSHIP Philadelphia released a list of 101 leaders as analyzed and identified by Dr. Stephenson and her team. Over 4800 candidates were identified as possible leaders within the community and, through an online survey, were analyzed to determine their focus on the common good and their ability to be connectors.

Through this process of leadership identification and intensification, strengthening of civic connections, and developing symbiotic relationships, Philadelphia realized that it had the citizen strength to build a better city. (ED: Philly’s idea of ‘better’ and ScaleDown’s idea of better may differ, but the process for leadership identification is still the same.) Chris Satullo, a Philadelphia Inquirer columnist, refered to Philadelphia’s leadership, pre-Stephenson identification, as embattled or indicted in an Oct 15, 2006 article. Any casual observer of Windsor city council will agree with the embattled leadership title, which begs the question – Does Windsor have 101 hidden leaders and can we harness these community leaders to create a more livable, sustainable, attractive city? (Hint: Here is the list of connector qualifications)

While we don’t have the sophisticated software or technical expertise of Dr. Stephenson, we, at ScaleDown.ca, want to know who are the hidden leaders in our city. Post a comment and let us know who you are nominating and why. While you are at it, drop your nominee a note and let them know that we’re looking for them, we want them and we need them as we work together to build a socially, economically and environmentally sustainable Windsor.

Tuesday, January 29, 2008

Official Plan Review - Public Information Sessions

As you know, during the process of Windsor's Official Plan Review, the city is holding five public information sessions. This is all for the "Moving Forward" portion of the exercise.

I sincerely appologise for the eleventh-hour notice for these. The College Avenue session is going on as I type this.
Official Plan Review - Moving Forward Phase Public Information Centres

College Avenue Community Centre - 3325 College - Tuesday January 29, 2008 4pm-8pm
Optomist Community Centre - 1075 Ypres - Wednesday January 30, 2008 4pm-8pm
Gino A. Marcus Community Complex - 1168 Drouillard - Thursday January 31, 2008 4pm-8pm
South Windsor Recreation Complex - 2555 Pulford - Tuesday Feburary 5, 2008 4pm-8pm
Forest Glade Community Centre - 3215 Forest Glade - Wednesday February 6, 2008 4pm-8pm

Here are the Moving Forward reports for you to prepare yourself with prior to attending the session closest to you


It is imperative that every citizen attends these information sessions. They are the time for you to have input into building the city you want to live in. Put on your thinking caps, get out your wish list, and be sure to tell those running the seesions everything you want. Remember, they work for you.

The Urban Village Saga Continues...

For those of you who don't read Chris Schnurr's blog (I know there's one or two of you out there) I wanted to point you in that direction today.

Chris is keeping tabs on Windsor's city council and their plans for the City Centre West lands. Luckily, there is one city councillor who is also keeping the pressure on the Mayor and our previous committments to develop an Urban Village on those valuable parcels of downtown real estate. Check out Chris' continuing committment to the medium of video podcasting to see how Councillor Halberstadt is continuing to keep the issue of our Urban Village plans in the public realm and reminding people that we have already dedicated significant resources to this redevelopment model.

We need to join together as a community and make our voices heard as to our feelings regarding furthering the development of the Urban Village and how important it is to revitalizing our downtown core. Be sure to make plans to attend Bleak or Blessed, a forum featuring keynote speaker Matt Fischer, CEO of the Windsor Essex County Economic Development Commission, to give your comments and suggestions as to what you think Windsor should do to survive and flourish in the economic crisis we are currently experiencing - and be sure to include your thoughts on the Urban Village. The organizers plan to record ideas generated from the forum and compile them in a report, which will be presented to all three levels of government -- the city, the province and the feds. The forum, which is free of charge, will take place Wednesday at All Saints', 330 City Hall Square, from 7 to 9 p.m. For more information, call 519-253-8001.

(this plug has nothing to do with the fact that Chris Schnurr helped me to access the audio of my interview with AM 800 yesterday or plugged Scaledown on his blog today :)

Get the Lead out

Way back on December 15, the Mayor of Monmouth told everyone to get their lead levels checked for FREE if your house was built before 1948. Hopefully, you listened.

It seems that Enwin is only going to do exactly what is provincially mandated for them to do, and therefore is not going to notify any neighbours of the participating households who tested high for lead content in their municipal water. According to todays Windsor Star...

"Sylvia de Vries, the spokeswoman for Enwin Utilities and the Windsor Utilities Commission, said only the homeowners who volunteered for the provincially mandated testing will receive the results."
I just got my water checked out yesterday (it took about a week after calling for an appointment) so I don't have any results to pass along to my fellow Walkerville residents, but I highly recommend that you take advantage of this opportunity. Obviously, if the province didn't overwhelmingly believe there was a problem, do you honestly think they would be doing this for free?

"Lead exposure has been linked to delays in physical and mental development. Excessive exposure can seriously injure the brain, nervous system, red blood cell development and kidneys. It can potentially cause mental retardation, seizures, comas and even death, according to the U.S. National Institutes of Health."
Ms. de Vries is offering different dates that the Mayor of Monmouth stated in his blog, so to be safe, please take the earlier ones to be sure you are able to get your water tested.

"She said 110 Windsor homes will be tested in this current round, which runs from Jan. 7 to Feb. 9. Another 110 will be tested in July or August. The cycle will then be repeated at six-month intervals for two years."
So heed the advice of your M.O.M.: To make an appointment, please call the W.U.C. telephone Center. The trick is to call now because free testing is only going to take place between December 15, 2007 and April 15, 2008. To ensure participation you have to call this number now. (519) 255-2727. Please select option 3

Monday, January 28, 2008

Raise the Hammer

In my post on Saturday I misrepresented Ryan McGreal and raisethehammer.org. It is not Ryan McGreal's personal blog. They are a group, very similar to ours, from Hamilton. They have been working on the same type of issues since 2004.

Ryan says, that he will write a blog about scaledown.ca in the near future. I would encourage everyone to visit raisethehammer.org and see how another group in another city is getting on.

Editorial Staff
Editor: Ryan McGreal
Associate Editor: Adrian Duyzer
Graphic Design: Trevor Shaw
Contributing Editors
Accidental Activist: Ben Bull
Photo Essay: Mark Fenton
Downtown Bureau: Jason Leach
Ideas: Ted Mitchell
Suburban Bureau: Trevor Shaw
Entertainment: Kevin Somers

Molasses in January

"you know I work so hard
to keep it alive
now all I hear from you
is nothin' but jive
lately it's been so hard now
to make ends meet
and honey, your head's
a one way street"
-Aerosmith

Recently, Scale Down writers and readers engaged in some lively online discussions about downtown traffic patterns and our obsession with one-way streets. I just wanted to give everyone some welcome news that Andrew from International Metropolis forwarded to me. It seems as though those one-way streets were just an experiment and will be going away shortly.
WINDSOR DAILY STAR - WEDNESDAY, MAY 18, 1955

ONE WAY STREETS
SIX MONTH TEST PERIOD GIVEN OKAY
Council Approves Truck Route Plan, New Parking Site

A limited one-way street plan to relieve downtown congestion was approved by council last night. It will go into effect for a six months’ trial period.

Under the scheme, Victoria becomes a southbound artery and Pelissier northbound, between Chatham and Erie streets. Trucks over three tons gross weight are prohibited.

Ald. Albert H. Weeks said he opposed the limited plan which would create Victoria southbound when Dougall, the next street west is also southbound.

Ald. Maurice Belanger, chairman of the traffic committee said, “We have advertised this proposed change several times. There has been no opposition at all. Ald. Weeks, you are the only one to oppose the move so far.”

Controller Lawrence A. Deziel said, “I think it is goofy to have Victoria southbound one-way alongside Dougall which is already southbound one-way. Dougall should be changed to a two-way artery.”

Ald. Belanger said, “Let this go through tonight and let’s consider Dougall later on.”

The one-way pattern, proposed by the committee, was approved as was Traffic Co-ordinator Eric Wiley’s truck route proposal.

The truck route plan calls for construction work at the southwest corner of Wellington and Wyandotte and the northeast corner of Wellington and Tecumseh, for easier turning.

Use of Tecumseh, Wellington and either College or Wyandotte would keep heavy transports out of the downtown area.

Both projects will now go to the desk of City Solicitor James Watson, for inclusion in the next bylaw to amend the traffic law.

Third reading was given to a bylaw expropriating a Victoria Avenue site for an off street parking lot.

The lot, first in a series of properties to be expropriated for off-street parking stretches along the west side of Victoria from Park to the Guaranty Trust Building. It now contains three houses and an automobile storage yard.

Council adopted a recommendation from the board of control that City Treasurer E.J. Langlois be authorized to negotiate a short-term loan to cover the cost of the
property.

Under provisions of the Ontario Municipal Act, the city may either negotiate with the owners of the property, or take the setting price to arbitration.

Er, well, maybe not that shortly. Luckily, Windsor's recently adopted Downtown Windsor Master Transportation Plan is readdressing the one-way fiasco (albeit 53 years later than expected) and will, hopefully, see the light in ending this "experiment"

Hundreds of cities and towns across the North America are converting their 1950s-era one-ways back into two-ways to reduce speeding, help local business and keep pedestrians -- especially children -- safer. They are doing so because a growing body of research shows that one-way street grids create a number of signficant problems for pedestrians and the city as a whole:

One-way street grids force motorists to drive more to get to their destination.
Rather than simply making one turn and driving half a block, on a one-way street grid drivers often must circle an entire block to get to where they want to go. Not only does this additional driving waste time and gasoline and produce more traffic congestion and carbon emissions, "the increase in the number of turning movements and total miles of travel" makes the street more dangerous for pedestrians too. "There are simply more (typically 30-40 percent) vehicle/pedestrian conflicts within a one-way street network than in a comparable two-way system," according to a 1999 study presented to the Federal Transportation Research Board and a 2004 article in the Journal of the Institute of Engineers.

One-way streets tend to encourage faster speeds.
The federal report, "A Review of Pedestrian Safety Research in the United States and Abroad," states, "vehicle speeds may increase after conversion from two-way to one-way." But residents of this New York street don't need a study to tell them that. The vehicles careening down one-way Eighth Avenue and Prospect Park West at 40+ mph are the most "logical presentation" anyone needs.

One-way streets are more dangerous for pedestrians, especially for children.
A 2003 study published in the American Journal of Public Health notes, "Higher vehicle speeds are strongly associated with a greater likelihood of crashes involving pedestrians as well as more serious pedestrian injuries." And who gets hurt most on these higher-speed streets? "Children ages 5 to 9 have the highest population-based injury rate in pedestrian-motor vehicle accidents."According to this 2000 study in the Canadian Journal of Public Health, "Children's injury rate was 2.5 times higher on one-way streets than on two-way streets"

So it seems that when council finally changes our tourist-confounding one-way streets back to the two-ways they were intended to be, we may just have a safer, more environmentally friendly downtown.

I think this experiment is finished.

Sunday, January 27, 2008

The 905 view on Strip Clubs and Sprawl

"The more we build traditional, mixed-use neighbourhoods which bring a variety of family activities closer together, the harder it is for undesirable activities to spring up among us, and the safer our streets become for everyone."
That's how Toronto Sun columnist Marianne Meed Ward ended her article in Saturday's issue titled Stripping away urban planning concepts which argued that "(i)mplementing mixed-use zoning is the antidote (to single-use zoned "pods" for working, living and playing). Mixed-use planning is essentially traditional town planning, where homes, shops, employment, and recreational and cultural centres are integrated, sometimes beside each other, sometimes stacked, but always in close proximity."

So read through her article (thanks for the link, Paul!), and to make it a little more Windsor-relevant, substitute "Massage Parlours" for strip clubs and you can see how this applies to our downtown's revitalization. You'll see that the solutions are out there, we just need the political will to implement them...

ED: click here to read a Florida economist's view on sprawl and its lasting legacy.

Friday, January 25, 2008

The Professional Planners of Windsor and Essex County Want to Scale Down

You cannot escape the responsibility of tomorrow by evading it today.
- Abraham Lincoln

Yesterday, Mark let the cat out of the bag. The Professional Planners in Windsor and Essex County want the region to ...Scale Down.

The first Annual Report of the Inter-municipal Planning Consultation Committee says it all. I was stunned after reading this document. They want smaller, walkable, compact, energy-efficient communities. They acknowledge that fossil fuels will continue to become more expensive and less readily available and that these factors will impact not only our ability to get around but also our local economic activities.

Their position with respect to fossil fuel price and availability was reinforced on January 18, 2008 when an economic outlook paper was published by CIBC economists Jeff Rubin and Peter Buchanan. The CIBC report was featured in The Windsor Star (including reader comments) so our local officials must be aware that in the near-term we will likely begin to see tangible affects including ever higher fuel prices and lower sales of large, less fuel-efficient vehicles.

Energy efficiency, fossil fuel scarcity and climate change were also featured in the consultant’s report to the City of Hamilton. Richard Gilbert, research director at the Centre for Sustainable Transportation, was hired by Hamilton City Council in June of 2005 to assess that city’s plans for public transit, city fleet, goods movement and their plans to develop lands around the Hamilton International Airport as an economic hub.

In his report “Hamilton: The Electric City” Gilbert stresses that energy use, conservation and production should be the primary factors driving all new development in the region. In a post on Hamilton civic affairs blog raisethehammer.org Ryan McGreal reported on a presentation by Gilbert at Environment Hamilton’s Annual General Meeting (Mar. 30/06). In his speech Gilbert told his audience that in 25 years shortfalls in supply would drive fuel costs to six times the current rate. Ryan went on to present Gilbert’s principles of land use for an energy constrained world:
  1. Make energy use and production the principle determinant of land-use decisions.

  2. Give ‘greenfield’ development low priority.

  3. No abandonment of existing low-density areas. (Target them for intensification)

  4. Plan for a mixing of uses.

  5. Aggressively pursue ‘brownfield’ development.

  6. Foster vibrant centres.
  7. Arrange that development supports low-energy transport.

Further reading of Ryan’s blog and this other, demonstrates that Windsor is not unique when it comes to ignoring good advice.

There are other cities out there that are considering a fossil fuel deprived future. In May 2006 the City of Portland Peak Oil Task Force was formed. By council resolution, 12 citizens of various backgrounds began examining potential social and economic consequences of “Peak Oil” on Portland. On January 18, 2007 they released a report for public comment. Their findings “illustrate the central role that oil and natural gas play in our daily lives” and they exposed “profound economic and social vulnerabilities that could result as fuel supplies cease to be abundant and inexpensive”. Their recommendations were:

  1. Reduce fossil fuel consumption by 50% over the next 25 years.

  2. Educate citizens about peak oil and foster community and community-based solutions.

  3. Engage business, government and community leaders to initiate planning and policy change.

  4. Support land use patterns that reduce transportation needs, promote walkability, and provide easy access to services and transportation options.

  5. Design infrastructure to promote transportation options, facilitate efficient movement of freight and prevent stranded investments.

  6. Encourage energy-efficient and renewable transportation choices.

  7. Expand building energy-efficiency programs and incentives.

  8. Preserve farmland and expand local food production and processing.

  9. Identify and promote sustainable business opportunities.

  10. Redesign the safety net and protect vulnerable and marginalized populations.

  11. Prepare emergency plans for sudden and severe shortages.

The final report was presented to Portland City Council on March 7, 2007. At that meeting the council adopted a resolution based on the number one recommendation. Portland’s goal is to reduce fossil fuel use by half. City bureaus were directed to incorporate this goal into internal operations as well as making it part of planning guidelines, building energy use and transportation. In a press release from the Portland Office of Sustainable Development director Susan Anderson said of the report and the city resolution “The Peak Oil Task Force report underscores the need to accelerate our efforts. All of the recommended actions also help the City meet other established community goals such as clean air and water, livability, carbon dioxide reductions and economic growth.”

So here we are, Professional Planners around North America are working to prepare cities for a future with less available fossil fuels. They are advocating walkable communities. They want priorities to shift toward compact and complete communities to allow people access to services and businesses without having to rely on cars. Cities are being exhorted to stop sprawling out and to intensify already developed areas.

The Professional Planners of the Windsor/Essex Region see the need to prepare for the same challenges. I hope that the IMPCC will continue to work together and make good plans for our future. I believe in this group and their abilities. It seems the big challenge is to make our elected officials understand that this is the future we need to prepare for. For our region to be successful we need to…well, scale down.

If there was one city that I would like Windsor to emulate it is Portland, Oregon. We could do worse.

Scale Down, UNVEILED

These are exciting and incredibly busy times for us here at the Scale Down World Headquarters. We have been hinting at big things on the horizon, and we are finally at the stage when we can begin letting some of our plans out of the bag.

Scale Down, UNVEILED will be our grand coming out party. The launch of a new interactive website that will include the popular blog, as well as video podcasts and internet radio. Our look is being updated and navigation of the site is being improved immensely. We are building our team more and more every day and these talented writers and producers are only going to ensure that Scale Down remains fresh, vibrant and relevant. Scale Down has been getting so much support in the community, coupled with our finalist standing in the race for Canada's Best New Blog of 2007, that these dreams seem to have taken a life of their own and are now nearing the end of their gestation period. We want you to come and be a part of our evening.

Which is why we couldn't have just any old launch party. We've decided to keep our message of hope and possibilities by bring in someone who knows these terms intimately and has discovered that they are not only possible but EXIST!

Ask yourself? Do we want clean air and water, Limitless pollution-free energy, good nutritious food, Liveable communities worth investing in, a deliberate and fulfilling life?

Is this a world worth building, a future worth dreaming of, a place of hope?

We have a chance to be a part of possibly the greatest project in the history of civilization, to be at the forefront of the generation that confronted the worst conflagration the world has ever seen - and sorted it out.

THE WORLD WE NEED EXISTS AND IT ONLY TOOK
CHRIS TURNER A YEAR TO FIND IT.
THE GEOGRAPHY
OF HOPE

A Tour of the World We Need

THE GEOGRAPHY OF HOPE is a scrapbook of a year spent living optimistically. In this globetrotting adventure, Chris Turner meets sustainability’s remarkable pioneers and showcases dozens of exciting innovations and extraordinary projects that provide inspiration and working models for a sustainable society.

With a mix of front-line reporting, analysis and passionate argument, Chris Turner pieces together the glimmers of optimism and the solutions already at work around the world, from Canada’s largest wind farm to Asia’s greenest building and Europe’s most eco-friendly communities. But THE GEOGRAPHY OF HOPE goes far beyond mere technology. Turner seeks out the next generation of political, economic, social and spiritual institutions that could provide the global foundations for a sustainable future – from the green hills of northern Thailand to the parliament houses of Scandinavia, from the villages of southern India, where microcredit finance has remade the social fabric, to America’s most forward-thinking think tanks. In this compelling first-person exploration, punctuated by the wonder and angst of a writer discovering the world’s beacons of possibility, Chris Turner presents a dazzling map of the disparate landmarks in a geography of hope.

And this is just what our community needs to hear and believe is possible. The people of Windsor are hearing nothing but bad news these days, and more of the same on the horizon. By bringing Chris Turner to Windsor to join the optimistic outlook that Scale Down writers and contributors have for our community, we are sure we are going to make a difference in this city. And we want you to join us...

SCALE DOWN UNVEILED
FEBRUARY 20TH • 7 PM
2175 PARENT AVENUE WINDSOR
Giovanni Caboto Club

So mark that date on your calendar, and the whole Scale Down team looks forward to meeting you and working with you at fixing what ails Windsor.

Dr. Phil: House of regional Planning


One of Dr. Phil’s main lessons on relationships is that every action you take has only two possible consequences. You are either contributing to your relationship or contaminating it. There is no third option.

Windsorites need to look at every Decision or action our city Leaders make and view it in these terms. Either this decision is contributing to the official plan of the city of Windsor, or it is contaminating the official plan.

The document I read by planning departments of the city and the county is proof positive that the problem does not lie with our respective planning departments. Smart Choices for the Windsor-Essex Region is a perfect document that everyone should read. If anyone ever questioned the integrity or qualifications of the planners in our region, this document should vindicate them once and for all. I can unequivocally state that my confidence in our city, our planning department and the goals of scaledown.ca have been reaffirmed yet again.

There is a lot of talk about vision, this document states our vision and it is one that we can be darn proud of. I know I am not alone when I tell you that there are many people that feel there is a disconnect between our vision and our actions. A disconnect between what we want to do and doing what we said we were going to do.

My goals with scaledown is to subject the actions our city takes to Dr. Phil’s simple philosophy. I would like to see more people and groups subject every decision made by Council, every action taken by every other city department and committee to that simple question:

Are the actions you take or the decision you are making contributing to our official plan or contaminating it.

Thursday, January 24, 2008

Redeveloping Windsor: Think Globally; Act Locally

Guest Blogger: Steve Biro
I read with great interest the other day an article in the NY Times about how the increasing need for oil is creating a huge demand for bio fuels and its effect on food and cooking oil prices worldwide.

This article discusses how poorer nations of the world are spending the bulk of their income on food and cooking oil and are rationing even smaller potions for families that are already hungry. Articles similar to this one discuss rioting and protests about unaffordable food prices resulting from our insatiable need for cheap fuel in Mexico and other parts of the world.

Lately, it seems that administrators and city councillors have been making decisions that require Windsorites to drive more and therefore use more fuel; such as approving the big box development on Matchette road at the fringes of the city. The large stores that open up there will closely duplicate stores that are already scattered throughout more built up, walkable neighbourhoods like the Dougall Wal-Mart. There will be tens of thousands of vehicle trips to such a development on a daily basis just as there are to the Costco big box area. Now Home Depot will be moving out there as well, so that's a few extra kilometres of driving for customers in the city.

All this extra driving in our city adds up millions of gallons of gasoline every year. It not only contributes heavily to local pollution, but helps to make food more scarce and difficult to afford all over the world because all oil needs add up to greater bio fuels demand. Even areas of the city that score well on walkability (like the older parts of South Windsor) do little to actually promote walking or bicycling more. For example, many businesses along Dougall Ave. do not shovel their sidewalks after snowfall and this forces people to walk on the street. The picture above is of the sidewalk in front of Harveys on Dougall after the last big snowfall. Not only was it not shoveled, but the snow removal trucks for the parking lot felt it was necessary to pile nearly 5 feet of snow onto part of the walk. I called 311 to file a complaint with the city about this matter and the snow remained for another 5 days until it naturally melted due to the warm following weekend.

This little sidebar was included to show the complete lack of concern for those that do not drive in our city. The population of our city has only increased by roughly 10% in the last 25 years or so but the amount of driving has doubled in that same span. This is obviously not a chance happening but rather a direct result of city planning. Our city oficialsf throw around terms like "smart growth" but for some reason don't seem see the big picture. You would think that there would be some connection between the need for human scale development and the phrase "smart growth"; but the evidence says otherwise. As a saving grace though, there are some projects in the city that are being discussed or are already in the works that will help improve conditions for everyone and be considered to be "smart". The talks of transforming the Armouries Building, the addition of a St. Clair College satellite campus complementing an Urban Village downtown and there have been small improvements to bicycle networks in our city. In order for there to be big improvements though, the city needs to vigorously pursue these projects; and also develop a network of walking and bicycle paths throughout the city into places like South Windsor and the Central area near the Chrysler plant. Improvements made to the public transit system; for example earlier starts, more routes and more frequent runs. Regional transit would also reduce our ecological footprint.

Whenever there is talk of improving rail the city should embrace these concepts as a way to reduce truck traffic and overall fuel consumption. When we met with Eddie Francis early in his first term he showed us a study that was done in the early nineties that showed the answer to Windsor's border issues was a double stacked rail tunnel to the states and he seemed excited about such a project happening. Hopefully he and the rest of council will invest in such projects that will not only make our city a much cleaner and better place to live but will help to feed hungry populations elsewhere in the world.

Steve Biro has been active on the Windsor scene for numerous years, including time spent with the Windsor Bicycling Committee and the Rotary Club. Despite his auto-sector employment, he still lobbys heavily in favour of alternative transportation and walkable communities. Way to go, Steve!

Wednesday, January 23, 2008

Big Box articles


Had to do a quick post about two Windsor Star articles

"Rising fuel costs means communities have to be designed in ways that encourage people to get out of their automobiles, Hillman said. ...

Mayor Gary McNamara agreed there have to be options to “big box” commercial developments largely accessible only to consumers with vehicles.
“There’s no question we need to change how we define and build our communities,” the mayor said."

To me it seems like Windsor and Tecumseh politicians are racing to build as many big box unwalkable developments as they can before their respective planning departments issue the reports we know will conclude the building of these are poor planning.

Lets hope that the Windsor Planning Department report does not get delayed or hidden in an attempt to slide a few more Big Box Developments under the wire.

There definitely needs to be some follow up posts on this topic

WE MADE THE CUT! Now, for round two of the Canadian Blog Awards "Best New Blog of 2007"

Well, folks, I want to thank each and every one of you for logging on and voting for ...Scale Down, Windsor as your choice for best new blog of 2007 in Canada.

It is truly humbling!

Now it's time to start all over again, but in all honesty I didn't think we'd make it this far. ...Scale Down was only up and running for the last half of 2007 and we were up against 39 other more established blogs across Canada. Even if this is as far as we make it, your votes have shown that we are doing a pretty decent job at our first-ever blog. Trust me, ...Scale Down is only going to be getting better over the course of the next month!

So now we must ask you to vote for us again, only this time as a finalist! We would love to be able to advertise that ...Scale Down is a national award winning blog, and with your continued support we will be able to do just that.


Over the course of the next week, you will be able to register your vote in Round 2. Be sure to click the link above to take you directly to the polling screen. Round 2 voting closes on Wednesday, January 30th, 2008 11:59 PM PST, so be sure to get your vote in and encourage all your friends and family to do the same.

I also wanted to offer our congratulations to all the other local Windsor Bloggers who made the cut. Be sure to register your vote and support them as well - that is unless they are running in the "New Blog" category against ...Scale Down (Sorry, Windsor Eats FoodBlog :)

International Metropolis and the Windsor Eats FoodBlog both made the cut (as well as the Shawn's wonderful Spacing blog out of Toronto) for "Best Local Blog", and Michael's English Usage wound up in the top five finalists for the "Best Educational Blog". Congrats to all of our local bloggers for all the hard work they do, whether they are recognised by the CBA's or not!

Windsor, Ontario - Bike Capital of Canada?

I am sure that by now, ...Scale Down readers are familiar with our regular Guest Blogger, James Coulter. James has been blogging on his own and for SD for a while now. His articles are insightful and always show me a slightly different way of looking at issues around us. Maybe that is why I enjoy reading him so much.
Maybe that is also why Josh, Mark and myself are now welcoming James as the latest ...Scale Down contributor! So, this will be the last time that you will see James' words posted by me as a guest blogger. From the mouth of Mr. Coulter...

I am really humbled (seriously, after meeting Chris and Mark and learning what it is they want for Windsor) to have been invited to join ...Scale Down, Windsor as a regular contributor.
So who is James Coulter? I guess that I’m one of you. I’m someone that wants to see Windsor move in a better direction. Where do I get my ideas? Well I have the opportunity through my work at St. Clair College to review a large amount of texts and articles on architecture and civil engineering works. I also read blogs and newsgroups that deal in Peak Oil and Globalization because I think these are big picture issues that will drive change in this city. Big and small, bad and good, there are plenty of ideas and issues out there and SDW gives us a forum to discuss and explore all ideas that could benefit our community. I look forward to bringing you my thoughts and working with SDW to affect change for the benefit of us all.
Could Windsor go from auto capital to bike capital of Canada?

Why not? It won’t happen overnight but it is possible. Reading this article I got to thinking there is a strong cycling community in Windsor and if we could make the bicycle industry a driver forthe local economy people would getbehind locally made products and events and well…

Windsor Ontario, Bike Capital of Canada.

Production of bicycles runs the gamut from the lone craftsman to the factory churning out hundreds of units each day. Any number of machine shops that are slow on business could start to turn out custom and production bicycles or components. Could you image the bumper stickers “Buy the BIKES your neighbour helped to WELD”. Then there are anynumber of opportunities for small businesses to start up producing clothing and otherspecialty products.

Windsor and Essex County tourism could get a boost if the region was more bike-friendly. Our flat terrain and extensive network of county roads provide plenty of opportunities for cyclo-tourists of all abilities to get around from historic sites like Fort Malden or the John R. Park Homestead to the many local wineries. Small hotels and bed and breakfasts could make themselves bike friendly by providing special “bike rooms” with facilities to wash off road grime or perform repairs. Highway 18 makes an excellent bike tour route as there are towns evenly spaced along the entire distance from downtown Windsor all the way around to Wheatley.

In addition to cyclo-tourists, the region has always had an active bicycle racing community. These racers go to races and host races. Windsor is home to the oldest annual bicycle race in Canada (theLabour Day races on Erie Street) and the area has hosted many other road and off-road events. Our location near the U.S.border has always allowed race hosts to attract quality fields of racers. If we learn from the auto makers and NASCAR, if you sell racing you can sell the products.

Windsor/Essex has a reasonable climate for cycling too. Although the last few days have been a little cold, you can comfortably ride a bike most of the year here. As well the size of the city is pretty reasonable for getting around unlike a lot of big cities. One can ride across Windsor in about an hour. There are so many people that spend that amount of time in their cars trying to get around our town, silly really.

So to summarize: let’s make Windsor not just bike friendly but a bike city. Let’s have industries based on an affordable, eco-friendly mode of transportation. Let’s create economic opportunities for new businesses large and small. Let’s encourage cyclo-tourism and the promotion of bike festivals and races to promote our new local industries and businesses and let’s enjoy a healthier and cleaner way of getting around town.

ED: Welcome to the Team, James!

Tuesday, January 22, 2008

Accepting the Challenge to make Downtown Safer




Last Monday night, Mayor Eddie Francis and I both clearly stated that the banning of after-hours bars alone would not ensure a safer downtown environment. However, I found it curious that the Mayor issued the challenge to help the City in its efforts to continue implementing practices and policies that would make the downtown core safer.

As a member of CCSERT; a member of the City Center West Community Improvement Plan committee (my request to be on the Sustainable Downtown Community Improvement plan committee was denied); the Past Chair of the DWBIA; the current Chair of the DWBIA panhandling committee and the Chair and Founding Board Member of the Windsor International Film Festival (events are a Bellmio recommendation), I am all too familiar with the issues of safety as they pertain to our downtown.

Let’s examine the solutions recommended in the Bellmio Report and the DWBIA’s track record versus that of the City’s:

1. Short Term Objective
City Council identified the formulation of a Downtown Development Task Force that had its own budget; clear and concise mission; committee with explicitly defined operation rules; and a coherent plan for implementing changes that improve the downtown landscape.

Results:
No such task force was formed but the City did assemble another committee - that of the City Centre West Community Improvement Plan RFP Committee which is currently on hold pending the University’s decision on where to locate its new Engineering Building. The City’s “Sustainable Downtown Plan” has also been put on hold until at least 2010.

I have invested hundreds of hours as a result of our participation and membership on these committees. We have long lobbied the Windsor Economic Development Commission to become more involved in our downtown but it is not one of the Development Commission’s stated strategies nor is it one of their priorities. The Chamber of Commerce? You tell me?

I supported the DWBIA initiating its own Economic Development Plan which included:

i Offering new and existing businesses a façade grant of up to $15,000 as a development incentive;
ii Funding a merchandising study;
iii Implementing the merchandising study’s first recommendation to identify downtown “districts”.

Next, I hope to support exploring the implementation of Leasehold Improvement Grants, however going it alone will only amount to limited accomplishment.

2. Bellmio - Recommendations & StatusThe City of Windsor’s municipal government should demonstrate credibility of new downtown initiatives by looking for “low hanging fruit”:

a. Revise zoning categories for late night, high volume bars so that conversion of other businesses to bars would require rezoning and hearings that would allow for community input.
Result: This has been accomplished by the City of Windsor.

b. Improving the integration of work conducted by City Departments with new and existing businesses.
Result: Simplicity. The City has fared well on this and other initiatives.

c. Moving and/or removing outdated streetscape items including planters, benches and wall that result in sidewalk bottlenecks and loitering.
Result: Sensational streetscaping from Ouellette to Riverside to Park completed in 2007. 2008 streetscaping on hold. The replacement of burnt-out street-lights on Pelissier put on hold for years.

d. Parking enforcement.
Result: Lack of Parking enforcement has never been a cause for concern.

e. Take steps to close licensed premises once they no longer have the ability to sell alcohol. Some businesses stay open after-hours and adhere to liquor laws. The cause for concern with this trend is that it increases the timeframe in which patrons spill out onto downtown streets and reduces the amount of time the City has in order to clean up the city centre in preparation for daytime business.
Result: Hopefully, Councillors who adopted the Bellmio Report will recall that this has taken over five years to accomplish.

f. The development of a more aggressive Street Cleaning Program. With the assistance of businesses and the re-allocation of current City staff time, efforts should be made to improve the cleanliness of the downtown that would be noticeable to visitors. Ideally, these changes should reflect efforts that are sustainable over time and that cannot be undone at some point in the future.
Result: The DWBIA embarked upon a Street Cleaning Program with a budget of $72,000 (excluding supervisor/manager).

g. Planning and hosting more events downtown.
Result: Numerous new festivals supported by the DWBIA and the City of Windsor. Examples of positive partnerships include the Windsor International Film Festival launched in 2004; the Elvis Festival in 2005; the Chalk & Chocolate Festival in 2006; and the 10-day Fringe Festival to be launched in 2008.

3. Other DWBIA attempts to deal with issues noted in the Bellmio Report

a. Massage Parlours
The Bellmio Report noted a proliferation of massage parlours. For years, the DWBIA has requested City Hall to place the issue of massage parlour zoning on the Council Agenda. Windsor Police Services have closed down many of the massage parlours but until such time as the issues of zoning are addressed, the threat of new businesses of this nature opening will continue to be of concern.

b. Panhandling
The Bellmio Report noted a panhandling problem. The DWBIA formed a Task Force that studied the Safe Streets Act. The Task Force made recommendations to the City identifying the shortcomings of the City’s regulation of where and when panhandlers were permitted to operate. These recommendations were derived from other Canadian cities who had successfully dealt with these issues. The DWBIA received a letter from the City’s CAO rejecting these recommendations and has tried for some time, unsuccessfully, to have this issue discussed at City Council.

c. Public Urination
I submitted a retractable public urinal that has been used successfully in Victoria, British Columbia www.urilift.com . I requested that the retractable public urinal be added to the City’s streetscape elements and will seek a partnership with the City to have a couple of units installed during next phase of downtown streetscape construction.

I have long accepted the challenge to increase safety downtown by implementing all of the Bellmio recommendations. The improvement of our downtown is of primary concern.

Monday, January 21, 2008

Build it, and they will come...

An interesting line item on tonights council agenda is Item 17 from the desk of the General Manager of Corporate Services.

It seems that the province is doling out some highly anticipated cash to the municipalities through its $300 million Municipal Infrastructure Investment Initiative (MIII) program.. The catch to claiming this one-time funding is that each municipality is only allowed to fund one construction-ready (completed all required studies and approval processes), municipally owned infrastructure project that would contribute to a "strong and resilient economy and higher quality of life."

Some examples of what other municipalities are going to use the money for are:
    Water,
    Wastewater,
    Roads,
    Bridges,
    Solid waste management,
    Long-term care facilities,
    Social housing,
    Culture (including libraries)
    Tourism
    Recreation
    Community energy

This is a pretty exciting opportunity for this community to knock a few high-profile projects off our "Honey-Do" list. Just think of all our options. Well, administration did think of our options and do you know what they came up with to spend all this cash on?

Yeah - roads!

From the Top-Ten list they compiled for council to choose from tonight, roads and bridges leading out to the suburbs occupied the top 7 spots! The final three were storm and sanitary sewers and downtown streetscaping.

Can you tell the priorities of this administration?

Well, like they said in "Field Of Dreams", build it and they will come. They're building a bigger, better suburban road network and guess what's going to come? Yup, you guessed it - a "strong and resilient economy and higher quality of life" for those out in the surrounding bedroom communities and the county.

P.S. Councillors? Just in case you were wondering what SD would do tonight if the choice was ours - choose the City Centre Streetscape Improvements (#10) or the Prince Road storm sewer relief (#8).

Also on tonights agenda...

...is the issue of the Nighttime Truck Ban on Wyandotte. Even though every BIA impacted by the trucks on Wyandotte (including the Walkerville Distillery District?!?) supported the night time ban and even went so far as supporting a day time ban as well, administration is recommending "that noaction be taken with respect to restricting night time trucks on Wyandotte Street"!

Sort of makes you wonder who, exactly, this administration is working for, doesn't it?

All in all, from disposing of neighbourhood rec centres to further road extensions, tonights council meeting is filled with items hostle to rejuvenating the core in favour of strengthening the suburbs. A sad night, indeed.

Windsor's OPR - A real opportunity

On Thursday, we published our first introduction to the city of Windsors five year review of our Official Plan (OPR). This is such an opportunity for the residents of this city to help establish our collective vision of our community that it needs to be looked at in depth and given much more attention than our "traditional" media outlets are willing to devote to it. Today, we will look at the work that has been completed to date and the recommendations this work has put forward.

To begin with, let's look at exactly what the Official Plan is and what makes it such a powerful document. By the cities own words, the "Official Plan tells how land will be used in the City. An Official Plan is extremely important because it:

- Outlines the future vision of the city
- Establishes policies that help to achieve orderly growth and development
- Shows where sewers, water mains, parks, roads, sidewalks and other services will go in the City
- Gives a framework for other policies and regulations, such as zoning by-laws
- Helps people know what they can do with their property"

This pretty much describes everything that makes a city, doesn't it? The defining phrase of this entire excercise is the future vision of the city. Who is responsible for defining this vision? In a true representative democracy, it is you and I, Windsor's citizens, who should have the final say in the kind of city we want to live in and the route we need to take to get there.

So, this is why ...Scale Down making such a big fuss over the OPR.

The OPR has been broken down into three phases. "Looking Back" was presented to council in February of 2007 and was comprised of research and analysis that identified, described and discussed the existing conditions, trends and known challenges that face Windsor. This work culminated in the Looking Back Synthesis Report, which summarized the following summary reports: Legislation, Social Conditions, Economic Conditions, Natural Environment, Infrastructure, Transportation and Built Form.

Like so many planning documents before it, this document contains a tremendous amount of progressive policy recommendations and insight. Everything from intensifying our built form to mitigating our impacts on fish habitat. This document addresses 124 shortcomings identified throughout the "Looking Back" process, including;

- Additional information requirements for development applications,
- New definition of community improvement,
- Defining more clearly what is meant by "healthy communities",
- Setting targets for Official Plan as per PPS (Provincial Policy Statement) for affordable housing,
- Proactive support for social and income integration,
- Strengthening the Environmental Evaluation Report process,
- "No negative impact" and setbacks for development,
- Agricultural permissions in natural heritage areas,
- Green space in areas of intensification,
- City must be the focus of growth

I think one of the more exciting things I read in the synthesis report (in response to the provinces Bill 51, the Planning and Conservation Land Statue Law Amendment Act) is the ability to investigate the establishment of a Local Appeal Body, which would deal with minor variances and consent appeals in place of the Ontario Municipal Board. I find this exciting because it puts more power in the hands of the people who live in the community in question, as opposed to the OMB which is so far removed from local issues that they cannot help but impose status quo solutions to problems they cannot possibly understand to the degree that the local residents do. In addition, Bill 51 requires the need for the Official Plan to justify settlement area expansion by establishing policies addressing land supply, natural environment, community service facilities, parks, infrastructure, fiscal impact, etc., as criteria for evaluating settlement area expansions. Once again, the need to establish the communities vision for their community will determine exactly how these policies translate into real-world development.

As far as planning documents go, there's very little fault to be found in this one. It offers up enough progressive policies to keep the community activists happy and enough language that perpetuates the status quo to keep the suburbanites from worrying about the future of their neighbourhoods. Mind you, I am still in the process of disseminating everything that I have read, the most bothersome aspect of the OPR process so far is the lack of identifiable vision for our community. Granted, the "Looking Back" segment of the process has been identifying weaknesses, I feel that it should all build towards a mutually agreed upon goal for the type of city that we all want to inhabit.

Perhaps when we begin to examine the next phase, "Moving Forward" (in our next installment of the OPR overview) we will begin to see a roadmap to a progressive vision for Windsor developing.

Sunday, January 20, 2008

Stop the presses! News you won't hear anywhere else in Windsor.

Wow. Talk about one news headline that I never expected, realistically, to see in my lifetime, let alone from an auto executive at the 2008 Detroit International Auto Show.

From Fortune magazine...

Nissan exec: Car culture is fading Worldwide, people are losing interest in automobiles, one executive says.
By Alex Taylor, Fortune senior editor
2008 Detroit auto show
January 14 2008:

DETROIT (Fortune) -- If you are looking for some insight into what the automobile of the future will look like you could do worse than talk with Tom Lane. An American, he runs all of Nissan's Product Strategy anad Product Planning from his office in Tokyo.

Unlike most executives, he welcomes the imposition of new U.S. fuel regulations that mandate 35 miles per gallon by 2020.

"It is not an issue" for Nissan (NSANY) he says.

He expects the new regs to drive more small cars, improved technoloy, and a broader variety of shapes and sizes, as designers try to get more variety out of similarly-sized vehicles.

But he points to some discouraging global trends that don't bode well for the industry.

He notes that consumers in Japan are losing their mojo when it comes to cars. The population is aging, and younger drivers would rather spend their money on new cellphones and Internet access.

"Japan is increasingly not interested in new cars," he says.

The population in Europe is aging too, and Lane sees similar ennui spreading there. As car ownership becomes more expensive and cities increasingly impose congestion pricing on car usage in center cities, he sees car owners switching to mass transit for their daily commute, and then renting cars for longer trips.

"The U.S. is headed that way," he says. "The challenge for us, going forward, is a more interesting offer. Doing a better Sentra or an Altima isn't going to do it."


The image in the fortune teller's crystal ball is getting clearer with each passing day. Windsor cannot continue to put all of its eggs in the basket of the automotive industry.

Saturday, January 19, 2008

City street as social space. Hans Monderman 1945 - 2008

Hans Monderman was a Dutch road traffic engineer and innovator. He was recognized for radically challenging the criteria by which engineering solutions for street design are evaluated. His work compelled transportation planners and highway engineers to look afresh at the way people and technology relate to each other. Functional models of his designs are changing the way people view the street in northern Holland, and tried also in Spain, Denmark, Austria, Sweden and Britain.

Hans Monderman died of prostate cancer on January 7, 2008, at the age of 62

For your weekend reading pleasure, I thought I would pass along this reprint from an old New York Times article documenting Sarah Lyalls time spent with this iconic traffic engineer

Road design? He calls it a revolution

by Sarah Lyall
The New York Times
Saturday, January 22, 2005

DRACHTEN, Netherlands "I want to take you on a walk," said Hans Monderman, abruptly stopping his car and striding - hatless, and nearly hairless - into the freezing rain.

Like a naturalist conducting a tour of the jungle, he led the way to a busy intersection in the center of town, where several odd things immediately became clear. Not only was it virtually naked, stripped of all lights, signs and road markings, but there was no division between road and sidewalk. It was, basically, a bare brick square.

But in spite of the apparently anarchical layout, the traffic, a steady stream of trucks, cars, buses, motorcycles, bicycles and pedestrians, moved along fluidly and easily, as if directed by an invisible conductor. When Monderman, a traffic engineer and the intersection's proud designer, deliberately failed to check for oncoming traffic before crossing the street, the drivers slowed for him. No one honked or shouted rude words out the window.

"Who has the right of way?" he asked rhetorically. "I don't care. People here have to find their own way, negotiate for themselves, use their own brains."

Used by some 20,000 drivers a day, the intersection is part of a road-design revolution pioneered by the 59-year-old Monderman. His work in Friesland, the district in northern Holland that takes in Drachten, is increasingly seen as the way of the future in Europe.

Variations on the shared-space theme are being tried in Spain, Denmark, Austria, Sweden and Britain. The European Union has appointed a committee of experts, including Monderman, for a Europe-wide study.

His philosophy is simple, if counterintuitive. To make communities safer and more appealing, Monderman argues, you should first remove the traditional paraphernalia of their roads.

That means the traffic lights and speed signs; the signs exhorting drivers to stop, slow down and merge; the center lines separating lanes from each other; even the speed bumps, speed-limit signs, bicycle lanes and pedestrian crossings. In his view, it is only when the road is made more dangerous, when drivers stop looking at signs and start looking at other people, that driving becomes safer.

"All those signs are saying to cars, 'This is your space, and we have organized your behavior so that as long as you behave this way, nothing can happen to you,"' said Monderman. "That is the wrong story."

The Drachten intersection is an example of the concept of "shared space," a street where cars and pedestrians are equal, and the design tells the driver what to do."

It's a moving away from regulated, legislated traffic toward space which, by the way it's designed and configured, makes it clear what sort of behavior is anticipated," said Ben Hamilton-Baillie, a British specialist in urban design and movement, and a proponent of many of the same concepts.

Highways - where the car is naturally king - are part of the "traffic world" and another matter altogether. In Monderman's view, shared-space plans thrive only in conjunction with well-organized, well-regulated highway systems.

Monderman is a man on a mission. On a daylong automotive tour of Friesland, he pointed out places he had improved, including a town where he ripped out the sidewalks, signs and crossings and put in brick paving on the central shopping street. An elderly woman crossed slowly in front of him."

This is social space, so when Grandma is coming, you stop, because that's what normal, courteous human beings do," he said.

Planners and curious journalists are increasingly making pilgrimages to meet Monderman, considered one of the field's great innovators, although until a few years ago he was virtually unknown outside of Holland. Hamilton-Baillie, whose writings have helped bring Monderman's work to wider attention, remembers with fondness his own first visit.

Monderman drove him to a small country road with cows in every direction. Their presence was unnecessarily reinforced by a large, standard-issue European traffic sign with a picture of a cow on it.

"He said, 'What do you expect to find here? Wallabees?"' Hamilton-Baillie recalled. "'They're treating you like you're a complete idiot, and if people treat you like a complete idiot, you'll act like one.'

"Here was someone who had rethought a lot of issues from complete scratch," Hamilton-Baillie said.

"Essentially, what it means is a transfer of power and responsibility from the state to the individual and the community."

Dressed in a beige jacket and patterned shirt, with scruffy facial hair and a stocky build, Monderman has the appearance of a soccer hooligan but the temperament of an engineer, which indeed he trained to be.

His father was the headmaster of the primary school in their small village; Hans liked to fiddle with machines. "I was always the guy who repaired the TV sets in our village," he said.

He was working as a civil engineer building highways in the 1970s when the Dutch government, alarmed at a sharp increase in traffic accidents, set up a network of traffic-safety offices. Monderman was appointed Friesland's traffic safety officer.

In residential communities, Monderman began narrowing the roads and putting in design features like trees and flowers, red brick paving stones and even fountains to discourage people from speeding, following the principle now known as pyschological traffic calming, where behavior follows design.

He made his first nervous foray into shared space in a small village whose residents were upset at its being used as a daily thoroughfare for 6,000 speeding cars. When he took away the signs, lights and sidewalks, people drove more carefully. Within two weeks, speeds on the road had dropped by more than half.

In fact, he said, there has never been a fatal accident on any of his roads. Several early studies bear out his contention that shared spaces are safer. In England, the district of Wiltshire found that removing the center line from a stretch of road reduced drivers' speed without any increase in accidents.

While something of a libertarian, Monderman concedes that road design can do only so much. It doesn't change the behavior, for instance, of the 15 percent of drivers who will behave badly no matter what the rules are.

Nor are shared-space designs appropriate everywhere, like in major urban centers, but only in neighborhoods that meet particular criteria. Recently, a group of well-to-do parents asked him to widen the two-lane road leading to their children's school, saying it was too small to accommodate what he derisively calls "their huge cars."

He refused, saying that the fault lay not with the road, but with the cars. "They can't wait for each other to pass?" he asked. "I wouldn't interfere with the right of people to buy the car they want, but nor should the government have to solve the problems they make with their choices."

Monderman's obsessions can cause friction at home. His wife hates talking about road design. But work is his passion and his focus for as many as 70 hours a week, despite quixotic promises to curtail his projects and stay home on Fridays.

The current plan, instigated by Mrs. Monderman, is for him to retire in a few years. But it is unclear what a man who begins climbing the walls after three days at the beach ("If you want to go to a place without any cultural aspect, go to the Grand Canaries," he grumbled) will do with all that free time.

"The most important thing is being master of my own time, and then doing things that we both enjoy," he said. "What are they? I don't know."