Think you have it bad? Try a 240-km commute

How about this? Would this be defined as "progress"? Then why is this lifestyle the one the majority of Canadians/Americans aspire to?

From the Toronto Star;

Think you have it bad? Try a 240-km commute

December 08, 2007
Tim Harper

BERRYVILLE, Va. – With West Virginia's Blue Ridge Mountains and bucolic farmland still virtually in her rear-view mirror, Lori Forrester wheels onto Route 7, her target fixed, 120 kilometres southeast.

A quick left. And then she stops.

Pastures of green have given way to taillights of red...

...Research by David Dinges, chief of Sleep and Chronobiology at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, shows that the work commute is squeezing Americans' sleep.

When he and colleague studied why Americans are sleeping less they found, to their surprise, that the extra waking hours were not spent on leisure, in front of the television or with family, but sitting in the car.

"The more time people spent commuting, the less they slept,' he said. "The other activities did not relate to sleep time.''

It is also known that a lack of sleep, fewer than seven hours a day (or more than eight hours) also leads to obesity and risk of heart attack, diabetes and stroke, he said.

While that doesn't mean that lack of sleep is killing people, it plays into other factors that might.

It could mean that long commutes mean more fast food, he said, but that has yet to be proved.

"What's really going on here is that we can't do anything without getting into our motor vehicle and going somewhere,'' he said.

Beyond the health risks of sleep deprivation, there are also psychological dangers.
Dinges says fatigue leads to more risk-taking on the highways, likely adds to road rage and general "emotional deregulation'' which leads commuters to expect greater rewards for their time.

Alan Pisarski, a commuting consultant and author of Commuting in America, said there is still a significant economic advantage if your housing prices are cheaper in the exurbs, even with transportation costs going up.

"You have something you wanted, something you have always valued,'' he said.
"But how do you get to enjoy this thing when instead of being there, you're sitting in a car?''

I'll take my ten minute bike ride anyday, thank you very much!

The times, they are a'changin'

Yesterday, my whole family decided to enjoy the first major snowstorm of the season and go for a walk. We headed up to Ottawa street, playing in the snow drifts and pelting each other with snowballs. We then ducked into Karen's 4 Kids, as two of the three tykes needed something a little more substantial on their feet.

The kids didn't know what to do when the salesperson lead them to a chair, sat them down and took off their shoes. When he sat on the stool in front of them, cradling their tootsies in that silver foot measurement device, they looked as if they were being strapped into some medieval torture device for some long forgotten offence. Then it dawned on me...

They've never had their feet measured before!

In all the years their parents have been putting footwear on their feet, those shoes and boots have just been pulled down off the department/big box store's shelves and thrown on without a second thought. Then, here was this salesperson, dealing not just in manufactured goods (some actually made in Canada as well!) but also in service, pulling out an assortment of boots for the kids to chose from, trying them on and test-walking around the store. It was an experience that I remember participating in hundreds of times growing up, but have since forgotten as those store owners and shoe salespersons evolved into "sales associates" over the years.

The kids actually had fun shopping for winter boots, once they realized they weren't in trouble.

Razing Reederz?

Guest Blogger - James Coulter

On Tuesday, the Windsor Star proclaimed “Windsor Rated 7th in Innovation”. The Dave Hall story calls Windsor “one of the country’s leading cities for innovation”.

The ranking came from a report published by the Conference Board of Canada titled City Magnets – Benchmarking the Attractiveness of Canada’s Census Metropolitan Areas (CMA’s). I went to the CBofC’s website looking for the report. It’s behind a paywall, if you want to read the full report it’ll cost you $2400. However, there is a ten page summary that is free and I read it over. The report ranks 27 CMA’s according to several categories including; economics, housing, education and innovation. CMA’s were given a letter grade A, B, C, D, depending on how each fared against whatever criteria they used. The report sheds some light on economic and social trends in Canada and who the best, biggest and brightest star cities are. The overall top three were Calgary, Toronto and Vancouver, while the report had Saguenay, St. John, and Thunder Bay at the bottom. Remember my last post, big cities getting bigger, smaller cities getting left behind.

I found what the report had to say about cities and innovation. The top CMA was Ottawa/Gatineau. Make’s sense, lots of government research facilities, software companies a good university. In fact there is so much research and ‘innovation” going on in Ottawa/Gatineau that they scored AAA. No other category had any CMA scoring more than an A. Calgary and Toronto were distant B grades. According to the summary more than half the CMA’s scored no better than a D. At best Windsor’s 7th place is a C. It seems a little misleading to describe Windsor as “one of the country’s leading cities for innovation” when our C is so far behind the AAA of first place Ottawa/Gatineau.

For me, the big news was in the Star story. Dave Hall revealed a dirty secret about our city. According to the Star Windsor’s “educational rank is dragged down by the worst adult literacy rate among the cities surveyed”. For a city that wants to reinvent itself as a knowledge economy centre this is a huge problem.

The last paragraph of the summary says, “Although some indicators, like climate, are beyond the control of policy-makers, we believe that all levels of government should look at the results of this benchmarking study to help determine priorities. Canada’s future depends on it.” In Windsor, our priorities need to change to include literacy. In light of this report’s findings it is outrageous for the Mayor and Council to impose budget cuts on the city’s libraries. Save the $900,000 branding monies and use them for literacy campaigns and reading programs. Education and knowledge are priorities and we should demand that our city give us every opportunity to learn and better ourselves.

James Coulter is an Engineering Technologist with the School of Building, Design and Construction Technology at St. Clair College. His opinions are plentiful and may not reflect those of his employer or the teaching faculty at the college.

Defining Progress?

How does our city define progress?

Is it a quantifiable measure of the increase in our standard of living? Our quality of life? Our cost of living? This is a definition that must be nailed down.

Today, after four months of heavy investment, the section of Wyandotte, between Walker Road east to Drouillard is scheduled to open to vehicular traffic. Watch the "progress" of this investment here.

This is where we need to decide our most appropriate definition of the term "progress". This infrastructure investment will (much like Riverside Drive's Peabody Bridge, which for the life of me I could not find a picture of!) no doubt increase the speed and safety for the cars, yet it doesn't provide for the safe passage of cyclists. The backfilled road cut has provided the abutting property owners with Wyandotte frontage - no doubt drastically increasing the value of their property.

Yet, one must keep in mind that the road renovation removed much esthetic interest in the neighbourhood, as well as an historic structure that was excavated and built by hand by the town of Walkerville in the early 1930's. Anyone who has ever travelled along Wyandotte will remember this bridge.

How do you define the term "progress" and when, in the evolution of our city, do we stop "progressing" before we establish our version of that definition?

Driving Sustainability

The recent report from the Conference Board of Canada did not bring good news for Windsor. Our city received a C grade, ranking 23 of 27 cities on the list. Calgary, Toronto, Vancouver, Edmonton and Victoria were the top 5 cities, with Windsor, St. Catherines-Niagara, Saguenay, Saint John and Thunder Bay bringing up the rear.

One of the areas that Windsor scored poorly on was public transit. Anyone who has attempted to make use of our public transit system knows that we are in terrible shape, without some sort of 3rd party think-tank to tell us. With a decreasing tax base, and lacking a visionary council (aside from Alan Halberstadt), our infrastructure, from sewers and roads to sidewalks and bikepaths, has suffered. As council has permitted, through sins of omission, the sprawling residential, and now commercial, landscape, costs of providing a usable transit system have spiralled. Instead of increasing service and decreasing costs, Windsor is doing exactly the opposite.

A couple of months ago I read an article by Dave Olsen of The Tyee entitled Fare-Free Public Transit Could Be Heading to a City Near You. Olsen suggests that municipal transit systems are self-castrating, effectively stopping any possibility of growth because they insist on doing exactly what Caroline Postma and the rest of the transit board have done -- raise rates while restricting service. After reading the article, high on hope and delusions of grandeur, I emailed Alan Halberstadt and suggested that Windsor adopt policies similar to those of Chapel Hill (NC), Vail (CO), Logan (UT), and a myriad of European cities. Halberstadt's response was disheartening, 'great idea, but you couldn't sell that in Windsor'.

It seems that the blogsphere may be right, and council is the impedence to the growth of Windsor. Mayor Bloomberg of NYC was quoted in the New York Daily news saying "I would have mass transit be given away for nothing and charge an awful lot for bringing an automobile into the city." A massive population density has both allowed and compelled NYC residents to become dependent on public transit, even their billionaire mayor uses the subway to get around. With a visionary mayor at the helm of that city, the future looks bright for NYC public transit. Windsor city council plays it safe, opting to build an arena (hey, everyone loves a good hockey game right!?!) instead of leading out. When council tells us that there is no more money for transit, after spending $65 million (without ancilliary property developments), I find it hard to believe that they really have the best interests of the city in mind. I believe that the problem with council is that they don't often feel the impact of their decisions. It is easy to cut the library budgets, transit budgets, etc. because, I hypothesize, council does not frequent these public institutions. If they did, they might find public transit and library books a priority.

Fear not, I have a plan! I suggest that councilors be required to use public transit to travel TO and FROM all city meetings. That means council on Mondays, board meetings, and especially those all-to-frequent "closed" meetings. I think that, after a week or two of riding our buses, council might find their purse-strings loosened.

It really is a travesty when it takes 1.5 hours to travel from the University of Windsor to Forest Glade Arena, each way! The irony of the situation, as pointed out by Olsen, is that the more we fund transit, the more ridership increases, the less we spend on infrastructure development and maintenance. If you listen to Mayor Francis, we can't afford the infrastructure costs we have despite multi-million increases in funding over the 2006 levels. Investing in public transit would increase the mobility of all of the citizenry of Windsor, decrease traffic levels on all commuter routes (the Mayor said that EC Row is at capacity already!) and provide benefits to our air quality. This does not mean that the automobile will become outmoded, rather people will be able to decide to take the public or private transit as they discover all that Windsor has to offer. When we decide to invest in our built environment and learn to be good stewards of all that we have in this city, only then will our perception of ourselves, and perception of our city by others, experience a positive change.

Mike Kakuk - Enviro-Luddite

Ok, I'm not really much into name calling, etc. I think that, generally speaking, it defeats the purpose of a conversation. I suppose I could justify my enviro-luddite label for Mike Kakuk, but in reality, my emotions are running high and I'm resorting to name calling.

Mike's latest blog post, Is the price of convenience too high?, starts by acknowledging the destructive nature of idle-thrus but suddenly takes a wild right turn and demands that we examine the "bigger picture." The big picture, according to Mike, is that governments and car companies should make cars that will allow us to idle, guilt-free, with zero- and low-emission cars. He goes on to explain that in order achieve the perfect environment that we should all drive a horse-and-buggy and burn wood to heat our homes. (Truth be told, this is the part that wound me up).

Mike's solution to the whole problem!?!? Keep the drive-thru moving quickly by having people who want to order food go inside! Oh, come on man! The issue with drive-thru's isn't just the idling cars, but the volume of traffic, the impact on surrounding neighbourhoods and the exacerbation on our 'secluded' society. To think that Windsor and Essex County is subject to Mike's social babble every morning on AM800 scares the hell out of me. When someone with such a short view of the world around them is an integral part of the mass media machine we really have our work cut out for us.

I've often accused Mike and Lisa of throwing Mayor Francis a lob ball on his Tuesday morning spin session, but I really had no idea that the problem was this pervasive. I think the irony of this turn of events, at least in my mind, is that I decided that, aside from listening to the Mayor on Tuesday morning at 7:20, that I am an 1550AM (CBC Radio) man. I might only be one listener, but, as my favourite saying by Mahatma Ghandi goes, we need to be the change we wish to see in the world.

Last item -- here is a link to the Mayor's position on drive-thrus in mp3 format.

BTW: Don't forget to vote in the online poll that ends on 17 December. The question is Should drive-thru's be banned to improve the environment? Just click on the link to Mike's article (see above) and then scroll down on the right side. Let's show Windsor, Mike Kakuk and our city administration what we really think!

The Shock Doctrine

One of my favourite authors over the past couple of years has been Naomi Klein, author of No Logo, among other hard-edged non-fiction. Her newest book, The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism, including the accompanying short film (high quality version here), makes some serious allegations about the profiteering and politics associated with the natural, and unnatural, events of our global community. While I haven't yet read her book (I'm trying to frequent the library to help sustain those vital knowledge stores -- but that's for another article), her short movie reinforced an idea that has been festering in my mind, and has occassionally found it's way out of my mouth, for more than a year now. The idea is, to echo Klein, that our local economic disaster is being exacerbated by capitalists who masquarade as saviours to a city, but offer nothing more than a rich-get-richer scheme dressed up in slick marketing and spin.

A case in point -- the CocoBox bigbox development proposed for the border of Windsor and Lasalle. Though Jenny Coco has owned this land for nearly a decade, during which time she has switched from commercial, to residential, now back to commercial zoning, she has only recently settled on a project for these lands. To hear Jeffrey Slopin, her legal representation, sell it, this is the best thing for Windsor since the automotive industry. Slopin and Coco are selling this development as a well-spring of prosperity, creating 1500 jobs and generating nearly $4 million in tax revenues for the city of Windsor. It reminds me of that 80's classic from Dead or Alive, You Spin Me Round - "you spin me right round, baby, right round". The facts are meaningless when the promise of jobs and money are dangled over the heads of the unemployed masses. Let's be honest, the last thing that Windsor needs right now is another shopping centre to siphon away our dwindling paycheques. Consumption consumerism is the drug of choice for so many people. Coco, Slopin, and even city council, are spinning this development into a cure-all for the economic ailments of Windsor when, in reality, we are severing our hand to cure a hangnail.

There is a moral to this story. Information is knowledge. Knowledge is power. We have elected representation, but that does not mean that we cannot, or should not, speak out about the issues facing the community around us. More important, we must be educated, even vigilent, about the slick marketing, information spinning profiteers at all levels of business and government. The message of SDW is to reinvest in our built environment, developing sustainability and quality into our community, not just quantity. Projects like the east end arena, tunnel purchase, CocoBox, GreenLink, etc. etc. should all be examined with a discerning eye. There is no quick-fix for Windsor; only hardwork and perseverence are going to return the social and economic dividends we are hoping for. Let us all be wary of those preaching economic salvation without works. We can change Windsor, but we are going to have to pay penance for our past, and, most important, challenge the status quo of disaster economics, in whatever form it takes.

The Future of Festivals in WIndsor

I am proud of having been a part of Windsor’s Destination Development Committee - a committee that spent significant monies to research and prove, once and for all, that Windsor and Essex County should do more to support its festivals. I do, however, want to draw attention to a number of issues that need to be addressed if we’re ever going to be successful in accomplishing our mission.

Again, I have to declare my vested interest in both Downtown and the Windsor International Film Festival. Just as I have invested in property in the city centre because I believe that the future of Windsor lies in its Downtown, I have also invested my community service in the Windsor International Film Festival (WIFF) for numerous reasons including:

1. I believe that the future of Windsor’s tourism lies heavily with the number of people draw to its festivals which significantly contribute to distinguishing our city from that of any other

2. I am an avid movie fan who believes that Windsor is deprived of independent Canadian and international films due to the fact that conglomerates, with programmers, agents and bookers based in Toronto, control the programming of the silver screenings. These individuals have little interest or understanding of our market.

As an international Film Festival that has ties to Windsor and Detroit, WIFF is accomplishes our political leaders stated goals including:

- Municipal government’s Two Nation Destination, and our
- Federal counterpart’s slogan “The border connects us, not divides us”
- WIFF has numerous initiatives that reach far beyond its six-day festival including the 48 Hour Flick Fest, its educational component, and its monthly screenings.

In my opinion, many if not all festivals face obstacles related to the costs and bureaucracy of starting and maintaining these events including:
A. Professional fees to incorporate a non-profit or for-profit organization, obtain charitable status, and annual audits
B. Significant cost of due diligence related to insurance.
C. In order to qualify for future municipal funding, each festival will be required to become a member of the Convention and Visitor’s Bureau (CVB) at a cost of $131, and a member of the Canada South Festival Network (which has not held regular meetings in over a year, if not longer) at a cost of $200 plus $50 per additional event.
D. It is highly recommended that festivals also sign up for membership of Festival and Events Ontario which facilitates provincial listing, aids in provincial funding etc. Attending the annual conference is an additional cost but critical to success. Membership to FEO comes with a price tag around $200.
D. Windsor City Council has just adopted a new insurance policy that appraises each festival based on a far too simplified point system (the liability of an event serving alcohol with an attendance of 200 is equal to that of an event which draws 10,000 people). Estimated cost of $5 million liability insurance is in excess of $4,000 annually.
.E Provincial and Federal funding streams refuse to align their application processes. Cultural Heritage, Ontario Arts Council, Telefilm Canada, OCAF, Trillium etc. all have a completely different application process - each of which require a considerable amount of time (many in excess of 50 hours) to complete, add or modify the application. (BTW, virtually all successful non-profit festivals receive a minimum 20% of governmental sponsorship funding. It’s an industry standard everywhere but Windsor!)

Basically, as a festival you’re having to raise over $10,000 cash as well as countless hours of professional services just to say "Hi, how do you do?"

I think it’s great that the City of Windsor has taken the first step (more like a giant leap) and recognized that festivals are a significant part of our tourism and economic future, not to mention the cultural and entertainment benefits we are derive. Now we need to begin focussing on the issues outlined above. These issues must be addressed if we are to move forward strategically. Whether it is through a festival ombudsman to help obtain public funding (a position that Ed Agnew successfully held for many years) or though any other creative means, this is a discussion that must begin right now!

Windsor - the rebellious teen?

Guest Blogger - James Coulter

A recent post on …scale down, Windsor featured an article by Avi Friedman. Mr. Friedman described the trend of small town populations declining and city populations growing. He goes on to tell us that high-rise development will evolve into high-density clusters and the residents will be serviced by economical transit services and so on.

Last week the Star reported that the city of Windsor’s population increased 3.5% from 209,218 in 2001, to 216,473 in 2006. What is more important is how Windsor grew. The population of the central part of the city experienced significant population losses –“areas west of Pierre saw steep, double digit dives" - while the outer edge of the city saw new housing development and increased, lower density population. We should be very concerned about this because the cost to provide basic municipal services increases significantly as the area increases. If the density is too low it will mean even higher tax bills or much less service per taxpayer. So far, Avi Friedman’s future is not playing out here.

It could be because Avi Friedman’s future doesn’t apply to all cities. I came across the 19.20.21 project the other day. The 19.20.21 project is a multi-media study of the nineteen largest cities in the world as they approach populations of 20 million (or grow even larger) in the twenty-first century. If the world’s largest cities are going to grow even larger, will Canada’s largest cities grow too, at the expense of smaller, economically distressed cities? The almost gravitational pull of the larger cities, more jobs and more opportunities in an increasingly centralized economy may be irresistible to people desperate for work.

In his recent presentation to the Greater Windsor Homebuilders Association, Dennis DesRosiers said that the worst wasn’t over for us in Windsor yet. The CIBC’s Metro Monitor (Dec. 7, 2007) says, “Reflecting the difficulties in the manufacturing sector, cities such as Windsor and Saguenay still face major challenges.” Another CIBC report on the same day reported that October to November of this year 16,000 manufacturing jobs were lost in Canada. With this kind of economic outlook (and the looming disaster of the “sub-prime mortgage fiasco” still playing out in the financial markets) and the pull of the big cities, will Windsor see a population increase in the next census or will the population start to decline?

If our population declines, is it a bad thing? No. If our population continues to grow, is it a bad thing? No. If our density continues to decrease, is it a bad thing? Yes.

We are already seeing the cost of lower density development on our utility bills and in the current city budget discussions. Less service with bigger bills to keep it all spread out.
How can we get the leaders of this city to understand that what is happening is going to turn out horribly wrong? Perhaps we can file a class action suit and sue to city for negligence or incompetence? Just a thought.

I want to repeat a paragraph from Chris’ first post on …scale down, Windsor.

“So now it's time for our community leaders to add a new term to their repertoire ...scale down. By scaling down our drive to grow for the sake of growing, we will in turn strengthen our community. (Organisms in a natural environment do not grow in perpetuity. At some point in their existance they reach their limit to growth and start to mature and strengthen) By redirecting the millions of dollars we're allocating to auto-centric infrastructure, we can invest in welcoming, pedestrian-scaled walkable neighbourhoods. By scrutinizing our current fixation on Big-Box retail development being built on agricultural greenfield sites, we will reinvest in our locally owned Mom-And-Pop stores that keep our wealth right here in Windsor where it belongs.”

What we are talking about is the survival of the City of Windsor. Scaling down our community isn’t about branding, or marketing or appealing to certain demographics. It isn’t a mental exercise, or a “wouldn’t it be nice” thing. If this city does not scale down it will go bankrupt or we will, trying to pay our taxes and user fees

James Coulter is an Engineering Technologist with the School of Building, Design and Construction Technology at St. Clair College. His opinions are plentiful and may not reflect those of his employer or the teaching faculty at the college.

Francis on banning the sale of cats and dogs at pet shops...

Want to hear exactly how Windsor mayor Eddie Francis thinks drive-thru's are as natural to an urban area as cats and dogs are to a pet shop? Listen to his spin during his weekly talk with AM 800's Mike and Lisa here.

When other municipalities, like the ever-successful London, Ontario, are putting forward progressive legislation in the hopes of making their communities better places to live, we have our Mayor essentially making fun of them.

Who do they think they are, anyways? These "outside experts" who run successful cities?

Lifestyle Center vs. Power Center

I have a bit of a different view than some of my fellow Scale Down Bloggers when it comes to the Big Box Power Centers. Although I became a part of Scale Down because of my desire to support locally owned independant businesses, I am not opposed to the multinationals in themselves. I am opposed to what I believe is the City Of Windsor and Essex County Prostituting themselves to these Corporations.

Righ now I'm in Florida and was just at a wonderful example of what a big box development could look like. Coconut Point is a mixed use complex that almost recreates a main street.

Why can't Windsor and Essex county demand the same type of site plans? I mean, sure, it would drive up the costs of development but have you ever heard of Walmart, Home Depot or the rest bypassing a city because of development costs? Do you actually think that there wouldn't be a Walmart in Windsor if we raised the price of admission.

We're selling out, and we're selling out very cheap. Why? Mainly because the city and the county refuse to work together as a region and compete against each other in a race to the bottom.

These well planned Lifestyle Centers can actually address the economic development and social fabric problems that Power Centers create although they would still not be able to address the fostering of Windsor's distinct and unique Culture. There would be no cool owner- operators you could meet there. Still, 2 out of 3 ain't bad and is a lot better than the current big goose egg (or should I say Goose crap) our city gets now.

Now don't get me wrong, I still prefer the independant locals, but I think democracy is all about freedom of choice. If someone wants to shop big box or multinational, that's their right. But why are we letting these big box's create unwalkable blight in our community. Why do we allow the parking lagoons to exist. Democracy also means that the citizens of WIndsor have the right to demand certain things from developers as well

I'd like to hear a report from Planning on this, I feel like the Jack Nicolson scene from "a few Good men".

"The Truth, You can't handle the truth"

As an explanation

What is a Lifestyle Center?

Lifestyle Centers are open-air shopping centers generally designed with a pedestrian orientation. They may or may not include any anchor stores. These centers focus on upscale national chains, entertainment and theaters, restaurants, and specialty stores. Lifestyle Centers are often designed as a destination center with more than just retail to encourage browsing and multiple activities in one visit. A Lifestyle Center can generally be defined as a shopping center or mixed-used commercial development that combines the traditional retail functions of a shopping mall with leisure amenities oriented towards consumers. Lifestyle centers emerged as a retailing trend in the late 1990s and are often located in suburban areas. More info on shopping centers here.

The International Council of Shopping Centers indicates that the service area of a Lifestyle Center is typically 8-12 miles. Examples of Lifestyle Centers are: University Village in Seattle, and Redmond Town Center in Redmond.

Windsor's Culture slide

I wanted pass along this news, as it speaks to the closing of yet another local venue whose support of the local arts scene has been immeasurable. I wrote about the closing of Sky Lounge back in October and the impact it will have on our local music scene, and this news only reaffirms the notion that if we are to possess a vibrant, culturally rich downtown, that we must stem this bleeding of venues for our local talent. From the news posted on The Avalon's website, it seems that there's more to this story than simply a business with too few customers to support it's bottom line - a tale I hear more and more in this city.

From The Avalon Front's website;

A situation has been developing for quite a while that has brought us to this decision. To generalize, The Avalon Front was audited, as many businesses are and the findings approach the insane. We believe that we have had our rights and privileges taken away. Once again, it’s a case of David vs. Goliath, which is happening increasingly more often. We have fought as long as we could but it seems that this is the end. Our hope is that there is still a last minute chance that the doors will stay open but it doesn't look good. All things come to pass and it seems now it's The Avalon Front's turn. We are trying to put together an entertaining last week in business and hope that you can share it with us. Keep checking the website for details as they come."

...and this notice from Jamie Greer of The Windsor Scene,

"As some of you may or may not know, The Avalon Front is closing this coming weekend.

Opened 8 years ago, The Avalon Front has become Windsor's premiere indie rockshowcase, bringing in so many bands from around the world to play Windsor. All thosebands that magazines like MOJO, Uncut, Blender, Rolling Stone and more have writtenabout as the future of indie music, have stopped through the Avalon Front.

They have been the Windsor stop for bands such as:The Dears (Montreal), The Besnard Lakes (Montreal), You Say Party! We Say Die! (Vancouver), Young Galaxy (Montreal), Bionic (Montreal), Matt Pond PA (New York), Junior Boys (Hamilton), The Marble Index (Hamilton), Controller:Controller (Toronto), The Organ (Vancouver), The Golden Dogs (Toronto), NOT TO MENTION THE COUNTLESS LOCAL WINDSOR BANDS WHO HAVE GRACED THIS STAGE!

With the recent closing of Sky Lounge as well as last month's folding of UpfrontMagazine, this third hit to the Windsor Music scene is a critical one. The time is NOW for bands to start getting more creative with their venue choices, start examining venues that they may have ignored in the past and start putting on better line-ups - with all the talent available in this city, why are we subject to in adequate show line-ups? Too many times I have seen shows where some amazing bands let friends bands have their first show with them (when they are clearly not ready to be playing live). There is a bubble of bands on the verge of making it, several who are talking to "people"...it's time this city realized if it ignores it's music for much longer, soon you won't see many bands claim to be from Windsor.

They'll all be moving on to other cities who actually SUPPORT their creative members, not shut down the only venues that DO support it (while leaving the over-serving blights that are the booty dance bars).With all that said and done, I encourage ANYONE WHO CLAIMS TO BE A WINDSOR MUSIC FAN to come to the Avalon's closing night on Sunday December 16th. It's time to put your pettiness aside. On this night, put away your "I'm a Phog person" or "I'm a Chubby Pickle person" and realize that for this city's music scene to work, you must be a "Windsor Music person" and see music in ALL venues, not just the one who's bartender knows you and who's door staff lets you in for free (which takes away money from the band anyway, so you're really NOT a music fan). Come and witness the end of an era and let's use this celebration to meet with other musicians andlocal music fans and celebrate the launch of as new era.

Finally, here is a letter from Tony Facchinerri, the owner of The Avalon Front:

"Dear Patrons, Due to circumstance beyond my control, the last night of The Avalon Front will be Sunday, December 16, 2007. I can not justify keeping the doors open, so it is with great sadness, and even greater thanks that I must say goodbye.

The Avalon after all is only four walls, and it is all of you that have made this small bar what it is and all of you that have provided the memories for so many of us.I want to take this opportunity to thank all of you for the experience of the past eight years. I am very proud of the Avalon and what it has meant to me and to many others over the years. The Avalon has, in my humble opinion, been an oasis in the midst of chaos, hopefully a fitting tribute to its name. Its reputation and staying power is a compliment to all of you.

In my mind, the Avalon has always been about the people. It all began eight years ago with Lira and the boys opening the doors and getting the party started. What a party it has been! I won't ever forget the music, the conversations, and the laughs. I have been privileged to have met many amazing people coming through that big wooden door, and I am honoured to count so many people that I have met at the Avalon friends. I would be remiss if I didn't thank Scott. He has been with me since before the doors even opened and we have been through much together. You are one of a kind White shoe! Also, the music would never have sounded so good without the talent of Adam who got his start at the Avalon. I am sure he will be famous one day.

The staff of the Avalon, past and present, has been like family to me. I am honoured to have worked with so many talented and wonderful people.It has been one hell of a ride. Again, please know that I am proud and grateful for the opportunity to run The Avalon Front. It has been my home for the past eight years. I will miss being here more than I can ever express. But eight is enough.My thanks,

Cheers,

Tony"

With all the city's talk about revitalizing our downtown core, with the steady closing of numerous establishments, it seems that they have yet to fully comprehend the task in front of them.

Either that, or they have alternate plans which run counter to their public statements.

(Courtesy of Darren B, a video tasting of the local talent within the Avalon's "four walls"; The Locusts Have No King, Citywide Vacuum and NOT_digital)

Our future

While browsing the Windsor Star online today I saw an article about an 11-year old who writes a killer blog that deals with some of the most cutting topics (and some not so cutting topics -- hey, he is only 11!). Using his youth to his advantage he has managed to wrangle interviews with top music, political and media celebrities. Oh, and has an insatiable passion for politics and environmentalism.

With kids like this in the making, we are in good hands in the years to come. Support him by checking out his blog -- istw.blogspot.com

One step forward, Two steps back...

I know that we've got a HUGE job ahead of us when it comes to getting out the word about the importance of strengthening our established built environment at the expense of continuing our unsustainable outward sprawl development. (just look at what the county folks are going through just to provide their residents with basic necessities, like public transortation)

That has always been the stated goal of SDW, and it appears that it is a much needed goal. From today's Windsor Star, who reported on Windsor's recently released census data;

Most of Windsor's established neighbourhoods, such as Sandwich, Walkerville, Riverside and Forest Glade, shrunk in population over the past five years, while South Windsor and new subdivisions between Lauzon and Banwell roads grew dramatically.

According to census data released this week, while the city's population grew by 3.5 per cent, to 216,473 from 209,218, the growth wasn't evenly spread.

A swath of land in neighbourhoods along the Detroit River from Jefferson Avenue west to Broadway Street, excluding Ford City, experienced declines in population between 2001 and 2006.

Most areas west of Pierre Avenue saw steep, double-digit dives.

"It means fewer people are occupying the same amount of space," said Jim Yanchula, acting city planner.

It also means that the costs of sprawl have yet to make it to the forefront of peoples minds. That will happen sooner or later. Personally, I would rather be prepared and continue working at fixing our core.

Speaking of fixing our core, how is it that two prominent Windsorites, Lawyer Jeffrey Slopen and Freeds co-owner Dan Orman can have such opposite views when it comes to our local retail environment. Oh yeah, one's a proponent of Wal-Mart, and one co-owns a multi-generational local independant business. One says that Windsor has room for more big-box retail at the fringe of the city, and the other says that Windsor is over-retailed. "We also recognize there is a great deal of competition in this marketplace from Walker Road, Tecumseh and Windsor Crossing, not to mention the proposed big-box site near LaSalle," said Orman. "In our view, Windsor is over-retailed"..."There are very few independents in any of the retail sectors any more and those that survive do so out of loyalty and relationships developed with both their customers and their suppliers."

Who do you believe?

A Chance to Kill this Title

Finally, an opportunity to make a difference about the criticisms that downtown is all bars. Monday night a report by our administration goes to council and if we speak up we can make positive change and ask that bars not be allowed to operate between 3 and 5 am. We can put an end to destructive after hours bars like they did in Kitchener. Anyone who truly wants to make changes should register to speak at city council on Monday night or express your opinion to your councillor. Your councillors will listen if they see you there

I have been calling for an end to after hour’s bars and massage parlours to be zoned out of downtown for years. Our licensing department and our city leaders have not thought to date that these changes are warranted. Below is a letter that details the complaints about lack of transparency and being shut out of the process that Larry Horwitz and I faced when we tried to lobby for these changes. We were denied the input into this report that we were promised and we were individually told to leave the meeting. A meeting where the licencing committee comprised of Councillor Ron Jones and Jo anne Gignac became party to this flawed report.

First, we hear that downtown is dangerous, that is not the whole truth. The whole truth is that when we read and hear about shootings and knifings over 90% take place after 3am. The whole truth is that two of these shootings happened outside the same after hours club on the corner of Pelissier and Wyandotte. I am absolutely dumbfounded that the police have not called for these establishments to be closed down. We all know that policing costs are high downtown and this is one way to reduce them. If you claim to care about high taxes then here is another way to control city costs. I respectfully question the reasoning behind our police’s silence over this issue and whether there has been pressure to not rock the boat.

Secondly, if you want to lure retail downtown you need a buffer between the day time and a night time clientele. The term mixed use is not proper to describe the relationship between nightclubs, retail and office. The uses simply don’t mix. The more proper term would be “split use” and to make an effective “split use” district you need a buffer between the nightclubs and the retail/office. That buffer is needed for the Entertainment lounge owners to clean up before the retail/office opens.

There are many other reasons in addition to this that after hours clubs should be restricted, I’m sure many of you have your own valid reasons as well. You want to attract residents to downtown; these clubs are also an obstacle of that goal.
Now, other than the proprietors themselves, most people in the city will agree with me about after hours clubs. Where I disagree with many is the need to curtail the nightclub industry. We don’t need to stop them we need to manage them responsibly. That can be done by supporting the Hospitality Resource Panel that is inching its way forwards. More can be learned about this at www.responsiblehrp.org

The only controversy here is whether to close places that provide food between 3 and 5am. If you ask the president of the Responsible Hospitality Institute he will say that these places create lineups made up of intoxicated people put in closed quarters. Thats a fight waiting to happen. The Responsible Hospitality Institute advocates for practices that allow patrons to leave downtown in an orderly manner. It is a fallacious argument to think that if a drunk person has something to eat before he drives home he somehow becomes safer. Food doesn't sober you up, it only slows down how quickly alcohol enters the blood. It will not make a person that is over the legal limit go under. Even if you disagree with this point call your councillor and ask them to close entertainment lounges, public halls between 3 and 5am

It also is the source of much of downtowns garbage. Other cities like Kitchener have done that and zoned any new massage parlours out of downtown. When asked how they got the existing ones to move out of downtown they simply responded, we told them to go that they were not wanted downtown. action can happen if the citizens of our city demand it. Please register to speak or show your support Monday Night at council, write, email or call your councillor. This is the type of positive change that we can make that I’ve been talking about. Here’s a chance for the naysayer to put their money where their mouths are.

Below are excerpts from Kitchener's municipal code which prevent after hour bars to open. After that is a description of how our city's administration is behaving on this issue. P.S. this will only be announced on Friday which gives the public virtually no notice or time to prepare. If it moves from Monday, I would question whether this post which I am making very public has caused a change that results in no public debate on the issue.

Public Hall

583.1.1 Public hall - defined
“public hall” means a building, including a portable building or tent with a seating capacity for over 100 persons that is offered for use or used as a place of public assembly, but does not include a theatre within the meaning of the Theatres Act, or a building, except a tent, used solely for religious purposes.

583.2.6 Operation - hours prohibited
No person shall operate a public hall between the hours of 3 a.m. and 5 a.m. each day except the first day of January in each year.

583.3.1 Fine - for contravention - person
Every person other than a corporationwho contravenes any provision of this Chapter and every director or officer of a corporation who concurs in such contravention by the corporation is guilty of an offence and is liable, upon conviction, to a fine not exceeding Twenty-Five Thousand Dollars ($25,000).

583.3.2 Fine - for contravention - corporation
Every corporation that contravenes any provision of this Chapter is guilty of an offence and is liable, upon conviction, to a fine not exceeding Fifty Thousand Dollars ($50,000)

Place of refreshment

584.1.2 Place of refreshment - defined
“place of refreshment” includes a restaurant, ice cream parlour, dairy bar, tea room, sandwich shop, lunch counter, hot dog and hamburger stand, peanut stand, fish and chip shop, refreshment booth, refreshment stand and a place where refreshments are sold from a vendingmachine, but does not include a refreshment vehicle

584.2.7 Class A licence - hours of operation
Every premises for which a ClassAplace of refreshment licence has been issued under this Chapter shall be closed between the hours of 3 a.m. and 5 a.m. each day except the first day of January in each year.

584.3.1 Fine - for contravention - person
Every person who contravenes any provision of this Chapter and every director or officer of a corporation who concurs in such contravention by the corporation is guilty of an offence and is liable, upon conviction, to a fine not exceeding Twenty-Five Thousand Dollars ($25,000).

584.3.2 Fine - for contravention - corporation
Notwithstanding Section 584.3.1, every corporation that contravenes any provision of this Chapter is guilty of an offence and is liable, upon conviction, to a fine not exceeding Fifty Thousand Dollars ($50,000).

Good Morning Councillors:
I have reviewed the Council Report 13049 regarding After Hours Clubs. As this is a “Note and File” recommendation, we were informed by the City Clerk’s Office that delegations will not be heard on the issue.

As such, the DWBIA requests that Council direct Administration to work closely with the DWBIA in researching this issue and that the DWBIA be included in the discussion from the beginning through to the end of the study.

As an FYI – the Licensing Commission met on October 9th, 2007. I was informed by a person in the Licensing Department that this meeting was open to the public, however when two of my Board Members tried to enter the meeting, they were told to leave. I was assured by Licensing that we would be involved in this process, yet this Council Report has come forward without consultation with the DWBIA.

Judith C. Veresuk
Executive Director
Downtown Windsor Business Improvement

ED: The Windsor Star doing it's part at publicizing this issue today (Friday, Dec 7)

Is Windsor Daring to Dream?

Is it just me, or has there been a slight shift in attitudes towards our downtown as of late?

Windsorites have always been a somewhat pessimistic bunch, but there seems to be a desire, scratch that - a need - to believe that we are capable of something more than simply our Sin City reputation of Rub 'N Tugs and the Windsor Ballet. You hear reference to "change" a lot in the media and from our politicians lips, but this is different. It seems as though the citizens of Windsor, tired of waiting for our benevolent dictator to swoop in and rescue us, are picking up the torch ourselves and collectively determining our own future.

That sentiment was palpable at the Windsor Armouries last night, as hundreds of citizens clamoured for chairs in the hopes that what they were going to hear was more than just wishful thinking on the part of the Windsor Symphony Orchestra (WSO). This was obviously not a City of Windsor presentation, as the notable lack of thousand dollar artist renderings and high-priced consultants allowed room for the sense of hope and sincere desire for progressive change of the residents. This wasn't a snow job meant to dupe people into swallowing a mystery pill that would give them heartburn for years. This was the real deal.

And a real opportunity for Windsor to define itself as a true cultural destination. The DWBIA's ever-optimistic president, Larry Horwitz, was on hand to outline how a revitalized Armouries building would strengthen the fabric of a rejuvenated core. Maestro John Morris Russell outlined the strengths this fabulous building possesses which would put this city in the North American big leagues. And WSO board president Vicky Kyriaco-Wilson went into the business case that proved it was within Windsorites best interest to throw their support behind this project. (click here for the power point presentation she delivered at the open house) From today's Windsor Star...

Kyriaco-Wilson announced in a presentation that the WSO will be asking the City of Windsor for $60,000 to partially fund an economic feasibility study on the renovation project.

According to Kyriaco-Wilson, the money the WSO is requesting from council could come from the city's "Culture Capital Projects Budget," which set aside $125,000 of taxpayer money (ed: which, according to Kyriaco-Wilson, is left over from last years budget) for arts and culture projects in Windsor.

The Downtown Windsor Business Improvement Association has already committed $10,000 to the study. Kyriaco-Wilson said the WSO has raised an additional $10,000 from donors, and is seeking provincial and federal grants to cover another $20,000, bringing the total cost of the feasibility study to $100,000.

I just wish that I had the audio capabilities to let you hear how amazing the sound is in this hall, with the Windsor Community Orchestra and a quintet of WSO brass players demonstrating the aural capabilities of this heritage building - as it sits in all of it's original splendour. If there was ever a need for the people of the city of Windsor to voice their support, now is the time.

It is evident that contrary to popular belief, Windsorites have not given up on their city. They are actively working at bringing about positive change. Take SDW reader James Coulter's vision (inset picture) of what our core could accomplish with some visionary leadership and the testicular fortitude to do what they know is right. The 200 - 300 people who came out to the Armouries last night is a testament to the desire to reclaim our downtown. We just need to bring more people into the fold, and as Maestro John Morris Russell asked us to do last night - talk to your friends, family and relatives about the possibilities and get in touch with our municipal decision makers.

Mayor Eddie Francis, 350 City Hall Square West, Windsor, Ontario, N9A 6S1, 519-255-6315, mayoro@city.windsor.on.ca

Ward 1 - Dave Brister, 847 Lounsborough, Windsor, Ontario, N9G 1G3, 519-250-7960, dbrister@city.windsor.on.ca

Ward 1 - Drew Dilkens, 3125 Massey Court, Windsor, Ontario, N9E 2Z6, 519-250-5607, ddilkens@city.windsor.on.ca

Ward 2 - Ron Jones, 390 Randolph Avenue, Windsor, Ontario, N9B 2T6, 519-252-1005, rjoones@city.windsor.on.ca

Ward 2 - Caroline Postma, 841 Bruce Avenue, Windsor, Ontario, 519-971-0728, cpostma@city.windsor.on.ca

Ward 3 - Alan Halberstadt, 2517 Gail Road, Windsor, Ontario, N8W 2Z7, 519-973-8323, ahalberstadt@city.windsor.on.ca

Ward 3 - Fulvio Valentinis, 2173 Victoria Avenue, Windsor, Ontario, N8X 1P8, 519-977-5067, fvalentinis@city.windsor.on.ca

Ward 4 - Ken Lewenza Jr., 1741 Tourangeau Road, Windsor, Ontario, N8Y 4J9, 519-948-9328, klewenza@city.windsor.on.ca

Ward 4 - Bill Marra, 2475 Buckingham Drive, Windsor, Ontario, N8T 2B4, 519-948-0900, bmarra@city.windsor.on.ca

Ward 5 - Jo-Anne gignac, 246 St. Rose Avenue, Windsor, Ontario, N8S 1X2, 519-945-4434, joagignac@city.windsor.on.ca

Ward 5 - Percy Hatfield, 3025 Claxton Court, Windsor, Ontario, N8R 1P9, 519-739-9575, phatfield@city.windsor.on.ca

Feel free to call 311 to verify your Ward representation. You can make a difference!

ED (12/06/07): From today's Windsor Star, Gord Henderson with these words of wisdom...

"We could, if the community desire is there, make this happen and demonstrate that Windsor is more than a sports-loving, blue-collar burg that's down on its luck"

Rare Opportunity

In today's Windsor Star Windsor found itself in the company of some of greatest cities in the world. According to John Russell Morris, Windsor Symphony Orchestra conductor, the Windsor Armouries has the potential to be transformed into one of the greatest concert halls in the world. For most Windsorites, that might be a hard position to take. Sure, we want to think of ourselves as world-class, but to actually think that we could be world class, that is a little daunting, even for the most optimistic among us.

While I don't subscribe to some of hype in the article (remember, no single development will fix downtown Windsor), I do believe that an investment in a heritage property, in addition to an upscale arts establishment, will return dividends for decades to come. Alas, though the thought of a downtown symphonic forum is tainted by two stumbling blocks.

First, according to the DWBIA plans to reinvigorate the downtown with the Downtown Mosaic, and the proposed changes by the WSO, are we missing the opportunity for some symbiotic relationships? Alas, it is far more than a missed opportunity, but a necessity to accomplish the grandiose goals that we envision for our collective future. In order for Windsor to get past itself, we need to build unity into the process, all pushing for a common future, each within our own realm. I hope that the WSO and DWBIA are working in concert (no pun intended!) for the success of our urban core.

Second, and this seems to be a recurring theme, we have city council, certainly not all of them, but consistently the same councillors, who cannot seem to see beyond the confines of our small-town origins. This time around it is Percy Hatfield, who thinks this idea would be great, but not if Windsor taxpayers are going to foot the bill. Hatfield didn't have a problem voting to drop $65 million on an arena that will have questionable ancilliary benefits for Windsor. That is not to say that I favour tax dollars going to support every whim of development that appears to be left leaning, but a favourable allocation of resources that feeds the needs of all citizens. Hell, I'd settle for a comprehensive plan that Windsor actually put some real time, effort and resources behind. Windsor already has reams and reams of plans that could have, would have, transformed our cityscape. Instead we have been frozen by indecision, compelled to act only out of spite, hoping that one more study is going to provide the silver bullet.

It is time to live up to the namesake of SDW and scale down, focus on building the infrastructure to support a community and, with it, a sustainable economy. We must scale our community to prepare ourselves for the future. Just like Mayor Francis and his pay-as-you-go economic philosophy, we need to trim back the wide-ranging expansion plans, the insatiable need to consume, and focus on creating a quality life experience for all citizens.

It's going to be one heck of a journey...

AM800's Jason Moore "Hearts" bloggers

Do you think AM 800's Jason Moore was talking about us? Nah, couldn't be. Who do you think he was talking about when his on-air commentary today derided certain "bloggers" as being too negative?

I'll let you listen and make up your own mind.

In the meantime, let's get back to work, shall we? There's so few people in this city willing to speak up and put their necks on the line, we don't have time to just lay around complaining about everything.

What was Dennis DesRosiers saying when he accused the local media of keeping their heads in the sand? For some reason, I can't remember. Maybe it was the lack of news coverage.

Clipping the Snowbird's Wings

In the coming month, we Canucks observe an annual ritual that will put many millions of dollars into the hands of our neighbours to the south. Thousands observe this tradition, packing up their SUV’s and their passports, kissing their grandchildren goodbye and head for the border.

Montreal Gazette columnist Andy Nulman captured, tongue-in-cheek, the downside of the snowbird migrations: "It's mid-November. Listen closely. It's starting once again. That distinct sucking sound you hear is the whoosh of hundreds of thousands of Canadians--"snowbirds" they're called - making their annual southward migration for the winter... While we're stuck here pulling on woolies and putting on snow tires to navigate sand-strewn sidewalks and salted roads, snowbirds are squeezing spare tires into Speedos to navigate sandy beaches and saltwater waves down south. More than mere objects of ridicule, they've become extreme Enemies of the State."

While I don’t particularly believe snowbirds are “Enemies of the State”, (seeing how my parents are one of them, that may be incredibly unwise on my part) I do believe that Windsor is missing out on a big opportunity.

The Canadian Snowbird Association, a lobby group established to represent migrants' interests to provincial and federal governments, claims that some 800,000 Canadians spend at least one month a year in the South. That’s a lot of people and their quid leaving us to fight the cold weather on their behalf. I don’t begrudge these folks for seeking something they’re missing in their golden years. Most of these people led hard working lives and really deserve to enjoy their golden years how they want to. I just want to find out what Windsor could do to keep some of these folks at home in their community.

I know what you’re saying – it’s the weather, stupid! Granted, if Florida (or Texas, Mexico, etc.) didn’t have that hot, sunny weather they wouldn’t be getting the retirees flocking to their doorsteps every year. I agree with you. Yet, there’s a part of me that believes that there’s another reason. A reason that if absent from the equation would make their annual pilgrimage a lot less desirable.

Like I mentioned, my parents are part of the “Snowbird” phenomenon, so I have access to first-hand accounts of what goes on during the winter months at these retirement Shangri las. My parents, Jerry and Helen, are incredibly social people. Rarely do you ever catch them at home – ever! They are always out with friends and family, enjoying dining, boating, walking and biking and just plain lazing around socializing. It’s a good life, and I am very thankful that they are able to do just that. They’ve earned it. When they pack up their vehicle to head south, dozens of their friends are doing the exact same thing. In fact, their whole circle of friends packs at the same time, takes the same roads to land in the same communities in Florida, to unpack and continue the exact same life they led back home in Canada – uninterrupted.

Yes, the weather is one of the prime motivators for this trek. But I would like to add another reason to the mix. Winter isolation. The winter comes to town and we all put on the storm windows and lock down for the season, only to re-emerge with the robins in the spring. Windsor cannot change this. We’re a Canadian city and we get cold. That’s what makes us Canadian. However, I believe that if we took the social environment out of the Snowbirds winter plans, they would seriously re-evaluate their desire to flee south. If these Snowbirds, who generally live in segregated, affluent suburban developments that are relatively easy to navigate in the summer months, were offered a choice to live in vibrant, walkable, pedestrian-friendly communities where their social lives continued unhampered throughout the year, many would choose not to uproot and instead stay home with their family and friends who are just as easily accessible as they are in the summer months.

This isn’t just a gut-feeling on my part. I look at some of the most-visited vacation destinations in the world and the thing they all offer is a socially rich environment where most of life’s conveniences are within an easy walk from their doorsteps. The people who live in these communities – mostly in older, established European countries – do not feel the need to run away to the sunny south every winter. Their lives are equally rich in the winter months as there are in the summer – only with a few extra layers of clothes on.

This is something that we can compete with here in Windsor. And in building a community that people don’t want to run away from every year, we not only keep the snowbirds in their communities where they belong, but we also enrich the lives of those who may not be able to afford to head south for the winters. True, the travel agents wouldn’t like it very much. They make a pretty good living off of the fact that we’ve built up an inhospitable daily environment and come to them to save our sanity by whisking us away somewhere nice. Well, I want Windsor to be that “somewhere nice” place that not only do we not want to flee, but maybe others will want to flee to.

Yes, it’s a dream, but a dream that’s completely within our control. The weather, on the other hand, is not.

Two Hikers in the Woods

Let me preface this post with a story you probably have heard about two hikers in the woods
Two hikers, hiking in the woods stumble upon a ferocious Grizzly Bear, the first hiker turns around and methodically takes off his back pack and changes his hiking boots for running shoes. The second hiker looks in sheer horror and shrieks “what the hell are you doing, there’s no way that you’re going to be able to outrun a Grizzly Bear”. The first hiker turns to him and says, “ I don’t have to outrun a Grizzly Bear to live, I just have to outrun you!”

Every day I have been coming across some article or blogger that chastises our leaders for not acknowledging Grizzly Bear type problems Windsor Faces. Meanwhile I think they miss the point that the city needs to collectively start running faster than its competitors. They want to see grizzly bears everywhere they look, remaining paralyzed. Look, I am not defending our leadership, I just want those who solely bitch and whine to get off their asses and start contributing.

Take downtown for instance; of course I realize the challenges downtown faces with border security, exchange rates, lack of dedicated nexus lanes on both border crossings, leadership that continues to support urban sprawl. Why on earth would I want to keep focusing and speaking about these problems . Once they are acknowledged, you develop a plan that recognizes them and then DON’T LOOK BACK.

Downtown has a plan that includes advice from a panel of experts from the International Downtown Association, Peter Bellmio, and the examination of highly successful comparable downtowns. It is a multi year plan that is in progress. It focuses on fundamentals such as Clean and Safe, and now Infrastructure and Beautification, next it moves into Business, Secondary Education and Residential Recruitment and eventually going into marketing and events in the future. Is this plan sexy? Probably not, then again neither are roads and sewers. The point is that this plan has been proven to work in every other Downtown that has adhered to it.

If someone came up with a better plan or even elements that furthered our goals, then we would review and adapt. That's not the case with downtown critics. They continue whining about nonsensical items such as not building an arena on insufficient lands (as if a single pad on 6 acres could have ever worked) that many damn well know would have lost money on an annual basis. Pointing out and discussing the Grizzly Bear may motivate some through fear, but I am motivated by envisioning the potential of what I am working on. Unless you have some new information to offer, talking about the Grizzly Bear becomes like drinking toxin that causes paralysis. There is no new problem downtown faces which would warrant a change in the current action plan.

I understand and appreciate those ridiculous statements and comments such as about Windsor’s problems being cyclical should be corrected. In my case, I’m not focusing on or talking about the problems because I see no value in doing that after they’ve been acknowledged. I believe the bloggers doing it think that it makes them somehow intellectually superior than those they criticize, seeing something they believe has been overlooked. Abraham Lincoln once said “he has the right to criticise, who has the heart to help” In Mr. DeRosiers case, he’s earned it and we should listen. However, there are many other critics (I would single out a certain blogger), have done nothing but poison our city. To think that bitching and whining about what others should do is some type of contribution is twisted. It's one thing to offer an opinion, it's another to claim to know what is in the hearts and minds of others. I would end with this; that it's not only about how much you love Windsor, it's about what kind of person you are, what kind of example you set for your children. Roll up your sleeves and find a way to contribute.