Tuesday 30 August 2011

In defence of Suburbia (well, kind of...)

                                                                               
Introducing > The Suburb of Ancaster
When we think of the phrases "walkable neighbourhood" or "active transportation" what often comes to mind is the revitalization of urban streets as opposed to suburban streets.  In Hamilton, like in many North American cities, walkable neighbourhoods are an urban issue - concerning the city core.  In our attempts to advocate for walkable neighbourhoods and active transportation we often exclude suburban neighbourhoods from the discussion. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

I'm sure this is an issue in many larger North American cities: As living downtown becomes less of a pubic safety issue and more of a trendy convenience, it is suburbia that has to deal with the imbalance (i.e.: aging/inefficient/oppressive infrastructure).

I'm seeing this trend already in Hamilton.  Ancaster's situation relative to downtown Hamilton is a perfect fit for this scenario.  To most Hamiltonians, Ancaster is where the rich live.  They live in a sea of large stucco houses on either side of the 403.  They commute to work.  They live up on the Mountain, looking down on the rest of the city, a couple hundred feet below.  They are also probably arrogant, stuck-up, is what the going stereotype would suggest.

This passed Winter at the Hamilton Transportation Summit I met someone who works with the  Ancaster BIA and a newly formed group called Preserve Ancaster Village.  She told me all about the City's plans to widen one of the main roads which runs through Ancaster.  The City, she told me, plans to widen Wilson St. from 2 lanes to 4 lanes, cut down a bunch of trees which line the sidewalk, get rid of the grass barrier between the sidewalk and the road, and add roundabouts making pedestrian crossings almost impossible while making it easier for cars to speed through the suburb.

Knowing the amount of attention the once-neglected inner-city neighbourhoods of Hamilton have been getting in the past couple of years I assumed that not many Hamiltonian's were too concerned about suburban road-widening projects.

I was right - my new friend from Ancaster assured me that not many people were in opposition to the City's plan, nor did many people know of it.  Not only are suburban neighbourhoods not a fad (unlike rough inner-city neighbourhoods), but community engagement in suburbs is weak.

In the last couple of months I've been working with Preserve Ancaster Village.  Their current agendas include forming a group of citizens in Ancaster who will represent the City's opposition in the Wilson Street road-widening issue.  My involvement with Preserve Ancaster Village has been to help them efficiently organize and affectively communicate the groups' agendas.  This information will strengthen their argument when approaching City Hall. 

It's been pretty cool working with them, though the one thing that I have learned is this:

As North American's increasingly become city dwellers - moving from sparse suburbia into dense urbanicity - I feel as though suburban social issues will become neglected and overseen; just as issues in our inner-cities once did.

Whether a road is widened in a run-down neighbourhood in the inner-city or in an exploding suburb on the fringe makes some but little difference - it is a struggle either way, one where pedestrians and cyclists will have to deal with the consequences of being structurally oppressed.

So the question I am left with after all this is: do we punish suburbia or do we defend suburbia?

Monday 29 August 2011

Waterfront Development, West Harbour and Rheem

Proposed developments just left of the rail yard
The Stadium debate of last Summer and Autumn left waterfront development plans stagnant and many buildings purchased by the city vacant.

 
Though many suggest it's situation relative to the Harbour is ideal for recreational use, the nieghbourhood surrounding the old Rheem factory is left not knowing what the future holds for it.





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The West Harbour has been on the radar of the City for many years.  As time has gone on (and as all the industry in the North End has closed down) the waterfront is beginning to seem much more appealing than it once did.

In the last decade the City and the Waterfront Trust have been investing in a handful of waterfront development projects - the most recent (and popular) being the developments at Pier 8 including the Williams Coffee Pub and the newly acquired Discovery Centre.

The City has purchased a number of houses and warehouses around the West Harbour, further west of Pier 8.

With the stadium not being built here it leaves this area without a plan.  My guess is that the buildings which the City had anticipated demolishing will sit for a few more years until the City opts for demolition, leaving the lots vacant for another decade or so before they decide to turn much of this area into parkland - extending the recreational use of the West Harbour further west.

For now, rows of houses are boarded up and warehouses empty until a decision is made.



Wednesday 17 August 2011

Biking downtown in timelapse!!

Today I rode my bike down to the property management office.  This is what the bike ride looked like.

Monday 15 August 2011

Listor Block Progress...

Almost done.  Last week they brought down the building to the left of Listor, 2 weeks ago traffic calming devices went in.

Glad that the City decided to go ahead and restore this giant building.  It was one of downtown's largest vacant buildings until not too long ago.  A little historical fact - this building was the first indoor mall in North America!


Before - February 2007
After - August 2011