Downtown Planning: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly
The Good
The fact that the process has finally Started again after being postponed for no damn good reason other than a rebuke to the DWBIA for daring to have an opinion on 3am closings instead of being good little followers
No talk of silver bullets, I was so happy to not hear about aquariums or other schemes.
The level of conversation - Councillor’s Gignac and Brister get it, Downtown Ward councillors get it, councillor Marra gets it, Planning has always got it.
Jim Yanchula attempt to separate the issues between Management of Downtown vs. Development of Downtown, the only attempt to isolate issues.
Councillor Percy Hatfields thorough list of sites that need to be developed or dealt with
Councillor Fulvio Valentinis understanding that council’s primary role lies in infrastructure and appreciation of the value of streetscape
Councillor Halberstadts unwaveringly attempt to get Community Improvement Plans back on Track
[edit to add] Undestanding that a comprehensive plan to promote downtown needs to be undertaken with the CVB, WEDC, DWBIA and Mayors and Council together instead of separately. (I’m assuming this is an acknowledgement that we need to promote downtown’s ‘brand’ instead of other brands on our street poles). This ties in with housing expert Allan Mallach’s opinion that a primary concern is getting good information out about downtown to prospective residents. Also ties in with Chris Leinbergers conclusion that 1/3 of people want an urban setting, 1/3 want a suburban setting, 1/3 can be persuaded either way so start persuading!
THE BAD
Open agenda for next meeting - nothing will be accomplished if that is the case
The fact that they dedicate 2 hours towards a meeting with no agenda beyond vision. When will people understand that You could do a downtown strategy meeting on each issue downtown faces such as:
- gentrification of residents
- increasing # of residents and housing units
- Infrastructure and beautification
- Inventory and plan for each and every site identified by Councillor Percy Hatfield
- Festival and event management
The fact that some councillors think that targeting increasing residents and targeting entertanment and visitors is somehow mutually exclusive. One shouldn’t come at the expense of the other. The fact that they think 3 or 4 am closures somehow are fighting a natural entertainment strategy when in fact it is preparing downtown for it. Same with Massage parlors zoning, signage guidelines, panhandling bylaws etc… Urban Rat sent me a great example of Modesto California’s decision to focus on becoming the entertainment capital of their region began with a committee to protect residents. BTW, When I say Entertainment, I mean entertainment for all ages.
The desire to include all BIA’s in the next discussion - I respect what Erie and Walkerville have done for their area’s with minimal funding as much if not more than anyone. However, without tightening the issues, its going to be a free for all of self interest which the other BIA’s would be negligent to not attempt. If we were talking about Transit or my idea of a Really cool large gateway to Downtown and Via italia at Ouellette and Erie (Boundary issues notwithstanding) that would be one thing. If you want to include other BIA’s have a separate WEBIAC meeting for that. This is a committee that is very underutilized due to lack of leadership and volunteer exhaustion.
Oversight of residential representation
The Ugly
As much as I want to avoid this, I can’t ignore the elephant in the room. When the Councillors raised areas that were wanting the mayor scolded them for their negative attitude after successful Redbull and Casino opening events. Basically their valid points were not discussed any further, only Councillor Gignac stood up to the scolding.
If you want people to change the conversation then you need to make them feel that they’ve been listened to and acknowledged.
We need to grow up and mature to a level where we can discuss the problems of downtown without being ignored as the enemy. I don’t want to live in a city categorized by George Bush’s line “Your either with us or against us”. I want to speak and be heard by my representatives whether they agree with me or not.
Especially when the councillors did it in such a respectful way to downtowns current state and assets. Its one thing when someone is simply ‘ripping’ on downtown, its another when they’re trying to think of ways to improve it beyond its current state or looking for ways to leverage the current successes of ST. Clair, street closures, events, convention arena’s etc…
Post Feedback
Mark, you’ve touched a bit about how Ottawa and Erie St have figured out their niches. Downtown doesn’t seem to work that well together and lots can be learned from Erie especially. The 3 districts are close together, how about a shuttle bus service like they do in Niagara Falls - $6 all day pass and connect everything together sort of like Lundy’s Lane?
Red Bull and Casino openings are once in a while but with all the other stuff going on between the 3 districts all summer connecting them together in a way that’s easy for tourists and residents to park and get around could generate money. More money if events are planned together. There’s a lot of positive out there.
Best,
Barry
Barry, now that is a great idea. It is achievable, inexpensive, and we could have that up and running this summer.
Totally agree about the importance of all BIA’s talking about transporation between them.
Downtown is a natural entertainment capital that needs to leverage the convention visitors and give them something for when they walk out of the casino. But when they walk out of the casino the mayor needs to spend money on banners that promote downtown’s brand and its districts instead of someone elses brand.
You wouldn’t see erie street putting up someone elses banners. They have control over their banner that goes over their main street whereas downtown has no control over what gets put up on its poles and over Ouellette.
Downtown has a great brand and we need to promote it. In fact people at the downtown strategy meeting did acknowledge this and I’m editing my “Good” section to acknowledge it
I’m more worried that by expanding the contributors too much will prevent us from focusing on a to do list
All we need to do is revise the todo list. look at the 100+ items left on the list from 1994, agree on ones that we all want to do, put timelines and $$$$ towards getting them done.
My view is that anyone going to the next meeting should state their priorities before hand. Like Jim Yanchula said about vision, its about everyone stating their intentions before hand.
Break people up into groups, those who want to increase residents should not have to talk about how to lure visitors and vice versa, they simply won’t care
You will lose people’s passion if you force them to discuss issues they truly don’t care about. Those who want to turn Downtown into a successful residential neighborhood in one group, retail district people in another group and entertainment/festival capital into another group and let each group work on the things they care about. If people want to be a part of more than one groups then have the groups meet at separate times
One item on the list is what should the future of downtown streetscape be?
Mark,
I think this session was, much like the Willistead session, a reaction to us ordinary folk getting together and talking about downtown.
The DWBIA and the mayor’s office can’t get in sync. Is it the DWBIA that doesn’t want to do their part or the other way around?
Like I wrote in my post, don’t expect much from this council and mayor. They are too busy trying to buy tunnels and sink DRIC to do anything else. And, sometime soon they are going to have to deal with the reality that there isn’t enough money in the coffers to keep the city running. Then there will be some real tears.
The DWBIA and the residents need to have their own meetings and plan a downtown that you can all be happy with. Make your own plans and actions plans because city hall is going to be stuck fixing all the damage that is currently being done.
So what I am understanding of the above meeting is, that I as a resident of eighteen years in the core doesn’t matter to the city, that I have no say in my environment…excuse me! This city is so very wrong to ignore me or any other citizen in this city. Expect fireworks and shock and awe when it comes to the NEXT election! You think that I am vocal now, just wait!
Oh! Some of us are quietly knitting the names of our elected city officials and the deeds they haven’t done into a very long scarf!
With the Casino expansion and all the beauty around the streets, with Barry’s suggestion of Lundy’s Lane, it feels a bit of Niagara Falls.
Transportation is important. No doubt. Perhaps a beautiful street car (electric of course), going east and west on Riverside from Cameron to the Casino and North and South on Ouellette Ave. from Riverside Dr. to Giles Ave. doing a round about at those ends.
The bus idea connecting Casino, downtown, Erie St. sounds like a great idea. But, the cost to connect to the new Arena would be too much.
By the way, is it long distance to call the new WFCU Arena or do I just have to dial 1 first?
James, Problem is that I firmly believe that for an action to have impact it has to be coordinated and supported by all.
I don’t think anytihing the DWBIA does without comprehensive support will succeed.
I know it sounds like I’m ripping on the mayor but maybe we need to put us both in a room with the Mayor’s marketing consultant and planning department, so that they can mediate our points.
It also means that I would support any compromise that would see the Mayor’s initiatives for Windsor better succeed in return for support from the mayors office for priorities that the DWBIA has set out.
Remember the DWBIA’s policies are not some capricious wishlist.
They are derived from recommendations from
1. The International Downtown Association panel supported by the city’s planning department
2. Safety and policing expert Peter Bellmio originally hired by the Mayor and whose report was adopted by the city
3. Merchandising consultant report by Maureen Atkinson who happens to be one of North America’s foremost retail recruitment experts.
But Grand Prix announcements await todays annual CVB meeting at the Casino. I support the mayors initiatives on Grand Prix but not at the expense of the priorities laid out by the above experts.
Will we see Grand Prix banners downtown, or will we see banners identifying the downtown brand and districts like North America’s top experts have instructed us to prioritize? One lasts 3 weeks while the other lasts 3 years.
Mark, what I’m telling you and the rest of the BIA’s in this city and every resident’s group is that if you want anything done in the way of improvements - be prepared to do it yourself.
The mayor’s office doesn’t have time to run the city and listen to its citizen’s they’re far too busy with legacy projects and soon they’ll be spending a lot more time trying to do something about the 400 Building Report and after that they’ll have to hide the cost overruns at the arena.
The city has already put off the CIP’s because there is no money to pay for them. Downtown has to convince the people of Windsor that it is important and it is worth supporting. But, you’re not going to get city tax dollars to do it, the businesses and residents downtown have to come together and sell the rest of the city on your community so that people come down and spend time and money to get your improvements to pay for themselves.
At $80,000/year I sure don’t support the GRand Prix happening in another city, in another country. I find it perplexing tha tour mayor continues to try and sell the “two nation destination” while Detroit hasn’t promoted that in a couple of years now.
Urbanrat,
I too feel your pain. But there is hope. The DRA is just setting up policies and I hope that you become a member of the residents association. As a member your voice will be heard loud and clear. Besides, you and I seem to be on the same page on most issues.
Now will the mayor’s office allow residential input via the DRA being a part of these discussions? I will let you all know…
Guliani,
It depends where you live. If you live in LaSalle or Oldcastle I believe “735″ and “736″ is long distance.
This is my first time posting on this website. I came across Scaledown.ca while looking for information on Windsor because my partner and I will be relocating to Windsor next month - Yes, we are actually moving there from Toronto! We have decided to give up our hectic corporate lives and return to full time studies at the university in the fall. I hope to become an active member in the community as I have done in my local Toronto neighbourhood. It is important to note that no neighbourhood, district, or city is without its issues. My current neighbourhood is overrun with drugs, crime, prostitution – you name it, we have it. We have the highest concentration of rooming houses, group homes and shelters in the entire city, one facility with more than 500 beds over what the city bylaw allows. Keep in mind that it is the city that issues licenses.
The city of Windsor is in a good position in the way of having a relatively clean slate to work with. I believe that the city planning office needs to sit down with each group of stakeholders (i.e. various residents assoc., BIAs, the university and college, etc.) to determine the best direction for action. The first thing the city should do, in my opinion, is to map out the city with districts for future development. Plan ahead and issue permits accordingly. I understand that this has been done in the past, so it should be easily and quickly completed now. Some of the plans from 1994 must be outdated by now, but would be very useful for this project. By knowing where residential, commercial, mixed use, and industrial lands will be located within the city, we will have a better idea of where, and what kind of services are required.
The next big thing would be to tackle transit. As far back as I can remember (I’m originally from the city and have only been away for just over 10 years) there has always been a stigma associated with public transit in Windsor. The city needs better transit, not just because of soaring oil prices, but because that is what attracts investment. Numerous reports show, and many existing examples prove that when there is proper transit infrastructure in place, businesses begin to concentrate around stations, property values rise and the city experiences growth. I can’t remember where, but I recently read that Bombardier is looking to build a new factory. In a city where manufacturing is dying, why haven’t local delegates been negotiating with Bombardier to build a factory here to employ some of the out of work residents, which could also result in a better locally built transit system? If the people in Windsor embraced public transit the way they have the automobile, the city would be in great shape.
Along with transit, the city would need to focus on attracting a more diverse group of employers. As we’ve seen over the years, no city can survive on one industry alone. We need to attract more white-collar jobs to the area. This will help keep newly graduated students, who are the future of the city, here to push their newly learned ideas that will help continue the growth of the area. The OMB has recently approved the largest wind farm in Canada to be built in Essex County. Why are we not pushing to build this technology in this region? Are we really going to import 148 wind turbines? What kind of money are we loosing by doing so? Also, did you know that in Quebec there is a factory that produces electric cars (Zenn)? Currently these cars cannot be used on Canadian roads and are shipped to the US for use, but this is one industry to can only grow, so why do we have so many out of work autoworkers?
When people think of Cuba they think of a horrible dictatorship with suffering people. I don’t, I think of Cuba as a leader during hard times, and the only self sustaining country in the world. After the fall of the Soviet Union, Cuba was worse off than it had ever been. Fidel and the people chose to do something about it, something that we could all learn from. With hundreds of thousands of people unemployed, a lack of oil and food, the government decided to take a more strategic approach to the situation. It wasn’t to only find another source of oil, but to reduce the country’s dependence on it and to change the way everyone thinks. The country now recycles or reuses over 90% of their waste, they have put in place programs to change over all old household appliances to energy efficient ones, and they have adopted solar and wind energy. The country has gone so far that they now turn all organic waste into compost for crops. The government has allowed the local people to take back derelict and unused lands, for the use of urban farms. With no source of pesticides to use in fields, everything has been done organically. The people in Cuba are now considered the healthiest that they have been because they eat locally produced food (not shipped from around the world), and they are also living longer because of it. Public transit, walking, and bikes are all the preferred modes of transportation in Cuba. I feel that it’s this strategic forward thinking that the city needs to adopt. By taking a step back and assessing the situation as is, I’m sure a solution can be found if everyone works together to build a better Windsor and Essex County.
After reading several local blogs and newspapers, I can see that no progress will be made without everyone setting aside current feelings and moving forward together. Everyone states that the mayor has his own agenda, which maybe he does, but so does everyone else who has been involved in these debates. I think that the city should set up a new committee consisting of members from the planning department, a representative from the various BIAs and resident associations, as well as university/college students, etc. If the committee members properly represent their own local groups, we will be flooded with new and exciting ideas. I think the most difficult thing that will need to be done is change the attitudes of all the people. I read the comments in the Windsor Star and I feel embarrassed for the people who cannot put themselves in other people’s shoes. One doesn’t need to agree with someone else’s opinion, but they should at least hear them out… you might just be surprised at what you learn. If the people of Windsor can’t change their way of thinking, there is no point in pushing for a better city because a healthy city needs happy and healthy people, not negative name callers who hide behind anonymous editorials in the paper and don’t actually stand up for what they believe in.
Thank you,
Kevin W.
Great ideas Kevin! However the kudos won’t go to just one or two people and that is the issue here. We understand the ego’s and agenda’s at city hall are rampant…always have been since Mike Hurst.
But we will press forward with or without the city. It will be har but we can hold the torch to the feet for as long as it takes until they realize we are not going away.
Have you found a place yet? I know of a great 3 bedroom (with all wiring done for a loft) house in the downtown area that has been completely re-done (no wiring, walls to do or plumbing). The dividing wall is all original brick on the inside. I can send you info if you need. And no I am not a realtor. The house is just a half block away from mine in what used to be called olde towne but what I am trying to brand as West River Village. It is where the urban village is supposed be built beside. No crime here, little noise and very nice people.
If you want please email scaledown as they have my email address and I can send you info. The house is reasonably priced as well (owned by a very rich individual who used it only on his short stays in Windsor). Besides, you get to live in a prime locationand can get anywhere in the city very quiclky or take the transit as it is only a few blocks away.
Welcome to this forum … many excellent ideas … you sound like you’re from my old neighbourhood near Roncesvalles. Hopefully you will see the many good things that exist in our city … and remember, where you are doesn’t matter as much as what you make of your time here!! … enjoy the many good people here, discover our arts community, our history, and, of course, our many excellent resto’s (how about a shameless plug for buda!)
Cuba and urban farms! … how about urban chicken farming!!! Read about this in the Torstar last week … all about changing bylaws to allow people to raise a few hens in their backyards!! … fresh eggs every day … self sufficiency … no need for transport … what a novel concept!! There are even manufacturers of specialized chicken coops for the urban farmer!! Maybe someone needs to challenge this 20th century bylaw!!!
Next … I understand our banks are stating that high gas prices will drive down the number of cars on our roads and highways!!! as well as change the nature of our driving habits … when will our municipal gov’t decide to invest in, hopefully electric, transit right of ways etc etc. And did anybody hear Chris when he noted that the “Green” link plan did NOT include any provisions for public transit, rail transit etc. Seems our city officials, provincial and federal counterparts all neglected to consider that in the future, road transportation may no longer be the dominant form of transport!!!! It amazes me that not one researcher, engineer, scientist or public official ever considered that possibility … what amazes me more … is that nobody has considered even acknowledging that possibility now that gas prices are soaring!!! Let’s see … Canada’s most expensive highway infrastructure program that will be obsolete when????
Don’t get me started on the mega project thing …
Willy, relative to the future rail options, existing rail lines have been considered by locals and the feds and 2 of the 3 lines coming into the area are planned to be deleted because all those pesky crossings with the flashing lights impede the flow of vehicular traffic in Windsor.
I think Kevin is right in saying if Windsor could adopt public transit the way we have adopted the car things would be much better off.
Has anybody called Bombardier yet? Somebody should seriously give ‘em a call!!! for real!