Tuesday, June 24, 2008

The Hicks Are At It Again


Its hard not to laugh (or cry?) when politicians and businessmen start using the words "football stadium" and "revitalization" in the same sentance.

A giant building surrounded by vacant parking lots, used a mere 11 days a year? This dead-zone for 355 days a year sounds like a deathknell for any neighbourhood trying to get back on its feet.

While other cities have learnt from their mistakes and now understand land use patterns and their affect on neighbourhoods and liveability, Winnipeg continues to try the same old 'solutions', somehow expecting different results? [ed: This sentance ripped off from The Rise & Sprawl.]

High crime and decreasing inner city property values? Lets sprawl out further! Revitalize the neighbourhoods we abandoned 50 years ago? Give them a football stadium!

Though they wish it weren't so, our leaders continue to ignore the only way this city's core will ever truly see renewed vitality: by filling in our gap-toothed downtown with multi-use developments (residential with streetfront retail), actively encouraging pedestrian life, and investing in an effective and efficient rapid transit system.

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