tag:raisethehammer.org,2010-3-14:/2010314 2010-3-14T12:00:00Z Raise the Hammer is a non-partisan citizens group dedicated to sustainble downtown revitalization in Hamilton, Ontario. http://raisethehammer.org/blog/1660 2010-03-14T12:00:00Z <p class="initial">A <a href="/article/1036#comment-38674">comment from Mahesh Butani</a> after my <a href="/article/1036/hamilton:_a_love-hate_story">last article</a> has inspired me to propose an <strong>RTH online poetry crawl</strong>. </p> <p>I've read enough of the comments here to know that RTH readers have a way with language.</p> <p>Please post your poems about Hamilton or city life in general - free verse, or one of the more traditional kinds; for example, a <a href="http://www.edu.pe.ca/stjean/playing%20with%20poetry/hennessey/howtohaiku.htm">haiku</a> or a <a href="http://www.wikihow.com/Write-a-Sonnet">sonnet</a>. </p> <p>You can make it as highfalutin or comical (here are <a href="http://www.ehow.com/how_3332_write-limerick.html">instructions for limericks</a>) as you choose, but keep it G-rated, please, so we can feel free to show the kids we know or even to get them to try their hand at it, too. </p> <p>If you don't write, maybe you know someone who does. I might even write something myself.</p> <p>Get your poet on!</p> Michelle Martin http://raisethehammer.org/authors/97/michelle_martin 2 http://raisethehammer.org/blog/1659 2010-03-12T12:00:00Z <p class="initial">Today's <cite>Spectator</cite> has a column by Andrew Dreschel in which he <a href="http://www.thespec.com/News/Local/article/736116">quotes Ron Foxcroft</a> expressing concern about the West Harbour location for the Pan Am / Ti-Cats Stadium:</p> <blockquote> <p>We can talk all we want about public transit but, in North America, we drive cars.</p> </blockquote> <p>Of course, the principal reason we North Americans drive cars is that we <em>talk</em> about building public transit but <em>spend our money</em> building <a href="/article/985/">all-you-can-drive</a> roads, highways and parking lots.</p> <p>Foxcroft's transit defeatism merely advocates continuing to do what we've always done because it's what we've always done.</p> Ryan McGreal http://raisethehammer.org/authors/1/ryan_mcgreal 2 http://raisethehammer.org/blog/1658 2010-03-10T12:00:00Z <p class="initial">Congratulations, Brantford: your urban renewal idiocy has now attracted <a href="http://www.treehugger.com/files/2010/03/the-greenest-building-is-the-one-already-standing.php">international attention</a>.</p> <blockquote> <p>Many small towns are experiencing a comeback these days; a combination of aging boomers and the green movement, combined with technology that lets people work just about anywhere make them a viable alternative to urban and suburban life. [...] Smaller cities also have character, walkable main streets, apartments above shops that could be attractive to relocating urbanites.</p> <p>Then there are towns like Brantford, Ontario, that think old buildings are impediments to progress, and are planning to tear down 41 of them, city blocks worth of them, to make way for...nothing.</p> </blockquote> <p>Sigh.</p> Ryan McGreal http://raisethehammer.org/authors/1/ryan_mcgreal 2 http://raisethehammer.org/blog/1657 2010-03-10T12:00:00Z <p class="initial">Great news: Google is <a href="http://gadgetwise.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/03/09/google-maps-adds-directions-for-cylists/">adding bike route information</a> to Google Maps. For now it's rolling out to 150 American cities, but we can expect that they will eventually extend it beyond the US border.</p> <p>Now all a city like Hamilton needs is a viable bike network in place so cyclists can actually have their choice of safe routes.</p> Ryan McGreal http://raisethehammer.org/authors/1/ryan_mcgreal 2 http://raisethehammer.org/blog/1656 2010-03-01T12:00:00Z <p class="initial">I've been amused by the newsmedia's recent attempted dismantling of Toyota's reputation. Has Tiger Woods traded his dented Cadillac for a Toyota? </p> <p>Toyota has had an awful lot of recalls lately, and has done a poor job of post-marketing quality control. But recalls are generally relegated to the fine print on page 17 of the automotive section. Would all the media attention then mean that Toyota has lost its edge on quality or is it unwarranted criticism?</p> <p>Reliability is one of the most important factors people cite for buying a car. I argue brand reputation should be based on something more solid than marketing hype or media spin.</p> <p><cite>Consumer Reports</cite> tracks problem data from millions of owners in 17 categories over the previous six model years. From this they come up with a single metric of predicted reliability for the new model year, not including discontinued and completely new models.</p> <p>There are five categories, which I've assigned a number so we can analyze them.</p> <table> <caption>Reliability Categories</caption> <thead> <tr> <th>CR Reliability Description</th> <th>Numeric Score</th> </thead> <tbody> </tr> <tr> <td>Much worse than average</td> <td>1</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Worse than average</td> <td>2</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Average</td> <td>3</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Better than average</td> <td>4</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Much better than average</td> <td>5</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <p>Every model has a unique score, and these have been grouped according to manufacturer. Let's look at the results, ranked by mean reliability score:</p> <table> <caption>Automobile Models by Mean Reliability Score</caption> <thead> <tr> <th>Manufacturer</th> <th>1</th> <th>2</th> <th>3</th> <th>4</th> <th>5</th> <th>Total models</th> <th>Mean Reliability Score</th> </thead> <tbody> </tr> <tr> <td></td> <td><< Av</td> <td>< Av</td> <td>Av</td> <td>> Av</td> <td>>> Av</td> <td></td> <td></td> </tr> <tr style="background: lightgreen"> <td>Scion</td> <td>0</td> <td>0</td> <td>0</td> <td>0</td> <td>3</td> <td>3</td> <td>5.0</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Infiniti</td> <td>0</td> <td>0</td> <td>0</td> <td>0</td> <td>2</td> <td>2</td> <td>5.0</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Honda</td> <td>0</td> <td>0</td> <td>0</td> <td>6</td> <td>5</td> <td>11</td> <td>4.5</td> </tr> <tr style="background: lightgreen"> <td>Toyota</td> <td>0</td> <td>0</td> <td>4</td> <td>5</td> <td>9</td> <td>18</td> <td>4.3</td> </tr> <tr style="background: lightgreen"> <td>Lexus</td> <td>0</td> <td>0</td> <td>1</td> <td>5</td> <td>1</td> <td>7</td> <td>4.0</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Acura</td> <td>0</td> <td>0</td> <td>0</td> <td>5</td> <td>0</td> <td>5</td> <td>4.0</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Mitsubishi</td> <td>0</td> <td>0</td> <td>0</td> <td>1</td> <td>0</td> <td>1</td> <td>4.0</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Hyundai</td> <td>0</td> <td>0</td> <td>2</td> <td>5</td> <td>1</td> <td>8</td> <td>3.9</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Kia</td> <td>0</td> <td>1</td> <td>1</td> <td>2</td> <td>1</td> <td>5</td> <td>3.6</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Lincoln</td> <td>0</td> <td>0</td> <td>2</td> <td>2</td> <td>0</td> <td>4</td> <td>3.5</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Mazda</td> <td>0</td> <td>0</td> <td>5</td> <td>2</td> <td>1</td> <td>8</td> <td>3.5</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Mini</td> <td>0</td> <td>0</td> <td>1</td> <td>1</td> <td>0</td> <td>2</td> <td>3.5</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Nissan</td> <td>0</td> <td>1</td> <td>7</td> <td>4</td> <td>2</td> <td>14</td> <td>3.5</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Saab</td> <td>0</td> <td>0</td> <td>1</td> <td>1</td> <td>0</td> <td>2</td> <td>3.5</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Subaru</td> <td>0</td> <td>0</td> <td>2</td> <td>2</td> <td>0</td> <td>4</td> <td>3.5</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Suzuki</td> <td>0</td> <td>1</td> <td>0</td> <td>0</td> <td>1</td> <td>2</td> <td>3.5</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Ford</td> <td>0</td> <td>0</td> <td>11</td> <td>3</td> <td>1</td> <td>15</td> <td>3.3</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Mercury</td> <td>0</td> <td>1</td> <td>3</td> <td>1</td> <td>1</td> <td>6</td> <td>3.3</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Volvo</td> <td>0</td> <td>1</td> <td>2</td> <td>2</td> <td>0</td> <td>5</td> <td>3.2</td> </tr> <tr> <td>BMW</td> <td>0</td> <td>2</td> <td>1</td> <td>2</td> <td>0</td> <td>5</td> <td>3.0</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Buick</td> <td>0</td> <td>1</td> <td>1</td> <td>1</td> <td>0</td> <td>3</td> <td>3.0</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Hummer</td> <td>0</td> <td>0</td> <td>1</td> <td>0</td> <td>0</td> <td>1</td> <td>3.0</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Pontiac</td> <td>1</td> <td>1</td> <td>3</td> <td>0</td> <td>1</td> <td>6</td> <td>2.8</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Porsche</td> <td>1</td> <td>0</td> <td>1</td> <td>1</td> <td>0</td> <td>3</td> <td>2.7</td> </tr> <tr> <td>GMC</td> <td>0</td> <td>3</td> <td>3</td> <td>0</td> <td>0</td> <td>6</td> <td>2.5</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Mercedes</td> <td>2</td> <td>0</td> <td>6</td> <td>0</td> <td>0</td> <td>8</td> <td>2.5</td> </tr> <tr> <td>VW</td> <td>1</td> <td>3</td> <td>2</td> <td>1</td> <td>0</td> <td>7</td> <td>2.4</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Chevrolet</td> <td>3</td> <td>2</td> <td>8</td> <td>0</td> <td>0</td> <td>13</td> <td>2.4</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Audi</td> <td>1</td> <td>1</td> <td>2</td> <td>0</td> <td>0</td> <td>4</td> <td>2.3</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Dodge</td> <td>4</td> <td>0</td> <td>2</td> <td>1</td> <td>0</td> <td>7</td> <td>2.0</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Chrysler</td> <td>3</td> <td>0</td> <td>2</td> <td>0</td> <td>0</td> <td>5</td> <td>1.8</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Jeep</td> <td>3</td> <td>1</td> <td>0</td> <td>1</td> <td>0</td> <td>5</td> <td>1.8</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Cadillac</td> <td>2</td> <td>1</td> <td>1</td> <td>0</td> <td>0</td> <td>4</td> <td>1.8</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Saturn</td> <td>2</td> <td>1</td> <td>1</td> <td>0</td> <td>0</td> <td>4</td> <td>1.8</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Land Rover</td> <td>1</td> <td>0</td> <td>0</td> <td>0</td> <td>0</td> <td>1</td> <td>1.0</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <p>Toyota products are shown in green, along with Honda nearly sweeping the top of the chart. Also mentionable is the lone 'much better than average' score for Pontiac might be because it belongs to the sister model of a Toyota.</p> <p>These data are based on the 2003-2008 model years, and therefore don't account for recent recalls. I will revisit this in a year or two to see if Toyota has a precipitous fall from the top. Don't hold your breath.</p> Ted Mitchell http://raisethehammer.org/authors/12/ted_mitchell 2 http://raisethehammer.org/blog/1655 2010-03-01T12:00:00Z <p class="initial">Dear Canadian friends and colleagues,</p> <p>Last evening just before midnight here in Paris, when that third Canadian goal came rocketing into the US cage - and once I stopped sobbing and gnashing my teeth - it occurred to me that it was just about the greatest way in which this year's Olympic Games could have come to an end: with a bang and certainly not a whimper.</p> <p>Vancouver 2010. Who would have ever guessed what this might mean for so many? What a splendid and truly international event, how important for a needful world at a time in which the Olympic ideal has just about been entirely lost, and what a wonderful present that you Canadians have given yourselves and your country. </p> <p>There are times when those of us who care and keep our eye on you feel uncertain about whether Canada is in fact there at all. I guess now we know.</p> <p>As I reflect on all that has taken place over these last several years to bring this about, what strikes me as possibly the main lesson for the rest of the world to glean from your experience, is the extent to which all those involved combined high ambition and real modesty (a great Canadian attribute from which we just to your south have much to learn). </p> <p>You accomplished this through hard work day after day and more than once in the face of adversity, and a capacity for quiet teamwork in the face of these unanticipated twists and turns that turned out to be exactly what was needed to face all of those unexpected challenges - including perhaps most famously our second goal, the one I believed was the beginning of the end for your hockey team. (So much for my self-proclaimed ability to foresee future events.)</p> <p>I share these words with you on this morning after, because I feel very strongly that the qualities you have shown in this event are the same ones that are so much needed in the face of the enormous challenges of climate, sustainable development and social justice that face us all.</p> <p>If I had one thing to ask as far as your performance before these challenges is concerned, it would be that you Canadians might perhaps do us the favor of being just a tad less modest when you are doing important things to show the way for others, eh?</p> <p>Now, what is your next act? </p> Eric Britton http://raisethehammer.org/authors/86/eric_britton 2 http://raisethehammer.org/blog/1654 2010-02-26T12:00:00Z <p class="initial">Two cities in Ontario - Hamilton and Brantford - are presently witnessing lots of dirt being shoveled around in the name of progress.</p> <p>Both cities, quite distinct and yet similar in their obtuse public ways, are on a development trajectory that has left their citizens gasping for breath from incomprehensible political actions.</p> <p>One is hell-bent on destroying its past in the name of progress. The other is hell-bent on building an unsustainable future upon the toxic remains of its past.</p> <iframe src="http://docs.google.com/present/embed?id=dhqznjc4_83hkjxgwfz&size=m" frameborder="0" height="451" width="100%"></iframe> <p>For societies that are already thriving in many parts of the world on <a href="http://www.socialenterprise.org.uk/pages/frequently-asked-questions.html">social enterprises</a> that achieve public good while making a profit, understanding the current development approach of Hamilton and Brantford can be confusing.</p> <p>They rightfully ask: Aren't such things supposed to happen only in the Third World?</p> <p>Both these stories are unfolding in the First World in slow motion, under the hesitant glare of public scrutiny - both under the assumption that their brittle claims of transparent governance are good enough to continue governing.</p> <p class="initial">Watching these two unguided projectiles hurtling through space, fueled by arrogance and ignorance, can be very sad and scary for those who already know better.</p> <p>Sitting back and cynically watching these projectiles implode is now entertainment, for the many Ontarians who have been numbed out of their senses.</p> <p>With the Canadian parliament prorogued, the province in deep debt, and municipal governance on a self-destructive trajectory, never before has a more clear path to self-organizing behavior been posed to the people of Hamilton and Brantford, than this moment.</p> <p>I once again draw the attention to <a href="http://id.erudit.org/revue/uhr/2009/v37/n2/029577ar.pdf">The Facelift and the Wrecking Ball: Urban Renewal and Hamilton's King Street West, 1957-1971</a> (PDF link) by Margaret T. Rockwell. Political futures and legacies depend on a successful reading of this document.</p> <p>Before calls for heritage conservation and fiscal prudence turn into indignant international calls to protect the very ideals that Canada has projected to the world, we hope sanity will prevail in Hamilton and Brantford.</p> <p>History only repeats itself when it is allowed to.</p> <p>Ontarians can do better than this. Canadian politicians can do better than this. Canadian educational institutions can do better than this.</p> <blockquote> <p>Let them look to the past, but let them also look to the future; let them look to the land of their ancestors, but let them look also to the land of their children.<br> -- Sir Wilfrid Laurier</p> </blockquote> Mahesh P. Butani http://raisethehammer.org/authors/128/mahesh_p_butani 2 http://raisethehammer.org/blog/1653 2010-02-25T12:00:00Z <p class="initial">The first wedge issue of the Toronto municipal Mayoral campaign has been introduced, and it is - <a href="http://www.thestar.com/opinion/article/771020--bike-lanes-an-election-winner-for-rossi">bike lanes</a>!</p> <p>"Rocco Rossi was virtually unknown to most voters two months ago when he entered the race to become Toronto's next mayor," writes the <cite>Star</cite>'s Bob Hepburn.</p> <blockquote> <p>Now, seemingly overnight, Rossi has emerged along with George Smitherman as one of the two leading candidates to replace David Miller, gaining increasing coverage by the media and growing awareness by voters. </p> <p>He's achieved this feat by shrewdly riding the wave of anger expressed by many motorists over city hall's plans to install more and more bike lanes on major city streets, most notably Jarvis St.</p> <p>With an eye to raising his profile, the former federal Liberal party fundraiser is marketing himself as the champion for all those voters, especially those living outside the downtown core, who oppose bike lanes on the grounds they slow traffic and add to rush-hour gridlock.</p> </blockquote> <p>How convenient. As I recall, Rocco Rossi was <em>not</em> particularly vocal during the Jarvis Street Bike Lanes debates of last year. And yet here he is, just months later, claiming to be the drivers' champion.</p> <p>We shouldn't be surprised. The subject of walk- and bike-ability has been well and truly hijacked by the media. </p> <p>Instead of, as [Michelle Martin recently put it](/article/1023/#comment-38444), discussing how we can move people around more safely in our various transportation modes, we are instead pitting the wants of drivers against cyclists and pedestrians.</p> <p>Without wishing to reiterate it - our needs are all the same! This should not be a wedge issue. It should be a civil discussion about what kind of city we want. </p> <p>Do we want downtown expressways like Hamilton, or a balanced transportation infrastructure?</p> <p>Somehow I doubt the shallow, media-hyped Mayoral campaign is going to help us decide.</p> Ben Bull http://raisethehammer.org/authors/4/ben_bull 2