Raise the Hammer

A great day, to be sure.

It would be nice to see similiar closures rotated around the city during warmer months. (May through October seems reasonable... you could start with Doors Open and end with Halloween) to allow citizens to discover the vital role of neighbourhoods in their, you know, neighbourhoods. Maybe close a street for eight hours once a month in a different neighbourhood within each city ward.

Weekly would be the ideal, but you'd want that to be driven by adoption, not imposed from without. Part of the appeal of something like Ciclovia is that it's empowering, which makes it seem "of the people"... which is not without its political utility in a city like Bogotá with soaring unemployment figures.

I believe we have an example of this already: doesn't Locke street have an amazing festival like this too? Also, what is the future of the Gore Park Master Plan?

I approached the event with hope but not optimism: 1) this is Hamilton, 2) cars are a normal part of life in a downtown, and 3) it's not like you can't walk around James North as it is (look at the Art Crawl). So I spent an hour or two on James North yesterday: wandering, shopping, lunch on a patio. It was wonderful and I want to do it again (though without spending so much money).

I thought I sort of knew the street, from walking and cycling it dozens and dozens of times, but I saw many things for the first time - buildings, bars, shops, architectural details. And people.

I walked more slowly and more quickly; I crossed back and forth repeatedly. I spoke to people: friends, neighbours, merchants with booths, the blind guy with the squirrel.

I was surprised to find that James North without traffic was not simply James North minus traffic. It was something more and better than its normal self. It was a destination and a place to be; it was was soothingly free of mechanized noise and bubbling with human sounds. I felt something of some other cities which have pedestrian districts, something that I thought was only for nicer towns. And I was relieved to feel that it was still very much Hamilton, not the watered-down-somewhere-better that I feared it might be.

I don't know what a monthly open James North might evolve into or feel like, but by gosh and golly I'd love to find out.

Comment edited by moylek on 2010-06-07 07:24:58

TnT: "doesn't Locke street have an amazing festival like this too?"

There are certainly precedents for festival-related street closures: Dundas' Buskerfest this past weekend, but also BIA fests on Concession Street (June), Locke Street (mid-Sept), Westdale (09/12/10), Ferguson Street and Ottawa Street (Sept).

Not that there's anything wrong with those events, but the great thing about Open Streets is that it's somewhat open source. There's not much in the way of predetermined rules of engagement, so you have room to interpret the environment in your own way.

A central benefit of this approach is that you get an honest reflection of the character of the street rather than an impersonation of what a successful urban neighbourhood is supposed to look and act like. Another is that it's during daylight hours, which changes the energy and personality of the street. The crawls are fine but the dusk-onward look and feel of a street is only one aspect of its personality. The open-air markets at the cathedral can be similarly revelatory.

Kudos to those who did spend money, too. Although it's not strictly necessary to having a good time with your neighbours, financial support is doubtless welcome. I'm sure James North would like to avoid being typecast as the entertainment destination of choice for the cash-strapped.

Great recap Ryan. I too hope this can become a more regular occurrence. And think of how much busier it would have been with some proper June weather! I'd love to see this route go from the Gore to the harbour and include a closure of the soon to be revamped York from James to Park with the market perhaps being convinced to open up for these special Sunday events.

I'm going to New York this week and last night decided to check online to see if they had any Summer Streets events planned. Well, to my delight, I hopped online and found that they have dozens and dozens of street closures and events like this all summer. Next week alone while I'm there I counted over 20 street fairs and Summer Streets events listed on their website.

A street like James could easily handle an event like this monthly from May-September. Locke could as well, but so far it has remained a single day, annual event.

Having been in Bogota many years ago and seen the Cyclovia, I never though I'd see one in Hamilton. It was great to experience yesterday.

Had a great time on Sunday. What I really liked (and maybe this seems weird) but unlike Buskerfest or Locke Street Fest (both great events!), this was just about being on the street as an event in itself. I liked how Papa Wheelie put it above, "you get an honest reflection of the character of the street" rather than some contrived event.

If we have to call it some kind of festival, call it Flaneur Fest!

I'm going to share the sentiments already reflected above - Open Streets yesterday was definitely a success. The weather although not perfect - kept perhaps the larger crowds away - but that didn't keep those who showed up from having a good time. For a first time kind of event that isn't a standard and familiar set up (ie. Festival of Friends, Buskerfest or Locke Street Festival) - it really worked. What made this event special was the fact that things could happen without the hindrance of strict organization or jury. Also what I liked was the businesses along the street that decided to open were showcased in a different light without booths of crappy merchandise obstructing the view or traffic whizzing by. Open Source is exactly what Open Streets was - kind of how the Art Crawl works....you know it's happening - go to town and get involved! Mixed Media is never open on Sundays and we were pleasantly surprised by the new faces deciding to explore our street and support our neighbours. Kudos to all who participated!

I second these comments about the benefit of there being no pre-determined purpose for the closures. It's been years since I went to Toronto's Taste of The Danforth. And I regularly skip all the other street festivals - they're just madness. Closing the streets for the sake of it is a great idea!

I'm blown away by the number of people who participated!! Good job -- since the weather wasn't all that great -- at least early on, anyway.

They should totally do more of these. I'm bummed that I missed this one -- and, in fact, I was downtown at the time, over at Copps, but didn't realize this event was taking place.

Looking forward to venturing down with my little one to check out the next Art Crawl.

Really cool what's happening in this area of the city. All those who are a part of it should give themselves a big pat on the back. You're doing what naysayers for years said wasn't possible.

Remember former ward 2 councilor Ron Corsini? He wrote James North off. "Forget about it. Shops and businesses are never going to return to James North. They're gone forever." That was less than 10 years ago.

I was speaking with one of the organizers and their attendance estimate was 3,000! They had been hoping for 2,000, so to get 3,000 out in dicey weather is a huge testament to the pent-up demand for the kind of giddy, spontaneous coming together facilitated by opening our streets to pedestrians and cyclists.

I also suggested to her that this be a more frequent event, say every Sunday in August, something like they have in NY. She informed me that it cost them $10,000 for permits, barricades, police, etc. to close off the street for a day, so to do a month of Sundays, they would have to find $40,000. This would obviously require major sponsors, then you get into commercializing the event which would change its wonderful free-wheeling character. I guess I'm naive. I was astonished at the cost. These are small, non-profit community groups putting this on. I can't understand why the city itself isn't doing this and absorbing the cost. Cities like Bogota and NY are not relying solely on the resources of grassroots groups for their open streets events.

I worry that Open Streets Hamilton might become a victim of its own success. The city is very likely to conclude that the first event was such a success, that they don't need to step forward and make this a city initiative as it is in other cities, that community groups and corporate sponsors are willing to continue to assume all the risk and do all the work. I don't see how Open Streets Hamilton can expand and be what we would all like it to be, if it remains solely volunteer-based.

One of the things that made the NY Open Streets so amazing was having the Mayor and Transportation Commissioner get up at a press conference and declare that they were committed to treating their streets as public spaces and damn the inconveniences. Open Streets Hamilton has shown that it can be done, and that there is widespread public support. Now the city needs to find the courage to stand up and take on the bulk of the responsibility for making sure that OSH continues and expands, or we will have to be content with only two relatively small events per year, at least until the volunteers and sponsors burn out.

Wish I could have attended this event. My wife and 8 month old son are moving from downtown Toronto to Hamiltons north end on July 1st . Hearing of events like this makes me think we've made a great decision. Keep this up Hamilton! Considering the affordability of Hamilton and its beautiful parks and architecture I'm sure that if you allow vibrant neighbourhoods to take root many others will follow us!

Comment edited by JonD on 2010-06-07 14:41:15

yep- charge admission - for everyone - including people diving, cycling and walking on all of the other streets in the city on every day of the year. what's fair for open streets is fair for all other streets too, no?

Anon, we've learned that it's better to just downvote A Smith's comments and move on. There be dragons at the bottom of a "debate" with him.

I thought it would be pretty good, but my expectations were blown away.

That said, I could live with it being on a Saturday since I work pretty much every Sunday morning and evening ;)

I moved here from Montreal last August. In 1987 St. Laurent Boulevard was closed for the first time. Now it is closed twice a year for 4 days at a time and attracts hundreds of thousands of people. It is so successful that other streets in other parts of town are doing the same. St. Catherine is closed for the entire summer through the Gay Village, opening for deliveries before 11 am. It will work here and should be done as often as possible. Because the streets in Montreal are closed for more than just one day, the bars and restaurants erect patios in the street and it becomes one big party. Let's do it here as well.

I'm sure there will be a few more "open street" events on James North before September 26.... maybe within the next few weeks! One World Cup game win can shut the street down instantly - regardless if the city allows it or not!

What a great time that was back in '06.......

JM

Patios in the street? Oh no, cue the "not another Hess Village" cries. In all seriousness I went out to the event just briefly to buy an espresso and for the thrill of walking straight down James. The happy glow is fading a bit upon hearing that 10,000$ price tag. Why couldn't the cross streets just been rerouted like they do for a parade?

For some really nice photos of the Hamilton "OPEN STREETS" event please watch - http://ceesvang.zenfolio.com/p169268063/...

Really great photos ceesvang! Imagine how alive that street could be on Tiger-Cats gameday!

I attended the open streets last Sunday and enjoyed it. It made me think about how Hamilton has come along since the not so far away days when Transportation for Liveable Communities did small scale parking meter parties and started the first car free day celebrations in the community; participants would put money in the parking meters, throw down the sod, drag out the couches and have a party! Jugglers, music, dance card games. One of my fondest memories of these was the time kids were invited to decorate a car with paint! All this was carried out with no funding whatsoever. Just goes to prove that you don't need money or even permission to make social change happen-just audacity and a sense of fun!

Three cheers to TLC-pioneers in guerrilla transportation action. Grassroots rock!

Beatrice Ekwa Ekoko