Comment 115279

By Suburbanite (anonymous) | Posted December 01, 2015 at 15:00:13 in reply to Comment 115274

With all due respect, there appears to be a huge misperception that the Hamilton suburbs is made up of 50' or 100' frontages. People in the burbs also live in very modest properties and we also have high rise, high density buildings. Look to Concession St as an example and the lot sizes on those homes around that suburban area.
For those people who do live on their wider lots, the trade off is the lack of soft infrastructure, sidewalks, bike paths, social services, vibrant neighbourhoods, etc etc. Generally also combined with higher property values. Same mill rate usually, but substantially more taxes paid.
And it isn't simply math. I'm not convinced that a downtown area say 1 mile by 1 mile square, inclusive of all the cost of services provided for that area, nets out to be 3x less than a suburban area.
I live on a 40' wide lot in an area with no bus stops, no sidewalks, close to Public Works yard, close to EMS Stations, close to water treatment plant and basically no soft infrastructure within walking distance. I pay $6,000 per year in taxes so yes, I might get a little defensive when I read articles that imply people who have chosen to live in a SF home in the suburbs are not paying their fair share or that they should be paying more.
I initially responded to this article to merely try to point out that it would be nice if we moved pass the we vs them especially considering we all agree low density development is not sustainable. Either in the suburbs or in the downtown.

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