Raise the Hammer

Thanks for your response Mr Dolbec. I am the author of the letter you were responding to. There may not be consensus among our local business owners, but there most certainly IS consensus among urban theorists, architects, and just about anyone else who understands how cities work, which is why the obstinacy of some members of our business and political classes is so frustrating to "us folk".

You ended your letter to the Spec by saying that council should "take action on the advice of professional staff". The Downtown Transportation Master Plan that called for the conversions was developed painstakingly by "professional staff" over a number of years. I realize that it is your job to reflect your members' wishes, which in this case are divided, but the expert opinion that you also appear to be advocating, is anything but divided, so you may have to take a stand at some point afterall.

BTW, I don't think LA is a city we should be emulating in the age of peak oil and climate change. A closer example, Toronto, is a thriving city that has some one-way streets. However, if you look closer, you will see that one-way streets such as Adelaide and Richmond are dead compared to their nearby two-way counterparts.

I hope you didn't mean it the way it sounded, but your dismissive use of the term "you folks" to refer to contributors and fans of RTH, conveys an 'us vs. them' mentality that is not constructive in a community that is trying to come together to create positive change. You will do the Chamber's 'Team Hamilton' initiative a great disservice if you appear to be marginalizing passionate, well-informed, creative citizens. My husband and I own a small creative business. I am trying to convince him to join the Chamber since I think voices like ours need to be heard in the wider community, so this is one "folk" who just might be one of your members some day.