Comments on: Downtown Stroll http://halifaxpolitics.ca/2010/02/08/downtown-stroll/ The website of Waye Mason, Halifax (Nova Scotia) man about town and opinionated so and so. Thu, 29 Jul 2010 13:59:14 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 By: Waye Mason http://halifaxpolitics.ca/2010/02/08/downtown-stroll/comment-page-1/#comment-95 Waye Mason Tue, 09 Feb 2010 15:03:38 +0000 http://halifaxpolitics.ca/?p=465#comment-95 I don't disagree with most of your ideas, and I think Dartmouth is especially hard done by right now, basically anywhere that generates real revenue is getting screwed by the areas farther out. I note though that Chapters went into downtown Montreal and local booksellers did not feel a huge difference, as it largely tracks a different kind of shopper than goes to the Bookmark (a chain BTW) or Woozles. The booksellers loose some customers, gain others. Chapters, after all, is where you go to buy the third in a trilogy, but rarely the first or second book. I don’t disagree with most of your ideas, and I think Dartmouth is especially hard done by right now, basically anywhere that generates real revenue is getting screwed by the areas farther out. I note though that Chapters went into downtown Montreal and local booksellers did not feel a huge difference, as it largely tracks a different kind of shopper than goes to the Bookmark (a chain BTW) or Woozles. The booksellers loose some customers, gain others. Chapters, after all, is where you go to buy the third in a trilogy, but rarely the first or second book.

]]> By: Charlene http://halifaxpolitics.ca/2010/02/08/downtown-stroll/comment-page-1/#comment-94 Charlene Mon, 08 Feb 2010 23:12:10 +0000 http://halifaxpolitics.ca/?p=465#comment-94 Good post... interesting suggestions. I agree that we need a more macro-view of what we think of as the Downtown Core... and I don't think we should be shy about including Downtown Dartmouth in this vision of a fabulous multi-use, beating heart of the city. I would oppose a downtown Chapters. There are 6 locally owned used bookstores downtown, plus Book Mark, plus Woozles, Venus Envy, Little Mysteries and the Christian Bookstore. Installing a Chapters would pretty much kill 11 small businesses. I would like to see a community communication/knowledge centre go up at the old library space (or the old infirmary location). A state of the art C@P site, a video-conferencing room, meeting spaces, a community theatre... something that the community can use at accessible and affordable pricing. Of course there should be a library in that building, and perhaps some community classrooms. How much are we spending on a new Convention Centre which will be inaccessible to community groups, students and small/independent businesses in need of such a venue. Anyway... let's keep talking about it... there is such potential, we must be careful not to blow it. Good post… interesting suggestions.

I agree that we need a more macro-view of what we think of as the Downtown Core… and I don’t think we should be shy about including Downtown Dartmouth in this vision of a fabulous multi-use, beating heart of the city.

I would oppose a downtown Chapters. There are 6 locally owned used bookstores downtown, plus Book Mark, plus Woozles, Venus Envy, Little Mysteries and the Christian Bookstore. Installing a Chapters would pretty much kill 11 small businesses.

I would like to see a community communication/knowledge centre go up at the old library space (or the old infirmary location). A state of the art C@P site, a video-conferencing room, meeting spaces, a community theatre… something that the community can use at accessible and affordable pricing. Of course there should be a library in that building, and perhaps some community classrooms.

How much are we spending on a new Convention Centre which will be inaccessible to community groups, students and small/independent businesses in need of such a venue.

Anyway… let’s keep talking about it… there is such potential, we must be careful not to blow it.

]]> By: John Wesley http://halifaxpolitics.ca/2010/02/08/downtown-stroll/comment-page-1/#comment-93 John Wesley Mon, 08 Feb 2010 14:43:03 +0000 http://halifaxpolitics.ca/?p=465#comment-93 Isn't it interesting to think and talk in specifics. Any government, if they choose, could take this on one building at a time and make it nice. But faulty generalization is a classic fallacy present in almost every political discourse. In this case trying to develop a Supreme Guideline has taken millions of dollars, years of work and nearly deafened the public to the issue. It would have been so easy to just have taken a fraction of the money, effort and time and just fixed things up nice. Everyone would have appreciated it - especially the sprawl malls whose development the downtown tax base underwrites. Isn’t it interesting to think and talk in specifics. Any government, if they choose, could take this on one building at a time and make it nice. But faulty generalization is a classic fallacy present in almost every political discourse. In this case trying to develop a Supreme Guideline has taken millions of dollars, years of work and nearly deafened the public to the issue. It would have been so easy to just have taken a fraction of the money, effort and time and just fixed things up nice. Everyone would have appreciated it – especially the sprawl malls whose development the downtown tax base underwrites.

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