Canal Dreams?

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• ME,
  Yes I agree with you completely. Finally, someone who sees the good and the possibilities.
  I agree, this could be the catalyst that has the city start focusing on the core and not the suburbs. But as you see, its hard for that to happen when all the city gets back is negative hostility whenever they look at options. In the end, the city would probably take the stance of "who cares, whats the point...whatever we bring up, people will find a reason to be against.".
  You see what I'm trying to get across to everyone.

• It's a nice feature, but I don't think it is going to efficiently deliver on the intended goals of the project.

  The whole philosophy of spending lots of government money on a big project to bring in other development seems to be misguided, but it is all Windsor municipal governments ever seem to understand. I don't think we need a "western super anchor". And, by the way, how's that eastern super anchor doing when it comes to building a vibrant downtown?

  If you look at the picture, the benefits to the city that really help are the new buildings, businesses and homes. Why would this canal cause those buildings to be built? We already long stretches of beautiful waterfront, but we still have properties sitting vacant.

  Yes the canal is nice, but how much nicer is it than what we've already got? Is it worth the investment and effort?

  Or could that effort and money be applied in other ways that would be more efficient at drawing residents and business into that area?

  Some people are asking questions and others are accusing us of thinking small or being down on Windsor. The truth is there are other ways to move forward than for City Hall to keep shutting down businesses and tearing down homes to build their megaprojects.

• Anyone looking for a demonstration of how a marina can bolster residential and commercial development should visit Sandwich. Ooops, cancel that,. Empty stores and houses for sale despite a marina within easy walking distance. The Windsor Harbour Commission closed the federally-owned Mill Cove Marina in 2005 after 20 years of barely being able to break even or losing money. It was reported since 9/11 up to one-third of the 4,300 berths in all Essex County marinas have gone vacant

• RWS, that also has to do with the lower water table. The cost of dredging is too expensive for most of the smaller marina's. So it isn't just 9/11 (the scapegoat for all that ills N. America).
  I still would rather they try this than to continue to let the area sit as it is.

• First of all, ESD, I agree with everything you've said here; I'd say it myself if you hadn't already. Second, I think this is a wonderful idea. Note: I said IDEA, I don't know, nor do any of us know, whether or not this will ever happen here, but we need to focus on the actual idea itself. I give a lot of credit to the urban designer who came up with this. Look at it this way, have any of us thought of anything of this magnitude yet? I know I haven't.

  We all have to realize that right now, the way we stand, we're not attracting any new or high-tech business. Windsor is relatively cheap compared to most significant North American cities, and has drastically lower crime rates than most, if not all, large cities, so clearly that is not enough to trigger a boom. You have to realize that if we don't do anything but advertise, there won't be any "revitalization" in our city. With a project like this, not only are we bringing in totally family-friendly activities to our community, but people in other places will see that things can happen here. IF this canal does happen, it will attract other investors to our downtown area. Large-scale, useful, beneficial development won't happen with downtown being in the state it is. This canal would attract more development to the area, and those developments would attract even more. Point is, it has to start somewhere, and it has to be something worthwhile. Slapping stucco on all the dingy storefronts downtown isn't going to change the city's image.

  Some people complain about costs, well, you have to invest money in order to enjoy it. If you're not willing to pay anything, nothing will happen. Good times are not going to fall from the sky and bestow themselves upon our city. If you were to move to any city in the world where exciting activities, family-friendly venues, and cultural facilities exist, you're going to be paying more than you would in a place where these places don't exist.

  One thing I constantly find is that people forget the definition of Democracy, from Jeremy Bentham: "The greatest good for the greatest number of people."

• Good one Kevin.

• Greatest good for the greatest number of people. But just how many times can the same taxpayer get screwed by the same administration? Let us all just wait and see what the final outcome of the study is and then we can say whether it willbe worth it or not.
  But frankly I am tired of people telling me what I can and can't do with my property.
  How would this fly if I stated the same to those who live in the burbs or south windsor with regards to a water park? Move people because this would be good for ALL of Windsor. It would NEVER happen.
  So let this run it's course and we can wait for the final numbers.

• I partially like the idea as long as they blend in the historical buildings like the Beattie house into this district. The marina would pay for itself by renting out the docking wells. They could even sell part of it to cover the initial cost like the Windsor Yacht Club (private) beside Lakeview Marina (public). But, the canal beyond it is a stupid waste of tax dollars. Anything beyond the marina should be fully borne by developers as a surtax or special assessment on any condos erected there instead of the general taxpayer. It still could work. Just look at all the luxury condos in Glengarda Madyland by Dieppe Park. He managed to fill them and he's still building there, so I'm sure they could find buyers here. Condos on Boblo also managed to attract big spenders. But, those costs must be fully borne by the developer, not the city and the general taxpayer.

• We already HAVE a canal running through the city of Windsor. Didn't anybody hear about the infamous Grand Marais ditch? I agree with Andrew. The canal won't do a thing for the city. Why didn't City Council invite St. Clair College architecture students to come up with plans for the vacant land? Why are we paying a bunch of high-priced consultants from Toronto to come up with a plan for the Western Super Anchor?

• University/College architecture/engineering students cannot participate in the design/construction of public buildings as part of their cirriculum. You can blame arrogant union agreements for that clause.