Liquidation World

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• WOW, what a debate...Bottom line is....it's all about customer service -vs -convenience. At the end of the day..….if you want convenience and free parking, you go to Wal-Mart and such, if you want customer service and don’t mind spending a few dollars on parking, then you head down to Ottawa street. Personally, I just don’t find Ottawa street convenient. I honestly cannot remember when if ever, I actually stopped at a store on Ottawa and shopped. Wait I lied..…LOL…does the Avenue Pawn Brokers count?? Andrew is right, I have stood in the isles at the Home Depots, and Wal-Marts waiting, and waiting for someone to help me, or direct me to something I am looking for, VS as Andrew points out, you go to a smaller, locally, or family run store, your not waiting for hours on end, and your in and out. I guess it boils down to what is more important to the individual shopping right?

• John - whether I drive neon, or a truck, I’d still refuse to put anymore money back into the pockets of the city, when they don’t do anything with it that I am in favor of. I had a Buick before my truck, and still wouldn’t pay for parking….it has nothing at all to do with what people choose to drive…. They (city/government) take enough from us every time we turn around, so if I can park somewhere for free, by golly that’s where you’ll find me. I refuse to give them anything more than I have to bottom line.

• I understand, Ross. But by burning up a fortune in gasoline and wasting more time crawling thru traffic on Howard so you can park 'free' you're not really my idea of 'giving it to the man'. If you'll go through all that trouble to save, 25-50 cents then I guess it's your prerogative though.

  What's more, like I said, nothing is free. You aren't "giving" anything to anyone when you pay for parking, you are only paying for a slab of real estate you are using temporarily. The program also helps prevent abuse of parking, which was demonstrated during the "free parking" program failure discussed elsewhere in this thread.

  As far as convenience goes, you couldn't be any more wrong on your bottom line, unless of course you already happen to live very close to your favorite sprawlmall. Those who are trying to promote a rebirth of core shopping districts are reaching out to the huge population base that exists around it already. We know those who have long since moved out to the burbs aren't going to change. I don't know if that is you but for those who live in the core, going to a shopping district will still be faster and more convenient than a drive to the outskirts. (Never mind the other rewards to the local economy when you support local businesses.) What caught my eye though....you struggled to remember the only time you've shopped on Ottawa street which was Avenue Pawnbrokers, so it goes to prove what I've believed all along, that these sweeping statements about so-called parking problems on Ottawa street and other core shopping districts are just going by perception, not experience For my part, I can say I still occasionally end up at The Mall or Big Box Heaven and from experience I can tell you it is not only less convenient but a giant nuisance compared to getting to/from a store on Ottawa, Tecumseh, etc. especially during peak shopping periods.

• John, -Statistically speaking, any vehicle in the city, burns more fuel driving up a city street, so I don’t see how that is relevant to the discussion, I mean miles per gallon are always less in city driving verses highway driving, because of all the stop and go. That said, I could see your point if I was driving to Essex to do my shopping, and burning up a massive amount of fuel, but I’m not, and because Wal-Mart is close to home, convenient, with the added bonus of free parking, I shop there, furthermore, Ottawa is out of my way, I am east, and I’d actually burn more fuel going to shop on Ottawa street, so again, that point seems irrelevant. You’re absolutely correct when you say I’m going with perception, rather than experience, because like I said, it’s been years since I have actually taken the time to stop along Ottawa street to shop, and browse. To me, as stated, it’s about convenience, and yeah I like to save a buck where I can and park for free. I am still against having to give this city any more money than I have to, and if I stop from doing that, by not paying for parking, then that is what I will do. It’s not about me saving a lousy .50, and wasting fuel driving out to the burbs, it’s about me not wanting to contribute to a greedy city more than what I have to I do live less than 5 minutes away from Wal-Mart, and it’s convenient to shop there, and grab everything I need in one stop, rather than stopping at 5 different places, and burning fuel at each destination along the way. Time is valuable to me, and I don’t like running here, and there, and everywhere to grab what I am looking for, when I know from experience that the item I want is at Wal-Mart…ect. I do however understand the importance in supporting our local business owners, and that is something I am going to have to work on admittedly.

• Well if you go to any typical city you'll find these parking meters in core shopping districts, they aren't unique to Windsor, nor are they a product of greed. There is no entitlement to free parking.

  And like I said, if you are a resident of the burbs then maybe Ottawa street isn't for you but from the beginning the discussion has been about core residents supporting their neighbourhood businesses.

  I've even caught myself being caught in the car-centric nature of this discussion when it shouldn't even be about that primarily in the first place. Funny how we always get back to how easy it is for us to get to and from somewhere in our car, like it's life or death.

• I totally agree!!...accept with your comment about greed, I think parking meters are just another way for the city to snatch up everyone's hard earned money. I hate them, and won't use them unless I absoultely have to. If a store wants me to come shop, provide me with a place that at least to most of us "looks" free. Bottom line for me.

• Ross, if you park for free on a city street, you are snatching up someone else's "hard earned money." Nothing is for free.

• When you deposit 25-50 cents into a parking meter, you aren't even paying for the full value of the real estate your vehicle is occupying thanks to subsidization of that space. If you want to talk about greed, I would call greed the expectation that a municipality's ratepayers should pay the full cost by making that spot "free". The two bits you drop in a meter is more than just a matter of you paying your fair share though; it's about responsible use of that space. If that space was "free", it wouldn't be there for you to use anyway thanks to human nature, so your chief complaint then would be "I drive up and down the street but I see the same cars parked in all the spots all day so I can't in/out of these stores anyway." I am reminded a section in my neighbourhood where there are metered spots that see cars coming and going all day, except for one space that is not metered and designated as 1 hour commercial parking. Guess what? The same cube van has been parked there for over 2 months. It hasn't budged an inch. Someone has found that "free" spot and is using it for vehicle storage. Who wooda thunk?

• Liquidation World. Yuck. I would not shop at this store. This company did not make it in the USA and it's stock is declining everyday on the markets. I bought items, got them home and they ended up in the garbage. What a waste of money. This is a beautiful old building and too much history behind it. I hope to see this store gone. Once I have looked into this company and how they operate, it makes me sick. Wouldn't it be nice to have a business there that would bring back old times.

• oh WOW !!! in alllllll the years of romping around ottawa, i have never ever noticed anything beyond the aluminum. the top of this building is amazing! love that doorway too!
  i remember going in there with my mom and my brother sammy hain. we'd always get a milkshake at the counter. it's funny cause if you go in there you can still see woolworths asiles clearly marked out in blue lines lol