Downtown Windsor – Part I

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• Just watching the fake-branding video, the "arts" section was kind of crappy and sold us way short.

  The video features (in the shots) an exterior shot of the Art Gallery, A Bus (?), the outside sign of the Drive Magazine building (?), a decorative light, the sculpture outside the art gallery, The Cleary (SCCFTA), and The Keg (?). No inside shots of the art gallery, no shots of the Capitol (I guess the DWBIA is not anticipating the eventual reopening of the theatre), no shots of our Juno nominated W.S.O. no plays in action, no shots of the local cafe's like Millk with local artsits showing their works, no shots of downtown independant art galleries, nothing...

  Most of the shots in the "arts" section had nothing at all to do with the arts. Maybe I'm thick but I fail to see a link between the Keg and the arts.

  The slick video in the end fails to even meet its own goals.

• If 'districts' are the way to go, how bout a grocery district and a hardware store district and a third place district.

  It seems to me that a 'district' mindset precludes the opportunity for mixed use.

• Districts are great IF you have what is inside those districts already. West Village is a small street (Pelissier) with hardly a lot of residence except for two tall high rises and LAry's YMCA building (gee, how convenient that was districted as West Village when the City Centre West lands and other surrounding areas like Victoria Ave were left out ).

  How about we start a downtown residential group though we have to clear a big hurdle. That hurdle being that since the downtown is surrounded by low income, most low income people do not get heard when lobbying because they don't have the funds nor time and thus are largely ignored. Any takers?

• ME: The downtown residents you speak of may not have the money or the clout with city hall but they do know more about what they need to make downtown a viable place to actually live and raise a family than anyone else. Experience is the best teacher. I think you're on to a great idea.

• I think you're going to witness a huge influx of people moving into Windsor from the county in the near future. The high cost of gas, hyper-inflation, falling wages, an economic depression in the United States and a nearly bankrupt provincial government without any money to invest in basic infrastructure like roads and sewers will make it impossible to live in the suburbs. Whether downtown Windsor benefits from this influx is anyone's guess.

• Pellisier is the West Village? Hahaha. I almost fell out of my chair laughing. Why don't we call the little park in front of City Hall Central Park or the Spitfire Arena Olympic Stadium? Ouellette Street has a few banks on it, why don't we call it the Wall Street Financial District?

• Wow. That video... is something else. Whoever was involved in production's got some serious karmic debt to pay off now.

• Don't forget the wonderful ocean view we have at the foot of Ouellette.

• Even with a sunny and slightly warm day on Sunday it seems no one was around downtown on that photo-shot. Why? Because bars aren't open at that time!

  The video is good but it leaves the impression that our downtown is booming and bustling when it isn't even close to that. I think that thehype will destroy any buiness from going there because they will see what it really looks like.

• One minor complaint. On a sunny Sunday, how many people do you find shopping in most downtown areas? Not many, because the stores usually aren't open.

  Now, having said that, I've been reading 18 whiney posts about how downtown Windsor is going to hell in a hand cart. Anybody got a brilliant idea on how to change that? It's been a contuining problem for the last 40 years (and generally a more serious one for small to medium sized downtowns like Windsor, Flint, Colorado Springs, Colo. and the like) as chain retailers abandon the districts for suburban shopping centers where the foot traffic is.

  So what do you do? You need 3 things. First landlords with the vision and willingness to clean up their properties. One of the things that impressed me was there really were very few quality properties in the pictures. Boarded up windows and cheap plastic signage does not give a good impression

  Second, you need a downtown association that realises that the district WILL NOT be the primary shopping area anymore. The role of downtowns has changed dramatically in the past years. They are not the urban hub that they used to be, and will not reclaim their past glory, with big department stores and fancy hotels. Times change. The major foot traffic is just not there anymore, so......

  Third, you need shops that do not need that foot traffic. In my Central Washington town, the best mens clothing store in the area is downtown, as is the best ladies shop. The best shoe store in the area is downtown, as is the best camera shop, the best jewelry store, the best home furnishings store, antique store, and soda fountain. These are shops that do not need foot traffic, they are of such quality that if you are looking for the items they carry you HAVE to go downtown to find them.

  And it's a perfect place for them. Rents are lower than in malls, they don't need to be open from 9 am till 9 pm 7 days a week, so their costs are lower, and the foot traffic from malls doesn't really do anything to increase their business because they don't rely on walkby traffic like a discount shoe store does.

  And what has happened here is that with all these quality shopping opertunities, foot traffic has returned. Not in the levels of 40 years ago, but it has increased to the point that a a new cafe/coffee shop (as in latte, not cup o' joe) has opened, and the quality of the merchants in the area has made it attractive to both other businesses, offices and services, and new residents.

  I'm not saying this is the answer, only a possible one. What is needed is the realization that downtown Windsor, like all downtowns, feature new challenges that it didn't face 40 or 50 years ago. It's going to require thinking a bit outside the box to help it reclaim its place.....