Downtown Windsor – Part I

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• Hey I like downtown, even if it does look like hell, it's my hometown for better or for worse.

• SBW - I don't think anyone here takes exception to that, but it could be more. There is no reason for us to have as poor of a downtown as we do.

  But in order for things to improve we need to first admit there's a problem, and work to fix that.

  Giving cutesie names and creating fake districts is not the answer. We need to tackle the reason why it's like this, and work to attract something more than bars and restuarants down there. It's obvious by now I would hope that they aren't the answer, and that the Casino is certainly not a saviour.

  The two biggest mistakes made downtown in the last decade was the expropriation of the Norwich block, and more recenlty the decision to put the arena in the east end.

• That video is awkward. The song is annoying and kind of bad (a taste thing sure, but they do get points for not using the usual lounge type music cheesy PR films always go with) and makes it hard to judge the whole thing.

  There are lots of good things about downtown, and about Windsor in general -- but most of these details are not the flash things a BIA is looking for when they hire a video production firm.

  The feeling I come away with, overall, is desperation.

• ...and possibly now the urban village.

• Interesting reading. I just spent the weekend in Ann Arbor, population about 130,000, a university town, and a great old downtown. I know that the U of M draws a lot more students and employees than U of W but it's always good to see what other towns close by do well. (Eddie and the boys wouldn't have to go to Germany and other foreign climes to get some good ideas.)
  Just a thought.

• VP...I proferred that thought on a few other blogs months ago. Glad to see other people have had the same observation. I recall being in AA on a Monday night in May almost two years ago and the streets were busier than downtown Windsor. Recall too that in the fall and winter and spring months, Ann Arbor has a lot of younger people in their core...same as Windsor, yet they make it work. Why? There are many keys to why their core works but many people here have touched upon it and douglasm has as well.............take care of the natives, offer them something and they will reciprocate in kind.

• "I think what the DWBIA needs to ask itself is - does it want to continue with downtown as a “entertainment district” (fancy way of saying kiddie bars, strip joints, massage parlours) or does it want a safe and clean mixed-use district that is equipped to service residents with a strong arts & entertainment component.n."

  The DWIBA has already asked and answered that question, It wants to zone massage parlors out of downtown, institute signage bylaws that would ban neon and strobe lights and 3 am closings

  You guys can beat me up all you want, the only point I am making is that the DWBIA video and Andrew's picture both of our downtown. Both are right, both are wrong whatever way you want to see it. You have to market your strengths in order to get rid of your weaknesses. Chris Holt told me that the organic way of dealing with weeds is to suffocate them out by growing grass. It makes a lot of sense

  How do you expect to attract businesses with your comments? it doesn't start with the DWBIA, it starts with the residents. check out publications on PPS.org, they will show you that neighborhoods regain control with the residents. Keep beating on downtown will become a self fullfilling prophecy

  JOHN WROTE

  "If the expletive that is downtown is the “best Windsor has to offer” then we’re all in BIG trouble, "

  I THINK YOU FINALLY GET THE POINT I WAS MAKING!!!!!!!!!

• "I think what the DWBIA needs to ask itself is - does it want to continue with downtown as a “entertainment district” (fancy way of saying kiddie bars, strip joints, massage parlours) or does it want a safe and clean mixed-use district that is equipped to service residents with a strong arts & entertainment component.n."

  The DWIBA has already asked and answered that question, It wants to zone massage parlors out of downtown, institute signage bylaws that would ban neon and strobe lights and 3 am closings

  You guys can beat me up all you want, the only point I am making is that the DWBIA video and Andrew's picture both of our downtown. Both are right, both are wrong whatever way you want to see it. You have to market your strengths in order to get rid of your weaknesses. Chris Holt told me that the organic way of dealing with weeds is to suffocate them out by growing grass. It makes a lot of sense

  How do you expect to attract businesses with your comments? it doesn't start with the DWBIA, it starts with the residents. check out publications on PPS.org, they will show you that neighborhoods regain control with the residents. Keep beating on downtown will become a self fullfilling prophecy

  JOHN WROTE

  "If the expletive that is downtown is the “best Windsor has to offer” then we’re all in BIG trouble, "

  I THINK YOU FINALLY GET THE POINT I WAS MAKING!!!!!!!!!

• Anyone notice the "Body Rub" parlour in the 1970's pic of Ouellette?
  These places have always existed however, in an economy where the majority of the space is occupied by legitimate retail a massage parlour is not going to get the storefront, street level space.

  Let me throw this out there for an intrim solution.
  Would it be feasable, to get all the empty storefronts and make them available for local artists to use as studio/gallery space, even if it is just for the summer months? Imagine the impact of every store front being occupied and used, every day. What would it cost to turn on the electricity and water? Would the building owners be able to accomodate this? It would at the least bring people downtown, the artists would be encouraged to keep the outside looking neat and tidy - glass clean, steps swept - to attract patrons in to view their works.

• JOHN WROTE

  “If the expletive that is downtown is the “best Windsor has to offer” then we’re all in BIG trouble, ”

  I THINK YOU FINALLY GET THE POINT I WAS MAKING!!!!!!!!!

  So, Mark, editing your debate opponents comments before quoting then responding to them out of context now? Does it make it easier to twist what I originally said to suit your purposes? For the record, I *don't* get the point you are making. Neither does most anyone else from what I've seen so far. The video is not a case of growing grass to smother weeds. It's more like astroturf. Lift it off and all you've got underneath is gravel. That doesn't cut it.