Comments on: Ruffles, Furbelows and Frills

By: beajolley

beajolley — Mon, 25 May 2009 23:44:46 +0000

Kingston has some really important elements going for it that maybe a city like Hamilton didn’t. You have people here who care enough about preserving the downtown to write on this here blog about it. Which means that there is at least an awareness that it is important to preserve the amazing downtown core that you have.

I work at the Starbucks out on Division where we are discussing, and the vast majority of people who come in are either going South from Montreal or Ottawa or going the other way. It is a great source of business to capitalize on this traffic coming by your city to build to cater to it. And the benefit it that people like me are employed there and then take our money and go shop downtown. I’m a resident of the city and the money I make from working out there comes right back in to the lifeblood of the very downtown we want to protect. It doesn’t need to be one or the other, it can be both.

By: Harvey Kirkpatrick

Harvey Kirkpatrick — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 17:11:24 +0000

London Times, yes the waterfront could be better, parking is an issue, and traffic is less than perfect. Keep in mind that downtown Kingston wasn’t built yesterday, and as such we have to build around structures and the general footprint that was devised over two centuries ago. Sure, if we could rip it all down it would be a modern day acropolis, but then it would loose all of it’s rich history.

RicoJ, as far as I’m concerned the township can not prosper without a burgeoning core. You want to spend less money downtown and say goodbye to tourists, then you’ll be lucky if you have a dime left. Like it or not, Kingston’s economy is heavily reliant on tourism. And what do you suppose they’re coming here to see? I’m guessing it’s not the RioCan, or Cataraqui Town Centre, but rather, one of the many sites in and around the downtown.

By: opt1

opt1 — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 21:36:04 +0000

RicoJ:

If Kingston residents are willing to trade a hollowed-out urban core for lower property taxes and a blight of suburban big-box stores, they deserve exactly what they get.

I’ve lived in a number of cities with dead downtowns. Kingston residents don’t seem to have the slightest appreciation for what they’ve got.

By: London Times

London Times — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 18:46:04 +0000

So Ian, you think downtown Kingston is a model of design efficiency. Have you ever been outside the City? The shambles of the waterfront, the ludicrous parking arrangements and the utter chaos of the traffic management system smack of the most parochial outlook and utter thoughtlessness. But then, I’ve actually seen many much better, more sensibly organized cities around the World.

By: Ian Pinchin

Ian Pinchin — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 21:27:35 +0000

Rico the downtown core in Kingston is a shining example of urban planning and a good way for a city to be designed. With everything based around walking and mixed use of space that area of the city is a much better way to organize the city as opposed to the disgusting sprawl that exists practically everywhere outside the downtown. I encourage the city to continue to develop the historic downtown both for its cultural value and the fact that it is the proper way a city should be. You don’t need to look far to see the impact of the “sprawl” school of urban planning and the destruction of downtowns and the ensuing dependance on automobiles.

By: Danielle Lennon

Danielle Lennon — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 19:40:22 +0000

The problem is, a lot of the people who shop at that particular No Frills are elderly, on unemployment due to an injury or disability or are working so much to make ends meet that they can barely make it to No Frills for a shopping trip so walking a few extra blocks can be a real detriment to their day. Not to mention that Food Basics is already ridiculously busy every time I go there. The lines alone take a good 10-15 minutes sometimes, even if you only came for milk, so I think the loss of this store is going to have a big impact on the people in the neighbourhood.

Oh, and downtown is expensive as are all the projects going on in the city but it is where our history lies and it deserves to be updated and focused on. Rico, do you really want to see downtown turn to crap? Ever been to Hamilton? They let it happen there and it is really, really sad.

By: Tyffanie

Tyffanie — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 17:59:42 +0000

I always avoided that No Frills on Bagot Street. I feared my life walking anywhere near there. I always shopped at either Food Basics downtown or A&P downtown. Coming from the Fruit Belt to Food Basics was a bit of a journey on foot but I did it nonetheless. I can see the closure causing an impact on the community near No Frills, but not a major one. If you have to walk another few blocks, you have to walk another few blocks.

By: Ian Jackson

Ian Jackson — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 13:30:52 +0000

The downtown has had a bit of a strangle hold on tax dollars for some time, and with the KRC that’s not going to change any time soon. But still, projects outside the downtown don’t come cheap…Invista Centre wasn’t chump change.

By: RicoJ

RicoJ — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 03:41:36 +0000

Will development on Kingston’s outskirts hurt the downtown core? One can only hope!

Maybe that giant sucking sound, the sound of our tax dollars being ripped-off for downtown Kingston, will finally cease.

This is an amalgamated city. It’s time to face-it: the party’s over for the bozos downtown.

You want to be a tourist trap? Go ahead, knock yourself out. Not on my dime anymore, please. You want tax money for your effing projects? Get in line, like everybody else.