Comments on: The State of… Lower Princess (Part 1 of 3)

By: Guest

Guest — Thu, 03 Mar 2011 08:49:00 +0000

I agree with Dr. BOP's explanation of the closures of downtown businesses. I'm sick of seeing RTCR signs everywhere, no one can afford the rent.

By: Andy

Andy — Mon, 13 Sep 2010 17:44:16 +0000

Agreed! I have a hard time believing anyone has ever spent 45 minutes looking for parking. Even if you don't want to pay a meter you can find free parking and walk to anywhere in downtown in less than 45 minutes. Heck for 45 minutes you could park on Victoria St, Park, College, anything in midtown and walk downtown in like 20 minutes.

Perhaps people like S.Adams should find alternative modes of transportation if parking is such a problem for them. Bus, taxi, carpool, bike, walk… I have a feeling the complaints from people like this are just about everything in downtown. How is the Krock centre an obstacle when you come from downtown? The roads haven't moved, there is just a building on what was once an empty lot. It's not like you come across the causeway into a maze. Just another person who would have loved to live in the situation Ottawa has where no one goes to their arena because it was built in the middle of nowhere.

By: mr_rectifier

mr_rectifier — Mon, 13 Sep 2010 16:43:06 +0000

I don't get it either. It takes me 30 min to walk from a block closer then SLC to Princess/division or Ontario. There are a lot of parking options within a much shorter distance then that. People just need to get over they can't park right at the front door of any given destination and won't be able to regardless of how many parking garages get built. The huge crowd for the Princess promenade day, while Princess st parking was removed, proved parking isn't the barrier many perceive it to be.

By: Muiscgrrl

Muiscgrrl — Mon, 13 Sep 2010 14:55:05 +0000

I don't understand how people spend 45 minutes trying to find parking. In the same amount of time (well, less really) you can park on a side street like Bagot or Bay or Ordnance or North or Sydenham….the choices are endless. And then you can walk to Princess. It takes about 4 minutes to walk to Princess from Ordnance.

I understand if you are picking up a large item but most places will find a way to help you with that. If not, and you get ticketed, fight it. I know tons of ppl who have stopped to pick something up downtown, been ticketed and with one phone call, were able to get the ticket revoked. We live in a very old town and the narrow streets are a part of that. There's nothing that can be done about it except to tear it all down and start again and I don't think anyone wants to see that happen.

By: S.Adams

S.Adams — Mon, 13 Sep 2010 04:34:28 +0000

No one likes to spend forty five minuts trying to park somewhere. Not to mention the dodgeing traffic as you drive down Princess Street in your car because the road is narrow and there's not enough space for a car to be parked and delivery van to be pulled over and you to be driveing it's brutal. Every day now the streets are jammed with traffic and thank goodness for the K-Rock centre that's just another obstacle to dodge as you go over the causeway not just the fact that you have to wait for boats to pass. Very unorganised not well thought out there were much better places to put that venue places where the roads could be expanded for capacity.

By: Andy

Andy — Sun, 12 Sep 2010 22:03:12 +0000

Very late comment to add to this article but I just couldn't help myself.

Someone put a VERY official looking sign on the fence surrounding the empty pit at Bagot and Queen. The sign looks like an official Parks Canada sign identifying the site as 'Stagnant Lake' National Park.

By: Mark in NY

Mark in NY — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 15:22:17 +0000

"TAX PENALTIES SHOULD BE LEVIES AGAINST OWNERS WHO KEEP PROPERTIES VACANT FOR UNDUE LENGTH OF TIME"

Maybe its because they CANT rent the space? Kingston's economy isnt exactly stellar….

By: Kingstonist

Kingstonist — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 11:24:12 +0000

While trying to remain cautiously optimistic about the apparent upswing downtown, I can't help but wonder how many of these places will in fact remain open. Case in point, there's a total of 4 new burger/poutine places opening up between Division and Wellington. How can they all survive considering the competition that's already there/established. In any case, downtown Kingston is far from out of the woods, and if the impact of HST and reports of a weak tourist season remain steady into the Fall, there may be additional stores calling it quits before the end of the FY. We'll definitely be re-visiting this topic in the future.

By: RyanThomson

RyanThomson — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 03:46:46 +0000

Well, here we are 7 months later, and how many vacancies are there on lower Princess Street now? At least half the places on the original list are now leased and in business or under construction. I have to admit that I expect a lot of the new places probably won't last, but time will tell.

I would have to estimate that there is currently a total of less than 10 leasable storefronts sitting vacant on lower Princess now, so things have really turned around and it was likely more of a blip due to the economy than the death of downtown Kingston as we know it. Changes occur, but over time things have a way of evening out.

It would be interesting to see this topic revisited and updated, but it may be prudent to wait until one year after the original article was posted, purely for the sake of comparing apples with apples.

By: Kingstonist

Kingstonist — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 23:12:27 +0000

Some great points here. Next time, please less CAPS lock.