And so, my money's where my mouth is.

This morning I sent off this email to two organizations germane to the Downtown Stoney Creek discussion, the Stoney Creek Chamber of Commerce and the Stoney Creek BIA.

(Oh, and I included the Stoney Creek News, Ron Marini and Brad Clark in the loop.)

To Whom it May Concern;

Please accept this correspondence as an endeavour to get some light shone on a subject that quite frankly, I've seen little actual candlepower applied to.

I am a local blogger. The blog is called 'My Stoney Creek'. I began it because of the clear-cut that happened south of Battlefield Park, but I've expanded what I address to include the metered parking issue, the Stoney Creek Dairy, and most recently, the issue of Stoney Creek's downtown.

Last month, I wrote a ten-part series on this subject. It begins here. In it, I take a look at what downtowns generally are, the history of Stoney Creek's, and then grab hold of a sizable amount of chutzpah and take it upon myself to ask the question 'What could Downtown Stoney Creek be?'

The background into this 'investigation' is all covered in the series, but allow me to sum it up: I grew up in Stoney Creek. Right 'downtown'. I moved away almost thirty years ago, visited regularly during the interim, moved back halfway through the last decade. My reaction to 'what the downtown had become' was always consistent: 'Meh.'

Having lived in various towns and villages and cities on two different continents in three different countries, and being someone with pronounced observational abilities, maybe I'm a little more 'sensitive' to what's placed in front of me than someone else casually looking around them. (The fact that I worked in the retail sector for over twenty years adds undeniably to the mix.)

I've been asking the question under my breath -or maybe subconsciously- 'Why?'

Why does Stoney Creek have such a nondescript downtown?

Why hasn't there either been a massive influx of development over the past 45 years? (The point at which I would suggest Downtown Stoney Creek could be said to have been in its 'halcyon days', back in 1965.)

How is it that the area has managed to remain in a bubble?

Hence the series.

So I'm writing this email to you in the hopes that because of your roles in both organizations, you might be able to promote some dialogue by way of the following questions:

1) Are you satisfied with the profile of Downtown Stoney Creek in terms of the business mix it presents to available customers?

2) How would you rate it on a scale of 1-10, 1 being 'Not providing anything for its potential market', and 10 being 'Exceeds all possible expectations'?

3) Using whatever personal references at your disposal (That is, if you were around in 1965 or 1975 or 1985 or 1995), would you say Downtown Stoney Creek has progressed or regressed?

4) Do you have a vision of what Downtown Stoney Creek could look like? If so, how much different is your vision from what it's like today? If not, why not?

5) If you could change one thing about Downtown Stoney Creek, what would it be?

6) Do you visit other downtowns, city centers, village cores? What are your favourites?

7) If you do see potential in Downtown Stoney Creek, what do you believe has to happen in order for this potential to be reached? Who do you believe has to be marshalled into action?

I realize that the Chamber of Commerce encompasses a much broader area (and arena of concerns) than would probably be inclined to respond.

By the same token, I've got a suspicion that members of the Stoney Creek BIA probably aren't interested in being questioned about the (negative) state of their world, so I'm not really expecting much to come from that front, either.

If you take a look at some of my more recent editorials, you'll see that at the heart of my yammerings-on is the proposal that there are a handful of landowner-businesspeople who, right or wrong, essentially dictate -either actively or passively- how things unfold in Downtown Stoney Creek...or whether they unfold at all, I suppose. So perhaps this email is really being directed at them...but as they are all distinct individuals with their own agendas and priorities, I'm hoping you'll excuse my presumptuousness in using you as a messenger.

Towards a more vibrant and thriving Downtown Stoney Creek, I remain

Yours truly,

My Stoney Creek

http://mystoneycreek.blogspot.com/