So, when 'they' won't publish...

...self-publish.

Here's my letter that wasn't chosen by the Editor for this week's edition:

Re: 'How many shoppers will just drive away?', July 15, 2010

Mike Matheson declares a viewpoint in his letter, one that I'm sure some Stoney Creek residents share, one that needs to be addressed openly, one that is connected to some much larger issues, some of which I'm betting Mr. Matheson hadn't even been considering when he wrote his letter.

In it, Mr. Matheson exercised his free will recently on Locke Street, having deciding that metered parking was not acceptable and motored away from a possible shopping excursion. OK; so my first question is: 'Are you saying that the notion of paying $1/hour for parking is going to automatically veto a visit to a dedicated shopping area?' (The Locke Street metered parking is tied in with all the Hamilton Area BIAs, and there's a very specific history that goes along with this current situation, one that perhaps 'some' Stoney Creek residents are not fully cognizant of; maybe Connie Behie of the Stoney Creek BIA needs to do an article here laying out the history for one and all, for once and for all.)

If this is true, my second question is: 'Do you ever venture outside your -seeming- world of free parking?' You know, into the rest of reality?

My third question would be 'Do you honestly believe that Stoney Creek residents will follow your example (ignoring the fact that there is Municipal Lot #3 which provides 'free parking') and simply not shop downtown, all because of a dollar, less than the cost, for instance, of a pre-packaged bottle of water?'

My fourth and final question isn't really a question per se, it's more an invitation to engage about this issue -paid parking- as it connects to the larger realities of the modern world as well as to consider what the discussion really is regarding 'metered parking' in Downtown Stoney Creek: 'Can we actually *talk* about this for once...please...?'

My blog is called 'My Stoney Creek'. (http://mystoneycreek.blogspot.com/) I began the blog because I love my hometown and am concerned about its state and its future. This issue is one of the two initial reasons I began posting there: to examine and address the whole brouhaha over the 'injustice' of the 'imposed' new paid parking philosophy/strategy, especially in relation to the much, much bigger picture of the vitality of Downtown Stoney Creek. There are all sorts of articles there, including a 10-part series addressing not only 'What is a 'downtown'?' but also 'Can Stoney Creek Have a Vital, Vibrant Downtown, Or Is It Stuck With What It's Got, Forever?', so I won't take up valuable newspaper space and belabour the point here.

What I will say is this: It is my impression that many, if not most of the people who have been screaming 'The sky is falling! The sky is falling!' are either a) not conversant with how a thriving retail community happens to get that way, or b) of a generation that has -again, seemingly- little grasp whatsoever of change itself and the truth that if it's not addressed proactively, it will end up burying you...or both a and b. Not to put too fine a point on it: the 'problem' with Downtown Stoney Creek, what 'threatens' its existence is NOT 'metered parking', it's complacency, apathy and a distinct lack of vision.

As I've said on the blog, we need to start discussing this issue instead of wasting time and energy blathering like whiney creatures about the unimportant and the insignificant.

Sincerely,

http://mystoneycreek.blogspot.com/

Of course, this makes me very curious as to whether the News feels a revitalization of Downtown Stoney Creek is a relevant issue at all. So I invite the Editor, Kristy Elik to provide some kind of feedback as to the editorial 'position' they've taken regarding the 'metered parking brouhaha' as it relates to our downtown's health.

I await with bated breath.

Not.