At some point down the road...

...Downtown Stoney Creek will be developed.

Properly developed, that is. (Because I'm not talking about a fountain-area seating provision. Or gussying up store fronts. Or correcting sidewalk wear-and-tear.)

And when it is, I'm sure that what Marianne Meed Ward, a recent Burlington Council candidate (she's since been elected) says, how she goes about saying it and the background issues she's addressing should be taken notice of and utilized for our own sakes.

Yes, she's got a ton of experience in media relations under her belt and is a very solid communicator. But more than this, she clearly understands how the Internet...through the use of YouTube and via her community site A Better Burlington...can enhance the dialogue between resident and Councillor.

I believe that this is the kind of straightforward approach that could have benefitted (and still could, for that matter) everyone involved in the Downtown Stoney Creek paid-parking discussion. A clear voice getting the salient facts out there...rather than bad reporting, a constantly inaccurate dissemination of half-truths and rumours that manages to add little good to the situation.