'Once more unto the breach...'

As a result of the article 'Dynamic Pricing for Parking Ensures Vacancy, Reduces Congestion' over at Raise the Hammer, I've found myself revisiting the whole 'paid parking in Downtown Stoney Creek' discussion. (It's a compulsion; sue me.)

I've been 'addressing' this issue for almost a year now. Written about it endlessly, examined it from a layperson's perspective, utilized whatever I've been able to glean about the situation, fed all this into my own set of admittedly biased perceptions (I spent almost most of my formative years growing up right there) and processed it from my equally-biased perspective. In fact, prompted by the 'paid parking imbroglio', last year I took the time to 'put my money where my mouth is' and redesigned the downtown from top-to-bottom, proposing solutions not just for this crux of the problem (something that virtually nobody seems to want to face, at least nobody 'in power') but also ancillary ones. So for those who aren't inclined to take the time to read in toto what I've produced on this topic, here are the salient points of what I've learned...how I see the situation...and what I believe are reasonable and rational approaches to bring vitality and vibrancy back to Downtown Stoney Creek. 

1) Downtown Stoney Creek is a fascinating animal. It's remained, to a great extent, unchanged for the better part of fifty years. Preserved in its own bubble. It has not undergone any 'depressed' times, nor has it really gone through any inspirational re-imagining during this time. It's 'survived' the paradigm shift in shopping habits that has seen the encroachment of Eastgate Square, Fiesta Mall, Battlefield Square, Limeridge Mall, Lloyd D Jackson Square, The Centre Mall, The Burlington Mall, Mapleview Mall, The Meadowlands, and myriad other retail choices over the years. (I'm avoiding trying to be didactically precise here with the actual time-frame; nitpickers should email me directly for complaints.) Not to mention online shopping. What I've discovered is that while it lost much to all this competition, it never 'died'. (Although it's a valid argument to say that it's not actually 'alive', either.) 

2) The 'Golden Square Mile', what I refer to as 'Authentic Stoney Creek', from Centennial Parkway to Gray Road, from Hwy #8 to The Niagara Escarpment has, for all intents and purposes, remained consistent over this time. Very little has changed in terms of residences, very little has been lost, very little has been added. And while I don't have access to the breakdown of demographics, I'll certainly venture this: it has been stable for more than five decades, it's not gone through any sort of 'depression', it doesn't require any mission of 'revitalization'. (What's fascinating is that Downtown Stoney Creek...and I'm going to leave this reference ambiguous) has done virtually nothing to mine this incredible market.) Think about that. A portion of The Greater Metropolitan Hamilton Area that has remained virtually unchanged in terms of its residential makeup. (I'm not talking about the social or cultural mix here. Entirely different discussion.) Wouldn't you think this should be indicative of a thriving, vibrant local shopping experience? Hmm...?

3) Downtown Stoney Creek has some of the worst land use approaches at play. Considering the current BIA runs from Elm Street to Lake Avenue on King (more or less; again, I'm trying not to be pedantic here), which is really only two blocks, it's astounding that with the need to use every single bit of streetfront real estate to its best advantage, so much is, not to put to fine a point on it, wasted. The best example? A building for a social group and an attached parkette. What has been lost in not having this land used in a constructive, innovative retail sense can quite easily bring me to tears. 

4) When there's a draw to an area, when people have a desire, a need to visit and shop, parking fees are not a deterrent. (Yes, habit and tradition may seem to be impediments. But most of this is, I'm sorry to say, generational, having nothing to do with the realities of a modern world, and therefore, unless someone comes up with a time machine, or better yet, a time-reversal device to send us back to the 50s or 60s, I believe that adaptation is called for.) The best example I can think of off the top of my head is Sporting Life in Toronto. Though I haven't been there in years, I remember them having parking attendants, I remember there being lineups to get into the parking lot at most hours of the day, etc. The store had what people wanted, so they endured minor hardships. They were worth it. Ditto for The Beaches in Toronto, where you either have to strategically plan your trips, go TTC, or suck it up and scout for a spot. If there's something worth being there for, people will 'suffer through' whatever's required. 

The fact is that there is a dearth of genuine draws to Downtown Stoney Creek to make a trip there worth paying a buck for parking. 

I believe in this notion so much that I ask you to read that statement again. 

There is a dearth of draws to Downtown Stoney Creek to make a trip there worth paying a buck for parking. 

As I've said, I've redesigned the downtown on paper already. (It's not a 'perfect' plan. It's not without flaws. But it's also something I put a great deal of thought into, something that was informed by decades' worth of experience in the retail sector, informed by my connection to Stoney Creek, something that is also the result of decades' worth of engagement...and nobody else has put anything out there for consideration.) This design provides the draws that Downtown Stoney Creek requires to thrive. For it to be vibrant. And were some manifestation of redesign to take place, having paid parking would be no impediment at all to business. In fact, this notion makes me do what an erstwhile pal refers to as a 'spit-laugh'. Currently, at the risk of getting into a tussle with whomever, there's only one valid 'draw', and that's The Village Restaurant. 

5) For some time now, there has been a handful of 'Major Players' who in effect, control the redevelopment of Downtown Stoney Creek. They own what's there, land-wise. Some own what amount to entire blocks. And in a nutshell, for whatever reasons, based on whatever priorities, they've simply not made a re-imagining of the downtown a priority. Apparently there's been no vision at play, no sense of urgency, no passion to make things better. And so things remain as they are. 

I do not believe that anything will change while these Major Players are controlling things. 

6) Many employees who work for businesses in the downtown have, for the longest time, had to shuttle their vehicles around available spaces during the workday. This is because there has only been time-limited parking, and that a small number of parking permits have been made available to them. As for the idea that people should be looking at public transit to prevent these predicaments... Puhlease. 

7) Never having done a scientific study...though I've consistently pushed and prodded certain parties to entertain the notion...I'm nevertheless willing to bet that the vast majority of the hundred and forty-ish free parking spaces in Municipal Lot #3 are most often taken up by patrons of The Health Sciences Building on Mountain Avenue South. The fact is that this building...and I should add here that I've been a patient of doctors here going back to its construction...has never provided sufficient parking for its patrons. So if we want to look at why parking is such a problem in Downtown Stoney Creek, really, the discussion should begin here. And yet in all the articles I've read, in all the discussions I've been part of, I've never heard this subject broached. 

To me, the sooner this complex finds a new home, the better the future looks for Downtown Stoney Creek and the people who should -and would- be shopping there. 

8) As an adjunct to my Downtown Stoney Creek redesign, I also proposed solutions to creating more parking. It's not some pointless longing, some Holy Grail adventure. It could be done. Solutions could be effected. But not under the current 'administration'. (Oh, and before the usual salvos are fired regarding the evils of parking and of cars and of our car-centric culture, let me just say this: Puhlease...) 

So; should there be paid parking in Downtown Stoney Creek? No. (But then, I could point out some inconsistencies in the application of paid parking currently that I've never, ever gotten responses to, despite having tried...) 

Would going back to free parking cure what ails Downtown Stoney Creek? Nope. Not by a long shot. 

But then nobody...including The Stoney Creek News...wants to have that discussion. 

Funny, that...