Jeff Mahoney has an article in today's edition. 'You can bank on a fight in Stoney Creek' deals with the TD Bank branch closing this autumn. And some residents' reactions.
If you check out the Comments that follow the article, you'll get some idea of the general response to the piece.
If you do a search on 'The Downtown Issue' for this site, you'll see way more than a handful of articles dealing with Stoney Creek's downtown. The common theme is the less-than-stellar use of land.
So the TD leaving should be seen as more a tremendous opportunity than as the loss of a local institution.
That corner has amazing strategic potential. (So does McDougall's Garage, but that's another situation entirely.)
Though small, the location could provide the setting for a key business. Given there's barely more than two blocks' worth of authentic contiguous downtown, making better use of this land than its current use well be a pivotal shift for this long-beleaguered core.
But instead of pondering 'I wonder what stunning development we could see there!', the people mentioned in the article would prefer that time stand still.
A pity, really.
Downtown Stoney Creek has long been mired in economic doldrums primarily of its own making. (And yes, I'm directly connecting the small handful of extant land and business owners with the 'downtown'.) So maybe it's not surprising to find its 'supporters' trapped in a time-bubble themselves.
Not surprising, but sad nonetheless.
(I'm compelled to point out that I grew up a stone's throw from the bank, and I have a memory that goes back almost fifty years. I've seen a lot in Old Towne Stoney Creek...and most of it's been the same sight, over and over and over again.)
M Adrian Brassington
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I'm always interested in feedback, differing opinions, even contrarian blasts...as long as they're delivered with decorum...with panache and flair always helping.