ShonTron
Moderator
Even Winnipeg's store is nice and urban and on Portage. I never understood why Montreal's isn't. Good to see the Hilton moving in, though the rendering looks so lame.
Even Winnipeg's store is nice and urban and on Portage. I never understood why Montreal's isn't. Good to see the Hilton moving in, though the rendering looks so lame.
Actually the number of pedestrians downtown is surprisingly high. Stand in Gore park any time of day and there are always crowds.
Not to mention Hess village. The proposed federal building location straddles Hess and Downtown... and with plenty of retail development in the works along that stretch, plus hotel development, those couple of blocks on Main are only going to go "up".
Their Toronto store does not have parking. There is a separately managed lot underneath their store that is the same footprint as the store itself. Their Vancouver store has a lot on the roof that is the same footprint as the building. Their Victoria store has no parking... well there are two street parking spots out front. There is more bike parking than car parking at the Victoria store! This is the way its members expect MEC to be run. They do not expect them to plop a green building in the middle of a big box wasteland next to a highway and surrounded by surface parking.
I've said it in other places and I'll say it again: building a green building is only half the "battle". If you put a green building in a location that begs people to drive single occupancy vehicles to get there, you are negating all of your hard work. I challenge anyone here to ride a bike or walk on Brant Street near the QEW -- it's a nightmare. Nothing but high speed maniacal Burlington suburbanites, all flying by the nearby car dealerships, strip malls (and the soon-to-be-walmart) in order to get home asap. This is not pedestrian, transit or cyclist friendly despite the lip service paid out in mec's press release.!
Sorry to rant, but the more I think about it, the more this location STINKS!
I feel as though someone has been flogged ... unmercifully.![]()
The crowds that hang out in Gore Park are not exactly the demographic being courted here.
Main Street is basically an expressway, and about as cozy for strolling as the QEW. Hess village is dead during the day, and only comes alive at night when all of the local suburbanites come to get drunk at the bars. It the the 'club district' of Hamilton, and little more.
Hamilton isn't exactly Toronto, Vancouver or Victoria. Hamilton is a city of one-way road arteries that are designed to move vehicles, not welcome pedestrians. I know, I lived downtown Hamilton for a year and it was dismal. There is next to no reason to go downtown, unless you like porno palaces, dollar stores and bingo parlours. The Eaton Centre and the street-killing black hole that is Jackson Square are pretty much retail wastelands, and there is little by way of convenient public transit. The Hamilton I know, and love, is not exactly full of people who enjoy biking around town.
I challenge you to ride a bike down Centennial Parkway (if you want to compare apples to apples).
Your eco-consiousness is lovely, but how do you suppose that all those urbane Hamiltonians are going to get to the MEC? Guess what, they will be *driving* there... after they've cashed their welfare cheques, bought their two-four and had their mullets coiffed at the salon.
yeah he's done some great stuff... capturing the hamilton I know and see daily![]()
Good posts!
Enjoyed looking at the pixs of this place again (although I think you duplicated one picture with a strange caption).
I challenge anyone here to ride a bike or walk on Brant Street near the QEW -- it's a nightmare. Nothing but high speed maniacal Burlington suburbanites, all flying by the nearby car dealerships, strip malls (and the soon-to-be-walmart) in order to get home asap. This is not pedestrian, transit or cyclist friendly despite the lip service paid out in mec's press release.
This paragraph basically makes you look like a closed minded fool who relies on stereotypes to back up your arguments. Maybe you aren't -- I don't know you. But it's a good basis for my assumption.