Man I have so much to say on the topic but don't feel like developing a strain to my thumbs using my phone here.
As many know, I'm a sort of ambassador of hope for DTK...went downtown to eat tonight, counted more homeless/marginalized folks then non-homeless...and let's get real, come evening time, it isn't that much different in non-COVID times. After getting yelled at by a seemingly harmless off-meds gentleman, we spent a short bit in downtown and made our way to uptown...actually ended up in Paris ON out of sheer boredom.
Uptown Waterloo has done a remarkably better job of being pedestrian welcoming (I know having the unis there plays a role). Having the water feature and city hall square closed in DTK all summer doesn't help. Last summer it was better with that area open and FourAll pop up shop (don't tell me about social distancing - how is FourAll making it work in Uptown? 20 mins lines from open to close)
When I think about it, on top of the LRT being a colossal missed opportunity in reach (and I do like the idea of an LRT)...I realized it should have been touching king a lot sooner than Victoria. Yes its not far being one street over but often times, with developments and proxities, the street level matters. It should be in site and on mind (along with 8 to 10 tenticles feeding into the mainline with expansion plans for 6 to 8 more as the city expands).
In all, there was absolutely nothing, not one pull in keeping people in DTK tonight.
As many know, I'm a sort of ambassador of hope for DTK...went downtown to eat tonight, counted more homeless/marginalized folks then non-homeless...and let's get real, come evening time, it isn't that much different in non-COVID times. After getting yelled at by a seemingly harmless off-meds gentleman, we spent a short bit in downtown and made our way to uptown...actually ended up in Paris ON out of sheer boredom.
Uptown Waterloo has done a remarkably better job of being pedestrian welcoming (I know having the unis there plays a role). Having the water feature and city hall square closed in DTK all summer doesn't help. Last summer it was better with that area open and FourAll pop up shop (don't tell me about social distancing - how is FourAll making it work in Uptown? 20 mins lines from open to close)
When I think about it, on top of the LRT being a colossal missed opportunity in reach (and I do like the idea of an LRT)...I realized it should have been touching king a lot sooner than Victoria. Yes its not far being one street over but often times, with developments and proxities, the street level matters. It should be in site and on mind (along with 8 to 10 tenticles feeding into the mainline with expansion plans for 6 to 8 more as the city expands).
In all, there was absolutely nothing, not one pull in keeping people in DTK tonight.