Caleb McMillan writes about my hometown:
Hamilton’s ongoing boondoggle is the light-rail initiative. It will breath life into the downtown, say the proponents. But a fast train to downtown won’t change the fact that there’s nothing downtown to go to. People work downtown – lawyers, bankers, service sector employees, etc – but no one actually says, “let’s go out tonight – downtown? Sure!” The closest thing downtown receives to a nightlife is the joyous company of crackheads looking for a fix or Hess Village which is still a few blocks away. The growing art scene is an opportunity that may strengthen in the coming years – but endless construction on a million dollar train will destroy any incentive to go downtown. Entrepreneurs are the force that will attract people back to the downtown core and restore the city’s wealth and culture. If there’s something to go to, people will find a way. Light-rail or not.
