Surface parking is a plague on the city (most empty surface lots on the waterfront are actually on land that was reclaimed long ago). Unfortunately, there's a group of mainly northender's that have been taking notes from Halifax's Heritage Trust group. Of course, some of the developers have to be kept in check, as the pre-fire back-and-forth surrounding the yacht club showed, so there's a very polarized development atmosphere in Sydney at the moment.
I love the industrial vibe Nouvelle-Ecosse speaks of, and I really don't notice the surface parking until someone brings it up...then I remember the huge lot on the Charlotte-Pitt-George-Dorchester block and the large lot behind the CIC buildings on Dorchester and George.
North Sydney often gets mistaken for Sydney with people catching the ferry if they've never been or don't remember being to Sydney. It used to drive me nuts, but it's much easier to show the difference nowadays with the ease of access the interwebs bring (ok, I feel like a grandpa now...crap).
@Signal - if you ever find yourself back on the south shore of the strait, I would love to see the city through your lens. (actually, that goes for anyone else who finds themselves in the area for whatever reason). Sydney is out of the way a bit, but it's only 20-30 minutes from the ferry terminal to downtown Sydney, and the eastern route (route 4) is actually shorter to get to the mainland.
Anyway, thanks all for the comments. Glad you enjoyed the threads.