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  #41  
Old Posted May 3, 2008, 5:26 PM
raisethehammer raisethehammer is offline
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well, at least you understand what I'm saying.
Thanks for finally quoting me. Next time, feel free to do it the first time instead of the 3rd.
She doesn't come downtown, therefore, I don't care what she has to say about downtown.
Pretty simple stuff.

As for why the Spec prints things like this, I have no idea. Lack of decent letters coming in I guess.
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  #42  
Old Posted May 3, 2008, 6:41 PM
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I would welcome the higher powers to put a fork in these diatribes.

Anyways, I don't think that two way conversions are preventing people from going downtown at all. Two ways are far more compatible with pedestrianization. I also fail to see any shortage of parking in Hamilton. Perhaps the best thing to do is try to discuss with individuals the downside of one ways in a more reasonable matter. As a Hamilton outsider I find the one way streets very confusing and infective in taking me where I want to go. For example, if I miss a destination I need to go a couple streets up and try to find one ways to take me back to my original destination. If these were two ways I could do a U-Turn or I could find an easier alternative to getting back around the block. Although one ways may be faster in taking you straight through, two ways can make it much easier to get to your destination. This is especially if you are not familiar with the street system.
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  #43  
Old Posted May 3, 2008, 7:01 PM
DC83 DC83 is offline
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^^ I never really understood the 'never any parking' argument as there is obviously LOADS of empty lots to park in downtown area.
I think I finally fig'd it out tho... I don't think the problem is a lack of parking space, but rather a lack of FREE parking. Make sense?

I read that lady's article (why was that even published, anyway?) and it doesn't make much sense to me. If she's coming from Grimsby, wouldn't she come into downtown via Burlington Street? How does James Street traffic slow her down? If anything, I think whoever said it b4 was right, this was published to get pro-two-way-conversionists (is that a word? haha) to rally against her & her 'cause'.
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  #44  
Old Posted May 3, 2008, 9:40 PM
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^^ I never really understood the 'never any parking' argument as there is obviously LOADS of empty lots to park in downtown area.
I think I finally fig'd it out tho... I don't think the problem is a lack of parking space, but rather a lack of FREE parking. Make sense?

I read that lady's article (why was that even published, anyway?) and it doesn't make much sense to me. If she's coming from Grimsby, wouldn't she come into downtown via Burlington Street? How does James Street traffic slow her down? If anything, I think whoever said it b4 was right, this was published to get pro-two-way-conversionists (is that a word? haha) to rally against her & her 'cause'.
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Travelling on James Street is now such a frustrating experience that we avoid downtown entirely. We used to go frequently to the public library, the marketplace and Head-of-the-lake Historical Society meetings.
.
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  #45  
Old Posted May 3, 2008, 11:05 PM
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All of these locations could be accessed without ever driving on James Street. I guess it begs the question of what the disconnect is? Seems like carpet bombing to me.
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  #46  
Old Posted May 3, 2008, 11:29 PM
highwater highwater is offline
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Oy. I drive up and/or down James at least once or twice a week and it's a piece of cake. If this woman is denying herself the library, the market, and Head-of-the-Lake meetings because of some perceived difficulty she is either a) grossly over-stating her case, or b) completely irrational. Either way, she shouldn't have been given a quarter of the Spec opinion page.
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  #47  
Old Posted May 4, 2008, 12:29 AM
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James and John were hell to drive on for a few weeks after the conversion. Maybe that's what she remembers. Everyone changed their driving patterns and it's fine now. Apparently the pattern change some people chose was to stay away from the area
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  #48  
Old Posted May 4, 2008, 2:20 AM
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I drove down James today a couple times and had to stop for a few red lights. No harm done.
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  #49  
Old Posted May 4, 2008, 3:14 AM
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I drove down James today a couple times and had to stop for a few red lights. No harm done.
Heaven forbid!!!
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  #50  
Old Posted May 4, 2008, 5:46 AM
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Originally Posted by highwater View Post
Oy. I drive up and/or down James at least once or twice a week and it's a piece of cake. If this woman is denying herself the library, the market, and Head-of-the-Lake meetings because of some perceived difficulty she is either a) grossly over-stating her case, or b) completely irrational. Either way, she shouldn't have been given a quarter of the Spec opinion page.
Nail. Hit. Head.
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  #51  
Old Posted May 7, 2008, 7:40 PM
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The Spec printed a letter to the editor today critical of last week's Dorothy Turcotte article.
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  #52  
Old Posted May 8, 2008, 2:06 PM
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The Spec printed a letter to the editor today critical of last week's Dorothy Turcotte article.
And 2 letters today, one being mine
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  #53  
Old Posted May 8, 2008, 4:24 PM
JT Jacobs JT Jacobs is offline
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And 2 letters today, one being mine
I was glad to see those letters. We can't let uninformed, illogical opinion like Dorothy's opinion piece stand. It's too important in shaping the collective opinion.

Goon on ya!
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  #54  
Old Posted May 8, 2008, 4:36 PM
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The Spectator makes a point of publishing provocative op-eds in the hopes that they will generate commentary on the letters page. To the extent that this gets people a) thinking rigorously about the issue and b) engaged enough to write a letter, it's arguably a net positive for the level of public debate.

Look at the front page article a couple of weeks ago quoting Councillor Ferguson's opposition to running rapid transit on dedicated lanes. It probably did more to galvanize public support for light rail than a positive lead-off would have done.
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  #55  
Old Posted May 9, 2008, 6:15 AM
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Ryan,

That's fine as long as they intend to achieve that result.

Publishing nonsensical opinion pieces or quotes from the likes of Ferguson, et al. in the hope that it will stir up debate and galvanize public support for LRT is fine.

Publishing nonsensical opinion pieces or quotes from the likes of Ferguson, et al. because the editor thinks they are legitimate positions to be taken seriously, with the unintended result of galvanizing public support for LRT is like playing Russian roulette. It may have worked this time, but any day now that kind of reporting is going to backfire (hmm...I haven't seen galvanized public support for the Lister Block despite the number of articles calling it an eyesore and decrepit)

Seems like a bad idea to me. What kind of ragtag newspaper is this? How about reporting the news for a change and leaving the opinions to the bloggers?
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  #56  
Old Posted May 9, 2008, 12:09 PM
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I'm inclined to agree with you, beanmedic. I think the first priority for the newspapers should be to report the facts, not play he said-she said with opposing factions. As I like to say, if a group was claiming that the earth is flat, the newspaper article would be titled, 'Opinions differ over shape of earth'.

When someone makes a claim, it's not enough just to report what the person said. The newspaper also has a responsibility to investigate whether the claim is factual and accurate. Unfortunately, that's not the way the newspapers see things.

In the case of Councillor Ferguson's "rebellion" comment, it happened to work out well. Instead of galvanizing opposition to urban revitalization, Ferguson seems instead to have jumped the shark, revealing himself as someone completely out of touch with growing public awareness of climate change, rising energy prices, and auto-dependence.

However, I'm with you in the general case. I'd rather see the newspaper do its job of investigating and reporting the facts.
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  #57  
Old Posted May 10, 2008, 2:31 AM
the dude the dude is offline
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As I like to say, if a group was claiming that the earth is flat, the newspaper article would be titled, 'Opinions differ over shape of earth'.
haha so true. in an effort to promote fairness, the mainstream media decided that all points of view were valid and should be shared. we've battled with this logic here on ssp as well. in the end, it just creates confusion among its readers and viewers. shocking though it may be, not everyone deserves to be heard!
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  #58  
Old Posted May 10, 2008, 6:52 AM
highwater highwater is offline
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I imagine this faux fairness is driven by the desire to appeal to as broad a base as possible in order to sell more papers. Ironically, all they've done is devalue themselves as a credible source of objective information, make people cynical about the profession of journalism in general, and force their more demanding readers (who would otherwise be their strongest supporters) to look elsewhere for information. Afterall, when all statements and ideas are treated as equal, and no one dares to give us any guide posts, the info barrage just becomes so much white noise and you tune out.

I realize there are market forces at work, but sometimes I wonder if alot of this crap doesn't come down to intellectual laziness on the part of journalists (and editors) themselves. Or maybe there aren't enough editors anymore to nip this type of BS in the bud. Either way, I think our journalism schools have alot to answer for.
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  #59  
Old Posted May 10, 2008, 6:57 AM
highwater highwater is offline
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Oops. Guess I've strayed off topic. Unless the subtext of this thread is "Let's talk about dopey opinion pieces about one-way streets", then I'm still good.
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  #60  
Old Posted May 10, 2008, 7:07 AM
highwater highwater is offline
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Also guilty of overuse of the rhetorical tic "either way..."

Please don't delete me mods , I'm shutting up now.
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