Panel data provided by Madison's Canadian Lumber Reporter.

A Different View of Downtown

By 250 News

First off, let me explain something about my opinion. It is something only just above four feet in height. I am in a wheelchair.  I mention this, not because of any desire to become the poster boy for Muscular Dystrophy or any other disability group... I mention it so you don't just click onto the next story when I offer to express an opinion on the situation down town. I do have a somewhat different perspective. And, let's face it, downtown needs as much perspective as it can get.

 

On the downside, let's talk about the refurbishing of Third Avenue.

I do not know the actual dollar figure associated with the project, but I know it was expensive and I don't know what it was meant to accomplish! The canopies that formerly stretched out over the sidewalk may not have been the most aesthetically pleasing architecture but they were functional. In a city where shoppers are subject to weather extremes ranging from deep freeze to blast furnace with intermittent hail and rain, sidewalk users need shade and shelter. With the "improvements", we lost most shade and shelter.

We also got a multi-planed walking surface. The narrow strip along the storefronts slants down to a slab of concrete that is about half the width of an average sidewalk. That drops off to the fancy brickwork that runs out to the curb. That brickwork, spotted with holes for poles and struggling young trees, is already settling unevenly. Shop owners need people to look at their window displays, not at the treacherous footing. I'm sure it all looked swell in the pastel-colored architects rendering, but on the ground the plan has created a narrow, uneven obstacle course that challenges two up-right and nimble citizens to pass each other easily, never mind someone in a wheelchair, with a walker, or even a baby stroller. But maybe it's good for our social interaction. After all, you do have to keep making eye contact with oncoming traffic to decide who is going to dodge.

And, speaking of social interaction, on the Up Side, downtown has the farmers market; a tiny bit of proof that people will assemble in the heart of the city as long as the heart is still pumping. Just give them an excuse! Veggies, bedding plants and bison steaks... arts and crafts from buskers to beadwork... There are as many reasons to visit the court house square marketplace as there are people who show up every Saturday. Everyone, from college professors to panhandlers enjoys it and that's the way it should be. The farmers market is a weekly demonstration of the very social nature of the Prince George community.

The decision to shut down that block of Third Avenue during market hours promotes safety and protects market goers. If that decision hasn't been made for the entire summer, it should be! It's the kind of action by the city that supports activity downtown without busting in to the budget..

-This different "view" is from "T-J",  who has lived in Prince George for more than two decades.

Previous Story - Next Story



Return to Home