Thai Cusine or why folks like their cars

A Thai take on won ton soup.

The little restaurant is simply called Thai Cuisine. The food is fresh, delicious and inexpensive. The restaurant, frequented by Londoners, is in Mt. Brydges — a little town to the west of the big city. It is a drive of about 20 km for many of its London customers.

This soup, with its coconut milk base, is yummy.

It takes me 20 minutes to drive there and it costs me about $1.10 in fuel. Thai Cuisine my be located in another community but thanks to my ownership of a VW Jetta TDI, the cost in time and money to enjoy a meal there is quite reasonable.

Urban planners in London talk a good line about the need for mass transit and they are right but they are only addressing a part of the transportation story. People like to drive when neither their feet nor their local bus will do.

Our urban planners appear to hate the car. If you want to hear about bikes, they are eager to talk but if you want to talk about how to make the car more successful, well, you are barking up the wrong freeway.

I have been to some cities that are heavily dependent on mass transit: Toronto, Paris, New York. Yet, there is a place for the car in all three cities and that place is fraught with attendant problems. That is why Paris is experimenting with the best way to get folk out of their cars — offer them another car. Think autolib', the electric-car sharing scheme being tested in Paris, France. And here is a link to an article: 100,000 rentals!

More links to Thai Cuisine, Mt. Brydges:

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Asparagus growing in suburbia

I took this shot just the other day. Two pounds for $5.00 is a very fair price.

It is asparagus season and the little asparagus farm near my suburban home is open. For just a few short weeks each spring the little farm has freshly-picked asparagus for sale. It is just about the only crop grown on the little plot of land beside a gravel pit and surrounded on every other side by suburban homes.

This asparagus farm is a short walk from my suburban home.

I so hope the family that owns the land continues to farm it well into the future. There is something quite wonderful about strolling from one's home to an asparagus farm. To make everything just that much better, the green stalks are delicious. The asparagus is far better than the stuff in the supermarket shipped in from Peru.

Thousands of trilliums blanket forest floors

There are a number of place in the London area to view the spring spectacle of thousands of trilliums in bloom: Warbler Woods, Meadowlily Woods, and Longwoods Conservation Area west of Delaware.

Warbler Woods is mostly the classic white trilliums. That is where I took my granddaughter Saturday to view the flowers. I understand there are more of the red variety of trilliums to be found on a walk through the Meadowlily area. The last time I was at Longwoods, there were a lot of the green striped white trilliums. The green striped flowers are actually infected with a virus. Eventually the diseased plants will die from the infection but it is a long process.

Pink trilliums are found everywhere as these are simply white blooms showing their age.

The trillium is the official provincial flower and often appears on government stuff in a number of stylized forms. 

There is a myth that it is illegal to pick a trillium. It isn't. That said, it is often illegal to pick any flower on land that is not your own. This rule goes double for provincial parks and for the many conservation areas that dot the province.

Years ago my daughter picked some trilliums that were growing on the land beside a  nearby gravel pit. The land was soon to be savagely disturbed by a bulldozer clearing the land for commercial purposes. It was not illegal for the gravel pit owner to rip out hundreds of trilliums growing on his land and I'm sure he did not mind my daughter rescuing a few.

Fiona, my granddaughter, loved her "first walk in the woods." She asked for my camera and took a few pictures to remember the day. She got a nice shot for a three-year-old. See below:

Photographer: Fiona Blair (three-years-old)

I love it when Fiona drops to her knees to find a better angle. It is so cute to see a little three-year-old with more sophisticated photography skills than shooters ten times her age. I'm quite impressed with the enthusiasm for life shown by little kids. We could all learn from the little tykes.

Warbler Woods, more than trilliums: mushrooms!

My wife and I took our granddaughter for a walk in Warbler Woods yesterday. My wife and I thought it would be nice to show her the thousands and thousands of trilliums that blanket the forest floor at this time of year. The trillium is the provincial flower. Tomorrow I will post a photo of the flowers but today I will post a picture of something my granddaughter discovered — mushrooms. She discovered that damp forest floors contain "yots and yots" of different mushrooms — all very exciting to a three-year-old.

Sprawl: What exactly is sprawl

Saying this neighbourhood sprawls does not seem accurate.

Urban planners like to toss about the word "sprawl" to describe suburban living. Yes, the new homes are being built on former farmland. And yes, someday we may miss that farmland. But, maybe a good argument could be made that there is no more sprawl to be found in suburbia today than went down a hundred years ago in the older downtown neighbourhoods.

I used Google map, satellite view to compare housing density in the old neighbourhoods of London and the new suburban ones. The neighbourhoods that I compared indicated that there is no more sprawl today than in the past.

In fact, in some cases it appears the old neighbourhoods with their huge back yards, big front yards, laneways and wide streets don't seem to be anywhere near as densely built as many newer suburban neighbourhoods.

Clearly, if we are to save our farmland and halt the expansion of our cities, we have to do more than attack sprawl.

For some perspective on the problem, consider this:

Between 1971 and 2011, urbanization consumed an area of farmland almost three times the size of Prince Edward Island. By 2001, about half of Canada’s urbanized land was located on the country’s “most productive farmland,” according to Statistics Canada.

—  source: NDACT 

A Jane magnolia?

I'm believe this is a Jane magnolia tree bloom on a tree in my backyard.

My wife wanted a magnolia tree. We bought one. We planted it on our hill. It died. We bought another. Planted it on our hill. It too died. Finally we bought one that promised not to grow too big. This one would fit in our small backyard without reaching either the roof of our home or the steep slope at the back of the yard.

It's a beautiful tree. It has lasted a number of years. It has survived both summers, dry, and winters, cold. But the blooms are not quite what we envisioned. The flowers are long, thin, magenta pedals that spread out from a core in an almost loose star shape.

Thanks to the Internet, I think I've figured out what we have. It's a Jane magnolia. A member of the "Little Girl" group of hybrid magnolias, it promises to remain smallish. Some call the Jane magnolia, developed in the mid '50s at the U.S. National Arboretum, a shrub rather than a tree.

The Jane magnolia blooms later in spring than many other magnolia varieties and this is good for a tree in London, Ontario. This late blooming lessens the risk that it will lose its flower buds to frost damage.

With luck our tree/shrub will not get taller than 15-feet or less and its spread may not be more than six-feet in any direction. It sounds perfect.

For London, this is a dense development

Just driving by this area one might be tempted to call this a snout nosed subdivision. In my opinion, that would be wrong. These are examples of the garage forward look. There is a difference. One, the snout, is a subset of the other, the garage forward.

Think of the old dictum form follows function dictum.This style of housing offers short driveways, no laneway behind the home to be cleared in winter and ample parking inside the garage and on the driveway. This is a very functional design. It is no wonder it is popular with new home buyers.

These homes are placed well forward on relatively narrow lots. Many of the homes have small, but covered, porches. Critics, who think a porch must wrap around a home on a least two sides, would not be satisfied. I say, "Forget the critics." The look is good and one stays dry while looking for the house keys in wet weather.

If you look carefully, you will see a young woman sitting on the top step of the second home in on the right. I also saw people sitting on their little front lawns. It is a pleasant and inviting neighbourhood. I'm not surprised folk like to sit outside, enjoy the evening, and greet their neighbours as the stroll by.

Critics don't know walkable

Many new subdivisions are pleasant places for an evening stroll.

Today was possibly the warmest day of year. It hit at least 22-degrees centigrade. Nice.

I live in a rapidly expanding area of London. New homes are springing up like proverbial weeds. Originally the area where this picture was taken was going to be London's first foray into new urbanism. The plan collapsed.

The little community centre with traditional shopping, that the local paper had claimed was so important to the area's success, mutated into a common neighbourhood shopping centre. It is just where you'd expect it, at a nearby major intersection. Although one could walk to shop, and some folk do, most people drive. No surprise here, unless you are a believer in new urbanist myths.

Londoners want walkable neighbourhoods and the suburban developments are not answering that need, or so the local paper is always telling its readers. I'm flummoxed. Why do they say such stuff when reality so clearly is proving these claims wrong?

The new neighbourhood streets had lots of people out strolling, enjoying the warm spring evening. Young couples were everywhere, some with children and some without. New streets, new homes, new dreams. A few of the young people living here today will still be living here when they retire, I'd bet on it. This is a neighbourhood.

What the critics don't seem to understand is that give people a safe, clean street, lined with good housing and people will walk. In the short time I was taking pictures, I said hello and got smiles from half a dozen area residents. Yes, this is a neighbourhood, and a good one.

Male grackles fighting

Two male common grackles exhibiting their aggressive nature.

It was quite the battle: fast, vicious and long. Two male grackles pecked, clawed and beat their feathers as they struggled to get the best of the other combatant. No clear idea why these two were going at it but it might have been a dispute over food, they were under a bird feeder stocked with corn — a favourite grackle food. Or, it might have been a mating display. A female was watching from a safe distance.

Is this a good neighbourhood?

Recently a fellow I rather admire, claimed Londoners want condos like the ones shown above. He says they are selling very well — so well that the developer has applied to city council’s planning committee for permission to begin construction of the second phase. This is ahead of schedule.

This building actually looks quite good — better than in my picture, that's for sure. Still, it has a problem, a big problem. Location. It sits on the edge of a highrise jungle that may be the largest, densest grouping of apartment towers in the entire city.

For a more in depth look at this area of London and an introduction to the Palmer Park Historic Apartment District, please click the following link: Maybe ReThink London should remember Detroit.

Neighbours

When I see apartment towers almost in the backyards of nearby homes, I wonder if the home owners knew tall apartment buildings were planned for their neighbourhood. Is this apartment building too close to the one story homes? What do you think?

Cardinals return to southwestern Ontario

It has been a colder and wetter spring than normal but that hasn't stopped birds, like the bright red cardinals, from returning to southwestern Ontario. The nice thing about a spring like this year's is that the buds on the fruit trees are not seduced by warm weather into bursting into flower too early. Last year was a warm spring and the almost inevitable late frost killed the blossoms, just about destroying the fruit crop.

Even mini urban cores losing businesses

The TD Canada Trust in downtown Lambeth has closed.

Some years ago, Lambeth was a separate little town on the south edge of London. It liked to be known as "Lovely Lambeth." Well, the little place isn't quite so little anymore, nor is it as lovely, nor is it an independent little town. It has been annexed into the expanding London urban monolith.

Within walking distance of many Lambeth homes, it still closed.

London's downtown is suffering. And the former commercial core of Lambeth is also suffering, and for some of the same reasons: For example, competition from suburban development is killing the old main street businesses.

London lost a number of its bank branches in the core. As businesses left, I imagine a lot of the commercial business also left.

Driving through Lambeth I noticed that one of the few banks in the town core has closed. It has moved to a suburban outdoor mall a couple of kilometres away.

I wonder what a dying downtown in a real small town says about the new urbanism theories? The Lambeth downtown is located in the middle of an older, grid patterned neighbourhood. The TD Canada Trust bank that has closed was within a short walk of lots of homes, and it had adequate parking at the side. Yet, it closed.

The new bank has a drive-thru but is more than two kilometres distant.

The new Sarnia Rd. Bridge

Yesterday I posted a view from the new Sarnia Rd. bridge. Until recently an heritage bridge built around 1890 in St. James, Manitoba, and relocated to London in 1909, was the span carrying traffic across the CP railway in northwest London.

The new bridge is clean and modern.

The old truss bridge was removed and put into storage, a move heritage groups supported. Pin-connected truss bridges are exceedingly rare in Ontario, yet London has one in storage and another in use — the restored King St. pedestrian bridge in the city core.

If you'd like to know more about the old, single lane iron bridge that until recently spanned the rail line, click on the link, "old truss bridge", above.

Today the crossing is so wide, the approach so long and gently curved, one hardly notices that one is on a bridge crossing the tracks. I miss the old bridge but with all the subdivisions being built in the area, the old bridge had to go.

CP rail line in northwest London

It looks quiet now, but this lone track carries rail traffic 24-hours a day. This is the Canada Pacific  main line in northwest London. Note the arc of an interesting wooden bridge spanning the tracks in the distance.

Heritage gas station has a new life

This heritage gas station on Main Street in Lambeth has seen a number of uses since it ceased pumping gas. Today it is the Jubilee Kafe — a cafe serving gluten free foods.

Stations like this were once common but most have been demolished. This one keeps being reborn but one must wonder how long until it too is history.

Lambeth was once a separate small town but was annexed an is now a part of London.

Time to remove the snow tires.

Londoners are yearning for spring and eager to leave winter behind. The temp hits 10 degrees Centigrade Saturday and the walking trail at Springbank Park was packed. Folks were walking, jogging, cycling and skate boarding along the wide, paved roadway. And not only was the pathway crowded. The playground was filled, the swings and slides all in use.

It is time to remove the snow tires.

A palace worthy of the Roman Catholic Bishops

When I moved to London, I lived in an area once known as Petersville. It was a suburb of London built on the low lying land across the Thames River from London proper.

When I went for a walk about the neighbourhood I would cross the North Branch of the Thames River at the Blackfriars Bridge. Above the large wrought iron span, overlooking the Petersville and Blackfriars neighbourhoods, there was a large and somewhat rundown looking white home with massive columns gracing the front.

I have since learned that the magnificent home was designed by a local architect, William Robinson, and it originally presented a less grandiose appearance. The massive columns were added before the home was donated to the Roman Catholic Church to be used as the new Bishop's Residence.

Reportedly, the donor, John Donally of Buffalo, New York, didn't find the original Italianate look regal enough for the bishops of London.

Today, thanks to some creative thinking, the old home has been converted into four condominiums and the structure may be around for many years to come.

Spring!

The blur in the image is caused by shooting through the kitchen window.

Robins, cardinals, mourning doves: they have all returned. This afternoon my wife and I saw our first chipmunk. I don't think there can be any argument. Despite the snow that still dots the city, I think it's safe to say, "Spring is here!"

Blackfriars Bridge: Hasn't it earned its retirement?

Pedestrian walkway is original, the second railing is a modification.

It's time to put the Blackfriars Bridge out of its misery — and make no mistake about it, the beautiful, heritage structure is suffering. The passing years, 137 to be exact, have taken their toll.

Decorative caps are missing from fasteners on the walkway barrier, original iron bracing is bent and distorted, the structure has been modified for pedestrian safety and overall bridge integrity.

Some decorative caps covering fasteners are missing.

London's Blackfriars Bridge is a bowstring through-truss bridge built in 1875 by the Wrought Iron Bridge Company (WIBC) of Canton, Ohio. With a main span of 225 feet, the bridge in London can brag it sports the longest span of any remaining bowstring truss bridge in North America.

Bowstrings are among the rarest types of truss bridges today but they enjoyed a brief period of popularity from about 1855 into the 1880s.

During that period, thousands of wrought iron bowstring truss bridges were produced by numerous American bridge builders but two Ohio-based manufacturers stand out: WIBC of Canton and King Iron Bridge, King Manufacturing Company, Cleveland. The bowstring was the most commonly erected all-metal bridge of the 1870s and both Ohio companies sold their own patented bowstring designs.

In 1875 not one but two WIBC designed and fabricated bridges were erected over the Thames River in London, Ontario: The Blackfriars Bridge and a sister bridge, the Victoria, at the southern end of Ridout Street. The Victoria was replaced in 1926.

Replacement support for upper handrail is a serious mismatch.

Both bridges were manufactured in Ohio and transported by rail to London. These were the first metal bridges to be erected in London.

Using some 9000 lbs. of wrought iron and cast iron, a bridge like the Blackfriars gives a whole new meaning to the warning "some assembly required." Often the factory sent along an engineer to assist with construction.

Contrary to local folklore, the London bridge is not the only wrought iron bowstring truss bridge still carrying vehicular traffic in North America. There are at least six others but not one carries the amount of daily traffic endured by the hard-working London span.

I believe asking a century old, and then some, bridge to carry 4000 vehicles a day 365 days a year is foolish. Think of the damage that winter road-salt alone inflicts on this treasure. And make no mistake, the London bridge is a treasure. The Boner Road Bridge in Indiana, built in 1869, has been completely restored. Yet, it is only asked to carry limited traffic.

Boner Bridge, a three span bowstring truss, has been completely restored.

And the Boner Bridge is not the only bowstring that has been lovingly restored. There are others but with one big difference: Most were restored and then retired to a future of pedestrian traffic only. I know of 20 bowstring truss bridges that have been re-purposed for pedestrian/cyclist use only.

Restored Rodrick Bridger relocated to university campus.

The Rodrick Bridge, built in 1872, was removed from its original location over Wills Creek, Coshocton County, to be restored and relocated in 1998 to Ohio State University-Newark Campus where it has been re-purposed for pedestrians and cyclists.

One of my favourite stories is the one surrounding the Old Richardsville Road Bridge in Kentucky. The old road, and thus the bridge, receives only limited use. Why: There is a new Richardsville Road.

Old Richardsville Rd. Bridge still carries vehicular traffic.

A gentleman living on the old road, David Gavin, assumed the upkeep of the beautiful, neighbourhood bridge. He has spent $175,000 of his own money replacing the deck with treated pine and replacing deteriorating iron rivets. A three span bridge made in 1889 by the King company, it's a beauty. David Gavin can take a well-earned bow.

The Blackfriars Bridge, with its 225-foot clear span, eliminated the intermediate supports required by the previous wooden bridges. In theory, the river-spanning length minimized the risk of a wash out caused by spring floods. It was a good theory; The Blackfriars Bridge is entering its 139th year of service.

It's time to find our beautiful, heritage bridge a new home. At the very least, let's move it a few feet up or down river — which ever makes the most sense. Let's restore our wrought iron work of art and craft. Let's give our now-rare-beauty another century or more of life.

Remember the five Rs:

1. Remove it
2. Restore it
3. Relocate it
4. Re-purpose it
5. Reuse it

Remove it, restore it and reserve it for walkers and cyclists only.

Below

The first three pictures (below) show the wooden bridges that once served the area. Note the mid river supports required by all the wooden structures.The last picture is an early image of the Blackfriars Bridge still in use today.

Note the in-river supports required by the wooden bridges at this location.

Ivey Family London Room, London Public Library, London, Ontario, Canada

Another photo from The Tree of Light

Here is another shot from The Tree of Light show. I wonder if the city could put the show on again in the summer when the warmer weather would encourage more folk to come downtown for the viewing.

Of course, the figure skating theme might be one strike against a summer showing.   :-(

They call it 3D projection mapping; I call it cool.

The show was called The Tree of Light and it was part of the City of London's celebration of the 2013 World Figure Skating Championships. The skating competition was held inside the city's Budweiser Gardens arena and the high-tech light show was held on the outside of the arena. Both were steeped in the wow-factor.

The neatest illusion of the light show was the "unwrapping of the arena." That was just so cool. But there were lots of other bits of absolutely gorgeous eye-candy. No surprise here as the show was done by the well-known Canadian company specializing in these shows called the Moment Factory out of Montreal, Quebec.

There has been a lot of controversy about the championships and whether or not hosting them was worth it. But, the argument is based on a false dichotomy. Hosting these events is not question of profit vs. loss.

These events rarely return big bucks to the host communities. What they do do is put a town under a stress test. Can the community be trusted to host a big, complicated event and pull it off smoothly, professionally, without a hitch? This is the feather-in-the-cap award and London walked away a winner.

The Budweiser Gardens arena is a fine arena. And it is run very professionally. It has been said to be among the top fifty entertainment complexes of its type in the world. The smooth delivery of support for the figure skating event certainly lends credence to that reputation.

Some days I am proud to say I'm from London.

London's jet d'eau in winter

The Walter J. Blackburn Memorial Fountain at the forks of the Thames shoots recycled river water from seven stainless steel jets daily from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. winter and summer. Financed by a $450,000 donation from the Blackburn estate, the fountain was the realization of a decades-old dream of the late Walter and Marjorie Blackburn. It may be inspired by the 'jet d'eau' in Geneva, Switzerland, but the London fountain is not a copy of the Swiss one. Google the Geneva jet d'eau and you will appreciate the fine design of the London installation.

Spring is in the air

The temperature hit 14-degrees Centigrade today in London, Ontario. Nice. The snow is melting, the roads are bare and folk can be seen walking everywhere throughout my neighbourhood.

You might notice in the above picture that people walk both on the sidewalk and on the street. A modern suburb, the streets are laid out in crescents and courts, with a few long, meandering roads servicing all. The heavy traffic is on the long, meandering roads. The remainder, the feeder streets are relatively quiet. For that reason, people often ignore the sidewalks.

I have touched on this in the past, but I'm going to flog this one more time. Suburban neighbourhoods like mine are walkable places. It is often a myth that downtown cores are more walkable places to live than the suburbs.

In fact, if you think about it, many downtown cores are horrible places to walk. Few stores to walk to but a gauntlet of street beggers that must be run.

Costco moves massive amounts of product

I hated Costco. I could not understand why thousands of Londoners (London, ON) packed the large warehouse-like store every weekend. Then my wife went there with a friend with a membership. My wife saw the prices and I saw the quality of the stuff she brought home. I understood.

Still, I resisted going to Costco. I wouldn't even go with her friend. And then I came across an article in The New York Times: How Costco Became the Anti-Wal-Mart. I try to never buy anything at Wal-Mart.

Google Costco yourself. What you find may surprise you. It surprised me.

I've now been to the giant, warehouse store. I bought pickles. Montreal made pickles. Canadian made pickles. Costco didn't seem to carry those awful made-in-India pickles. The Montreal pickles are  wonderful except for one drawback. The jar is warehouse sized. The big question is "Can I eat all these pickles before they go soft?" If you have to toss 'em, they aren't a bargain.

So, I also picked up some Montreal smoked meat. It too was very good and there was enough to make lots of Reubens.

I went to the locally owned Angelo's and got some proper freshly baked bread, some deli mustard, some good sauerkraut and some real Swiss cheese. I returned home to make Reubens.

Interesting, I thought. Thanks to my Costco purchases I spent a small bundle at Angelo's.

Apartment building taking shape

I don't understand city planning. This apartment building is going up right next to a plaza with two banks, one credit union, a drugstore, a couple of restaurants, a fitness centre and a number of other commercial businesses. Why not put some of that commercial on the first floor of this large building, place some offices possibly on the second floor and then stack apartments on top?

As it is, this apartment is situated outside of the residential area and next to the commercial. It sits immediately beside a major east/west traffic artery. When I was a boy apartment buildings were nestled tightly into residential neighbourhoods. The apartments blocks were not quite so tall but they were still big compared to the nearby housing.

I like the idea of apartment living but I rarely like the way it is delivered. There are reasons many of us opt for a single family dwelling.

From the back new houses can look identical

Keeping construction costs down is important. Drive along a new suburban street and the homes often look similar in size but they seem to differ in design, but looks can be deceiving. Get a view of the back and sometimes the similarities are striking. In some cases, it appears one design has been repeated again and again with only the front facade changing from home to home.

Is this bad? Actually, no. Building a row of similar homes in the past was not uncommon. It kept construction costs in check back then and it keeps them in check today. My guess is that this approach to controlling costs results in fine quality homes at a competitive price.

On walking to the restaurant or bank or drug store

I believe the new Dolcetto is a locally owned business. The Italian diner is very handy to my suburban home. As can be seen from this picture, beside the Docetto there is a TD Canada Trust branch and next to that there is a Shoppers Drug Mart.

The common criticism of suburbia is that there are no businesses one can walk to. But there often are, as you can see from my pictures. But, do many folk walk to this shopping center. I'd bet the answer is no. Whether the folk live right across the street or some blocks away, I'd bet most residents of the neighbourhood take a car to the little, outdoor mall.

Is this all that much different from downtown? I doubt it. When I took my wife out for dinner recently, we went to one of our favourite downtown places. Of course, we drove, and I'll bet everyone in the diner that night drove.

When I was a kid we walked. I walked, my mother walked, the neighbours walked. Was this because the stores were even closer to our older, traditional neighbourhood? No. It was because back then lots of folk didn't have a car readily available for a quick, short trip to the store. Walking wasn't done by choice, life demanded one walk and walk and walk some more.

Sort of a snowman

Making a snowman is a winter must if you're a kid in London, Ontario. This winter has not been great for rolling the giant balls of snow suitable for making a large snowman. There have not been a lot of days offering good packing snow.

Today we could get the snow to stick and pack but it wouldn't roll along picking up layers of snow. The snowman had to been build one mitten of snow at a time. A carrot for the nose, some olives for the eyes  and some olives and bird seed for the mouth and we were almost done. A couple of windshield ice scrapers for arms and Pinky Pie was done.

I didn't name her. And yes, our snowman is a girl according to Fiona.

Downtown almost dead; Suburbia dull

At first I wanted to title this post "Downtown dead; Suburbia deadly dull." It had a good sound but it wouldn't have been true.

The downtown in London, Ontario, is sad but there are glimmers are good stuff to be found in the aging core: some fine restaurants, the central library design is brilliant and the arena/entertainment centre is one of the best in North America in a city the size of London.

And suburbia is often neat, clean, safe and handy. Saying suburbia is dull parrots an all-too-common description but it isn't really true. This little commercial strip sits beside my bank. I can get a ring re-sized, have my eyes checked, go for physio treatments, attend a Weight Watchers meeting or do a lot of other important stuff all in this one little shopping centre. To call this little commercial centre dull is somewhat true but it is hardly a full and accurate description.

As I have said before, what puzzles me is that we build stores without using the space above. We sprawl out and fail to expand up. A hundred years ago, stores like these would have had apartments above them. When I was a boy I worked at the neighbourhood drugstore and the one counter lady lived in an apartment above some stores. It was a nice little place full of lovely wood trim and real wood doors. It was small but it had style and class and it was affordable.

That lady took the bus to and from work. Her apartment, located on a main commercial street, encouraged taking the bus or even just walking.

Despite 17 below temp, I walked to bank

London's growing. When I moved to London, Ontario, I lived near the city core at the forks of the Thames River. There were lots of bank branches within walking distance of my home at that time -- back in the mid '70s. Today most of those banks are closed but I can still walk to a bank. I've moved to the suburbs and that is where the banks are all opening new branches. The building under construction in the background on the right will be the third financial branch to be built at the corner of Col. Talbot and Southdale Road W.

Saying London is growing is true but sad. The city is sprawling out, pavement poisoning farmland. Why can't North American cities encourage stores at street level, locate offices directly above the stores and then put apartments on the top levels? Some folks could actually ride an elevator to work rather than driving or taking the bus. Everyone could ride the elevator to shop. Putting the apartments on top gives all a better view, certainly better than looking straight out at a major roadway, and gets everyone somewhat above the road noise.

I look at the sprawl, shake my head, and walk home.