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.

A winter storm rolls into Southwestern Ontario

A passenger gets a shot of winter driving conditions through a wet windshield.

Traffic moves slowly as vehicles navigate the snowy roads in London, Ontario. Canada may be famous for snow and winter but often Canadians living in the Southwest Region of Ontario are not well prepared for winter snow storms. Many drivers save money by not equipping their vehicles with winter tires. It's foolish but not uncommon.

Former country roads often missing sidewalks

Walking to the bank, the grocery store, the drugstore and other assorted places is not a long walk from my suburban home. The above photo was taken with a 28mm wide angle lens. The red light in the distance is clearly not all that far away. The stores are at that corner.

Yet, a lot of folk won't make the walk from my neighbourhood to the new stores that recently opened nearby. Why? Because of the lack of a sidewalk beside the major road which is the only reasonable route by foot to the new stores.

Luckily, there is an option. There is an older shopping area just a little farther away. There are sidewalks all the way to the older shopping disrict.

Not a lot of snow but certainly cold enough

I decided to walk to the bank this afternoon. Luckily I brought along a balaclava. It was -17 degrees Centigrade with the wind chill factored into the equation here in London, Ontario. I met no one else walking anywhere. The bank is rather nearby but it was still take-the-car weather.

Walking on water

One of the lights that guide vessels into the harbour can be seen in the distance.

Lake Erie is frozen. The lake is not frozen all the way accross, although this has happened when the winter is much, much colder than this year. On my visit to Port Stanley, forty-five minutes south of London, I found the ice simply hugging the shoreline.

Some years the ice creates massive, sculptural shapes thanks to the wind and the cold, but so far the results this winter are dull. Maybe the spring thaw will break the ice into large blocks to be blown into tall, jagged piles.

Living in the city

Suburban families enjoy the neighbourhood toboggan hill.

I've kept my granddaughter away from 'the hill.' It doesn't frighten her; It attracts her. I see the threat of injury; She sees the promise of fun — excitement. I'm a senior; She's a kid — a three-year-old kid.

'The hill' is a slope behind the houses immediately across from my suburban home. My granddaughter sometimes sees families leaving 'the hill' after an afternoon of sledding. She knows other kids use the long slope and doesn't understand why I won't take her there.

It frightens me. And after chatting with some of the parents, I've learned it frightens some of them, too. One common solution is to take the kids to the half-way point, or maybe a little further down, and let them slide down from there.

Most kids don't argue and I think some are quietly happy not to have to muster up the courage to slide down 'the hill' from the very top. It can be a heck of a ride.