Friday, March 13, 2015

SPRING HAS SPRUNG AND SO HAVE THE POTHOLES

We're now entering the Season of the Pothole, a yearly event that occurs when the snow starts to melt, revealing crater-sized potholes in local roads. Every year, citizens complain and every year, the bigger holes get filled in and the cycle begins anew.

Meanwhile, our fledgling local council seems more concerned about spending taxpayer dollars to build a school's theatre and to subsidize Jim Thibert's hobby race track than to address the real concerns of its constituents.

The other day, I made a trip over to Buffalo (first time in months.)  We had to make a stop at Ted's on Sheridan Drive for lunch. (I still miss the Ted's at Front Park, long gone due to Peace Bridge "expansion.") As we were getting into the car, a friendly guy asked us how our shopping expedition was going. we laughed and said "fine" realizing he had seen the Canadian license plate. So we got talking and he told us his family had a place in Thunder Bay. (Which means that he also pays taxes to Fort Erie.) He also said he was worried about "all the building going on in the area." So, then we talked about THE BAY BEACH TOWER. He was so glad that it wasn't going to be built ("Of Course," you might say, "he's an American summer resident.") True. But he also has a long memory of the joys of living near the beach within a few miles of Buffalo. Me too. That's why I stayed here all those years ago.

And that's why I continue to speak out when greedy, foolish people attempt to destroy the beauty and uniqueness of Fort Erie.  Personally, I think the Speedway is a bad idea for Fort Erie. It is already obvious that there would need to be significant changes and improvements to the infrastructure in order to support the speedway. The added stress to the Peace Bridge has not even been mentioned in the discourse so far. Why would anyone want such a noisy attraction so close to the town? My friend in Brooklyn, Michigan (home of a NASCAR track) tells me that race days are a nightmare in her small town. Residents cannot even leave their homes because the traffic is so severe and the noise is deafening. If the speedway is built with minimum funding from the taxpayers, then so be it. I believe that the whole thing is a tax rip-off and the people will be paying for it for generations. And, it will never be built.

All one needs to do is look across the border at the renaissance of Buffalo to see what can be done. For years, Buffalo was part of the Rust Belt, stagnating in its own lack of vision. Things changed when people with ideas and solutions came forward. Now Buffalo ends up near the top of polls on best places to live.

Those of us who lived in Buffalo all know of its great features, including the architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright. I'll tell you a story of one such treasure and how it went from near demolition to glory. It was a hard-fought, years long battle to save what my grandmother used to call "The Larkin Estate."  It was actually the Darwin Martin Home, built for and owned by the Martin Family, the wife, a daughter of the Larkin Soap Company's founder.

By the time I became aware of it, it was a run-down shell, slated for demolition. Three of its outer buildings had already been destroyed. An architect and his family bought the place and tried to restore it but the costs to do so were prohibitive. It was then sold a number of times until a group of people started a non-profit organization in 1992 to restore the complex to its former glory. It now stands as a shining example of the work of Wright and it is a major tourist draw as well.  The Martin Complex is a couple of blocks from my old stomping grounds, just steps from the Buffalo Zoo which rests in the Olmstead-designed Delaware Park. Such history, now preserved for future generations. By a city that was near extinction.

Fort Erie needs to go through its own renaissance in order to survive. Its greatest asset, its waterfront, has been exploited for personal gain by any number of people over the years. Its historic lighthouse on Point Abino was allowed to become a crumbling shell. Thanks to a dedicated group of people, the lighthouse is now restored. Access is easy? No. Is there easy access to any number of lighthouses, or for that matter, national historic treasures? No. Can anyone just walk into the Darwin Martin Complex whenever they feel like it? No. My friend and I are going to take a tour through it this spring. Costs $30.00 a person. I will give it gladly because I appreciate that this wonderful place was saved to give people the opportunity to see a genius' work.

Perhaps, along Dominion Road somewhere, a sign could be erected advising motorists that the road was voted one of the worst in all of Ontario. Could win this year as well. Well, it's something anyway.




9 comments:

  1. There is so little significant development here except a bit of homebuilding the concept of heritage preservation is very seldom mentioned. A small comment was made regarding the clock tower on the public school over in Ridgeway to be torn down. The answer was to install a plaque nearby to remember this "iconic" feature. In NOTL this sort of distruction would be illegal and a use for this historic structure would be found. Cant blame some of the citizens downriver looking up this way and wondering what the heck theyre doing up there in Fort. Not just from the perspective of heritage distruction, but the strange goingsons in the towns council. Have to admit, some of us upriver are wondering as well.

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  2. Talking about heritage buildings the City of Buffalo is now embracing their heritage with love and money, a case in point , my spouse and daughter attended SUNY my daughter graduated with honors, so them going daily to Buffalo , with me tagging along ,I got to see the Shea's Theater once destined for demolition , saved by a group of concerned Buffalonian's 25 years of hard work and effort slowly brought that jewel back and better than it's former glory, an enlarged stage area , intricate renewal of paintwork, new spacious seats, they now bring to our area Times Square theater productions, without the high parking fees and reasonable ticket prices this has added a much needed centre piece to the down town experience of Buffalo. We here in Fort Erie get to enjoy some of the best of American culture by just crossing a bridge.

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    1. Buffalo can be proud once again. It was once a very prosperous city with magnificent architecture and park-lands. Some of that has been destroyed, but thanks to preservationists, much has been saved. My old childhood theatre, The North Park, has been beautifully restored and is drawing crowds to films in a great smaller theatre. Spent many a Saturday afternoon at the North Park as a child. Too bad there isn't a local theatre here. Hate going to the big chain theatre in Niagara Falls. Back in the day, we'd walk a couple of blocks to the North Park, spend the entire afternoon at the movies and would either walk home or be picked up by parents if it was cold or dark by the time we got out. Parents could take a breather on Saturdays. Kids were safe and supervised. (Ha! The assistant theatre manager was the boyfriend of a neighbour, so he would report to her is any of us misbehaved. He later went on to become head of Paramount Studios.)

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  3. There was a feature about the effort to save a large beautiful train station in Buffalo on NPR (Radio 88.7 ) a few weeks ago (name?). Reminded us of the distruction aparent at the old Warren station shop building near the downtown of Fort Erie. At this point a few people really trying to hold onto this place as a railroad museum and have done a great job so far at least in terms of storing some engines and other railroad pieces. They could really use some funding to get on with this effort. Doesent have to be some floodlit showy freakshow of a museum, just a solid commitment from the town to support what has already been a commendable effort by local people quietly trying to preserve what is a very important part of the towns history.

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    1. I believe that you're talking about the Central Terminal in Buffalo. It was once the hub of railroad traffic and busy. Full of history. I do hope it is saved. As to the Fort Erie Train Museum, they deserve more support than a school theatre in a DSBN building that the town will have no control over. The taxpayers are merely paying for it outside their normal school taxes.

      What a scam. Get the people to pay for a theatre that will be owned by the already rich DSBN. Suckers. Like the tax dollars going to the race track so that Jimmy can build a bar and restaurant on the premises. (Courtesy of Jimmie's Bucket List -er- Business Plan for the Race track.)

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  4. 4 Fort Erie to go through a renaissance would require forward thinking people. Hasn't happened here in decades with a few brief exceptions. We have all seen what happens when you step outside the ol boy ways with the last council. 4 good men attacked from almost the instant they were elected and all they were trying to do was save a town from itself. Take a few seconds to glance around FE. That's all you need to see that decades of the ol boy insider network has ran this town into the ground, mostly for personal greed. And it will not change for at least 3 1/2 years with this current council of ol boy/ CofC lackeys.

    Welcome to Fort Stupid where the duped, dumbed down voter screws themselves at the ballot box for the 1% of insider's bank accounts. What a waste.

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  5. It is very hard to stop Lemmings from going over the cliff to their own demise. the voters of this Town are determined to do just that , Ward 2 has two members of the Chamber of Commerce running for the vacant seat who want total control of the taxpayers money. Is this Town doomed?. sure looks like it.from here.

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  6. There must be a few folks scratching their heads by now wondering, "hey I didnt vote for a huge tax increase, we were going to work together!!". How about that "award" for that nutty looking development next to the beer store. How many millions? Almost two years to redevelop the main street in Ridgeway and the final product is so narrow we see two delivery vans passing have to fold in their side view mirrors to avoid hitting one another. Thats in summer! . This winter people just pull into any open hole whenever possible to avoid hitting one another in regular sized vehicles because of the snow piles along the curbs! An award for the most misengineered main street after a million dollar "upgrade" goes to Ridgeway Ontario. Theres more than just crazy spending being enjoyed in the council these days. If that example of engineering in Ridgeway is any example, we are in more trouble than a lot of people realize .

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    1. And let's hear it for those "bump-outs"! Dumb-ass idea there. In truth, the refurbishment of downtown Ridgeway has been in the works for well over a decade. It's nice but not award-worthy IMHO. Parking is still a problem.

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