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As residents of St. Catharines know, a fire struck Liberty! Bicycles this past summer. The word is starting to spread that they will reopen in a new location downtown. This is excellent news — I’m going to start saving up for a new Electra bike to celebrate the occasion!
From the Liberty! Bicycles website: ” To carry us into the future, Liberty! Bicycles has purchased a 15000 sq ft facility in Downtown St. Catharines. Being true to our roots, we decided on a Downtown location although there was substantial pressure to move the business into either Megaland, or Boxville. Unfortunately, those non-Downtown options offered nothing in the way of style. For us, the decision was obvious. So, over the course of the next few months we will start the transformation of an old urban warehouse into what we hope will be the coolest bike shop this side of NYC. We will implement our plans phase by phase creating what we hope will become the centre of bike culture in Niagara. As we move forward, we will provide updates right here. Wish us luck! In the meantime, drop by our temp-shop if you need your bike repaired. We have 2010 catalogues and information about Cannondale, Specialized, Kona and Electra bicycles on hand.”
The recent announcement that there will be new sidewalks put in various locations around the city is surely good news for anyone concerned with car-free issues in the region. A big thank to the City of St. Catharines for this!
Another “trouble spot” that always worries me is along St. David’s road leading up to the Brock campus. I frequently see students walking along the shoulder of the highway, going back and forth from Thorold (where a lot of students live) to the campus. There have been many people expressing their concerns about this over the years, and I’ve heard various rumblings that this location might be a candidate for bike lanes and/or sidewalks. I do hope these rumours prove to be true before an unthinkable tragedy happens!
As we celebrate car-free day I can’t help being saddened by this news coming out of Niagara-on-the-Lake. Another cyclist killed in a car-bicycle accident, and this is especially tragic since the Niagara Regional Police have not yet been able to identify this man.
Cycle safely my friends.
The idea of getting a regional transit for Niagara up and running is in the news again. I sincerely hope that this can be achieved. I’m heartened by the Mayor of Port Colborne’s assertion that transit is “a No.1 priority.”
The paper today also had this piece on “Sharrows” — love it! This reminder to share the road is especially timely as it falls on the heels of this awful story of yet another car-cyclist collision. This one has left me feeling especially rattled, since it is in my neck of the woods and it was on a route I often ride.
From the St. Catharines Standard this week:
GO on Track: Exceeds Expectations in Niagara
[Update: there is also this good news about the GO Bus service starting in a few weeks.]
Dear St. Catharines City Council,
Thanks for the new bike lanes. Much appreciated.
Hugs and happy cycling,
The Dandelion Diva
I can not believe that in this day and age that there are still people who kick up a fuss when someone decides to buck the trend of uniformly manicured (read boring), high-maintenance lawns. Whether the decision is to plant veggies in the front yard (because, hey, maybe that’s where the conditions happen to be the best for growing) or to cultivate native species and flowers where others might choose to lay sod there always seems to be a brigade of nosy Nellys (or Neddys) who oppose the “unsightly” mess of nonconformity.
The latest story on this front is the tale of Hank and Vera Jones who decided to cultivate plants that attract butterflies. Sounds lovely to me, but apparently the neighbours and the City of Ottawa disagree.
When will the madness end? Why is it so difficult to a)mind one’s own business and b)let go of this stupid notion that we have to all have miniature golf greens surrounding our homes. (oh, and don’t even get me started on the reader comments that follow this news story — long grass = “hillbillies”?! wild grass = “unsafe for children”? Really? Give me a freakin’ break!)
And on that grumpy note, I’m going back to my editing. *hrumph*
Two more exciting developments have happened in this region over the past week: the McMaster Niagara Family Health Centre is now officially open, and Brock is now leasing the Hair Cloth Building in downtown St. Catharines.
Hooray!
Some more exciting news regarding making the city of St. Catharines more bike and bus friendly — bike racks to be installed on a number of bus routes, and a shuttle bus to link up the train station with Brock University and the downtown core.
Both of these developments seem to be “experimental” at this stage, let’s hope they are the sign of things to come.
I just read a news story about fake grass. I don’t know what to say.
I guess I could say something about how tired I am of this ridiculous obsession our society seems to have with perfectly uniform lawns. I could also say something about how so-called “weeds” like dandelions seem to be important for the health of bee populations, etc. I could probably also ponder the reasons why someone who doesn’t like to deal with plants bothers to live in a dwelling surrounded by yard.
I think instead I’ll take solace in a good book and dream of a day when more interesting approaches to gardening dominate our yards and neighborhoods.
UPDATED: Here is another story on the same theme. Sigh…
