Re: Core a national shame (March 2)
Columnist Dallas Hansen is right when he places the blame for the core's lack of people on the heavy use of cars.
When I lived in Winnipeg in 1955, I had no car but transportation was not a problem. The street cars were fast and efficient and I could travel downtown from the old Normal School with ease. I said goodbye to Winnipeg reluctantly and spent six years in Toronto where walking on streets like Bloor and the Danforth can be a pleasure and the subway makes travel easy. Try walking down one of our large streets, for example Pembina Highway, which is built for the car; it's a bleak experience.
I was fortunate to have lived in Erlangen, Germany, for a year. I enjoyed going into the centre of the city by bus for most shopping. Bus transportation was fast and frequent.
I came back to Winnipeg in 1966 and we settled in the suburbs to be close to my husband's work. With three children, I was dependent on a car and said goodbye to bus transportation for most purposes. When our mayor asked us to find the reasons we love Winnipeg, I had to reach back in my memory to 1955 when I stood on Portage Avenue and realized I loved Winnipeg. I do not like what has happened to the downtown. Since our return I have applauded newspaper articles reporting studies that advocate fast, efficient public transportation as an alternative to the use of the car. Each successive administration makes promises to stop the developments on the outer edges of Winnipeg. But nothing changes, except that more development takes place. Try shopping in the Ellice and St. James avenues area on foot. Another recent example of car dependency is Kenaston Boulevard, with its big box stores.