LETTER: CANDIDATES MAY NOT HAVE BIG ELECTION IDEAS, BUT OTHERS DO, INCLUDING ONE RECENTLY BY BOB BARNES

Letter to Editor:

We should all be smarting after receiving the scathing criticism by Mark Clairmont in the MuskpokaTODAY.COM online newspaper, regarding our apparent lack of any real vision for the future rebuilding of the Gravenhurst downtown core.

See that opinion piece here.

He claims we seem not to have any thought-out plan or imagination on what our constructive goals are on how we should proceed with the improvements to our Downtown.

And, to be honest with ourselves, maybe it’s true that we lack an end goal vision.

Perhaps we can do better.

I suggest that we could see what a “Downtown Core” renewal could look like, by a walk down or a visit to the recently redesigned Main Streets of Collingwood or Midland or nearby Huntsville (done under their and the district’s “Big Dig” reconstruction project to replace the aging underground water and sewer services).

These main streets have been reconstructed to include widened sidewalks and bump-outs to facilitated restaurant cafes or store promotional sales and these are now buzzing with visitors and activities.

Street parking remains between some of the bump-outs on both sides of the street.

Bob Barnes envisions a pedestrian-friendly main street in Gravenhurst, which is more welcoming than the traffic corridor that it is now year-round.

We should also be aware that a time of opportunity is coming to Gravenhurst in the next year or so, when our Gravenhurst main street will also be dug up as part of our “Big Dig” project.

That would be the ideal time to also incorporate any reconstruction of the Downtown Core under a shared costing arrangement.

To stimulate our imagination, you may wish to look at this particular vision and story here that I proposed for our Gravenhurst downtown that also appeared online in MuskokaTODAY.com newspaper.

Wishing the best of fortune for all candidates.

Robert Barnes, Gravenhurst