Quote:
Originally Posted by Jon Dalton
That's what amazes me, how many high rise apartments there are downtown and yet retail is so weak. There must be tens of thousands of residents in walking distance of James South, King East and Gore Park. There are things I simply don't buy because they aren't sold downtown and I can't waste my time going up the mountain for it.
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It depends if these residents have money or not. There are areas of East London chocablock with high rises, but since they are all council tenants on lower incomes, the areas reflect it.
Retail is all about foot traffic at the end of the day and downtown Hamilton is divided by unpedestrian friendly roads that don't encourage lingering, just walking rapidly from A-B to avoid the noise and fumes.
I didn't visit Locke Street during my visit, but I lead to believe it's quite popular in terms of shops and if Starbucks are there then they've obviously identified its potential. As I said, I don't know the road first hand, so I may be incorrect, but I wouldn't be too shocked if the road traffic was less, encouraging more foot traffic.