[ssiguy]

There are some things that London could do right away that would make the downtown more inviting and lively.
The one that sticks out is to improve and widen the sidewalks. Go t Talbot/King area where there are a lot of good restaurants but no outdoor cafes because the sidewalks are far to thin and in poor repair. They should take a lane out of King from the Thames to Clarence so restaurants and outdoor cafes and shopping can thrive.
Also London could do another thing to help get these developments off the ground which only requires a signature from the mayor................put a moratorium on any residential buildings over 3 stories that are not north of Horton, South of Oxford, west of Old East area and east of the fork.
London has, for it's size, an amasing number of highrise apt/condos and yet are huge number are not downtown. Imagine what London's downtown would be like if even half of all the apt highrises in Westown/Cherryhill areas were in the inner city. A simple change in zoning and some form of architectural standing {ie no concrete commie blocks} and London's downtown would flourish.
The first example would take very little extra money if it is done in conjuction with ongoing road/street repair and the second doesn't require a nickel.