Canada Day stuff?

[Jon Dalton]

There was very little talk about this today. Did anyone else take part in whatever Hamilton had to offer on our national holiday? It was just another workday for me until I dragged myself out to the Bayfront fireworks around 10. I must confess my lack of enthusiasm for for the whole thing but it is a rare occasion to see the north end streets so full of people and I quite enjoyed that aspect of things. They had Bay St. blocked to traffic shortly past Barton and they were redirecting cars to turn right. Bayfront Park was full at that point and there were even cars all over the grass part at the top. I heard James was closed off as well in the northbound lane. After the fireworks I retired to This Ain't Hollywood (old Copper John's) on James and for the next hour or two there was a steady stream of pedestrians along James and the side streets, and traffic was moving slow.

I guess this is all normal but seeing that action on the streets tonight made me think, there's still a relevance to our historic gathering points that brings people down here, even a few times a year, to weather the 'traffic chaos', even God forbid take a bus and endure the sketch of downtown to be a part of something. Something that for whatever reason isn't happening in the parking lot of Mountain Plaza Mall. I think the waterfront has a pull to it, and that could be capitalized for the rest of downtown.