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Fixing the Core

Cities are like apples. If the core is rotten, the whole thing goes bad.
London’s downtown core has been the subject of studies, action plans and strategies for years, all in an attempt to fix an area of the city struggling from limited parking, closed storefronts and crowded bus connections.
The latest background study, released by the City this week, examined downtown’s history to discover what caused today’s issues and considered how to fix them.
“It’s the gathering of information from all the sessions that’s been gained for 18 months or more,” Bob Usher, manager of Covent Garden Market and head of the London Downtown Business Association, said.
Usher added it is just the beginning of the long journey towards the next master plan for London’s downtown.
One of the main issues is population. In the past, the City tried to entice more people to live downtown. However, according to those connected with the study, the concentration of social services and the number of people waiting for buses at Dundas and Richmond Streets make downtown a less attractive home.
Judy Bryant, London councillor for Ward 13, said social services are concentrated in the downtown area, including welfare and employment centres.
“This unbalance doesn’t help to create a good relationship between the neighbourhood and all the things that are going on in the community,” Bryant said.
She compared this to the number of bars on Richmond Row, saying it causes a “disfunction” in the community.
Tyler Smith, a Londoner who works at the City Lights Bookshop on Richmond Street and has lived downtown for three years, noticed several changes to the kinds of businesses in the area.
“There’s been stores coming and going. One of the interesting things […] I’ve seen [is] a renewed vigor in a lot of the new businesses,” Smith said. He added the number of restaurants and clubs moving downtown shows a continued interest in doing business there.
“People want to come downtown. We have to give them a reason to go,” Smith said.
According to Bryant, new apartment buildings and the possibility of a new grocery store are some ways the City can continue to attract a younger and more sustainable population to the area. She also mentioned a new luxury apartment building recently opened in the downtown area and filled up quickly.
“I know there’s a lot of young professional people living in the high-rise buildings on Talbot, for example,” Bryant said. “58 per cent of the population downtown are young adults, and that’s a big shift. That is the highest percentage of anywhere in the city.”
Bryant emphasized how the success of London’s downtown is paramount to the success of the city.
The City is hosting a public meeting regarding the background report next Tuesday, Nov. 24 at Museum London at 7 p.m.

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