gdp's Comments

Kingstonist.com : Best of 2016: Kingston Penitentiary Tours

Thu, 22 Dec 2016 18:24:19 +0000

I think the tour proves it cannot be " Alcatraz". Despite its success, the suplus from the tour only raised $300k for the united way. As soon as someone has to own, operate and maintain the property, having that tour would lose $millions.

Kingstonist.com : Weekly Poll: The Things You Can't Find/Buy Downtown

Wed, 14 Sep 2016 22:11:24 +0000

Rasing rates either .05 or .10 per hour per year would be the breaking point?

Kingstonist.com : Community Soapbox: A Double Standard?

Wed, 7 Sep 2016 16:34:55 +0000

Not sure its so simple to say lower rent = fewer lease signs. If available spaces were suddenly much lower rent, they would no doubt quickly be taken. However that does not increase the customer base (we are no where near the point where its so empty people are avoiding it), so that would just spread the existng customers around more. Which would then cause closures until the market found the number the custmers can support. Occupancy cost(inclduing taxes and utilities that don't change with rent) for a successful restaurant probably running about 8-10% of sales. Compared to ~70% food and labour. So a cut in your rent doesn't meant that much, but having more competitors then the customers support does. Thats why high price Cat center is always virtually full, while Frontenac Mall has never been close to full since walmart's traffic left. Not sure we can say downtown has "underperformed', it would appear to outperform a large majorty of North American downtowns. Also wonder if rents are so high, why would we have people taking prime retail to open dentist and medical offices? Then we have the 700 member BIA, most leasing, who probably know whats best for their own businesses, who almost all (2? publicly against) strongly support the new buildings.

Kingstonist.com : Community Soapbox: A Double Standard?

Wed, 7 Sep 2016 16:01:47 +0000

Followed the link with the title thinking this was about the NIMBY group who keeps saying "follow the plan" wrt height, while they campaign agaisnt the decades long plan for the WSE. Or who try and spin what they want as environmental, while they try and stop the city from having development that is much more environmentally sound

Kingstonist.com : Town Hall: Reopening of the Kingston Prison Farms

Mon, 15 Aug 2016 22:57:57 +0000

Odd city where self proclaimed environmentalists fight against density, but fight for one of the most environmentally damaging activities mankind does in both ghg emissions and water use involved in operating a dairy farm.

Kingstonist.com : Weekly Poll: Downtown Kingston's Biggest Loss During the Big Dig 3

Tue, 19 Jul 2016 16:19:08 +0000

Mexico Lindo on Sydenham is on the move to La Hacienda's location

Kingstonist.com : Weekly Poll: Pedaling Towards a Bike Friendly Kingston

Mon, 4 Jul 2016 19:21:38 +0000

Kingston seems to be well behind most other cities with any kind of enforcement effort. After watching the debate on red light cameras, ignoring the police in favour of lobbying by a few car drivers who don't want tickets, there is no hope of positive change with the present council in place. I like the app Guelph has to report illegal parking (and other things), which also allows one to see what others have reported and if the city ever responded http://guelph.ca/2015/11/report-a-problem-with-th... . They claim it saves them more then the low cost to implement it. Compared to here if you are riding/walking along and see an illegally parked car, you can phone, navigate their phone system to by-law..and get voice mail to leave your message. It sees like a waste of time to bother. With fines being low here - park in a bike lane is $20 vs $150 in Toronto, and enforement almost non exstant, there is a better risk/reward to park in a bike lane then to pay to park somewhere properly or be inconvenienced being further away

Kingstonist.com : Weekly Poll: Marine Museum of the Great Lakes' Eviction Notice

Mon, 2 May 2016 19:59:30 +0000

Hard to answer the question. If the question really is - stay at its present location at a cost to the public of over $200k per year to pay the rent, I'd have to answer move somewhere else. Not sure what the recent attendance figures have been, but doubt it would be the best way to spend that much.

Kingstonist.com : Plan B

Wed, 27 Apr 2016 19:21:28 +0000

Not sure why the anti development people are upset that they "might be rented"? The larger supply of rentals the better. There are units in Frontenac Village, where a lot of them live, offered for rent. Might even be a room or unit on airbandb. Should it have not been built because "they might be rented"?

Kingstonist.com : Weekly Poll: Best Slice of Pizza in Kingston

Wed, 27 Apr 2016 18:39:24 +0000

Someone in Kingston should try offerring a real vegan slice as many in larger cities are. Whether with Daiay or some sort of home made alternative. I bet it would do well, as long as the price premium wasn't too high.

Kingstonist.com : Weekly Poll: Third Crossing Toll Road

Tue, 5 Apr 2016 17:20:03 +0000

I actually like the idea of taxing for driving anywhere based on distance travelled. I bet it happens 20~ years down the road when its clear gasoline taxation is on the way out. I would be okay with tolling the bridge or not. I don't believe it will happen unless it becames clear at some point there wouldn't be funding from senior levels. It would be couterproductive if it didn't move traffic from the causeway. No sure why the bridge gets so much attention while projects with similar amounts of money (eg counter street) are not controversial at all.

Kingstonist.com : What if Kingston...

Fri, 22 Jan 2016 18:32:52 +0000

The facts don't support that. " in the pockets of speculative developers" - the truth is, 2 of the past 3 councils have had a majority of members endorsed by the Labour council and not been considered terribly friendly to developers. Even the council in between rejected staff recommnedations on development to the point we lost OMB hearings with city staff on the developers side. The notion that its a few owners ruining the downtown with high rents doesn't seem factual either, when we see Kingston's downtown has fared much better then most, retail vacancies are up everywhere in Kingston, and everywhere else. We have things like medical offices taking former prime retail downtown who don't neccesssarily need that high traffic location, or financial institutions locating there instead of locations with more convenient parking. The reality is, retail is never going back to the way it was, and downtown is going to continue to transition to more service oriented businesses. To support more restaurants and other services you need more people who live there, and these new buildings will do just that.

Kingstonist.com : What if Kingston...

Wed, 20 Jan 2016 19:12:53 +0000

Yes I support these. Good for the environment, the BIA for the city. The brownfield properties would never be developed low rise as the taxes need to be high enough to fund the remediation. Even the Capital is set back enough to not have an effect on the Princess streetscape. This is the direction society has to move in.

Kingstonist.com : What if Kingston...

Wed, 20 Jan 2016 18:22:07 +0000

The previous council already approved up to 18 storeys for the city owned block that the hydro station is on

Kingstonist.com : Weekly Poll: Grocery Shopping

Tue, 19 Jan 2016 20:34:59 +0000

Having gone car free, I find having ordering online and having Walmart deliver non persishables increasingly attractive.

Kingstonist.com : What if Kingston...

Tue, 19 Jan 2016 20:32:42 +0000

Seems to be a lot of overlap between people who SAY they want more active transportation and transit, but are always against devlopment that would alow that. Against wellington st and a bridge that would support devlopment close to the core. Against the prison farm ever being developed in the middle of the city. Also against every intensification effort with height. Do they want the city to sprawl north of the 401 with 100% of the people having to drive everywhere, and the new taxes won't support the infrastructure? Allowing higher heights is the environmentally friendly option. 1000s of more people living downtown is what will preserve downtown businesses, with the outlook for retail looking bleaker by the day. That piece from the skeleton park site and the Welington x people reminds me of the crazy over the top rhetoric from the save KCVI group. I would guess the BIA, who supports these projects, knows better then the author who speculates on "the ability of business to survive the construction"?

Kingstonist.com : Poll: Wellington Street Extension

Wed, 13 Jan 2016 17:27:28 +0000

We are on the cusp of some big changes with autonomous cars, sharing, and evs rapidly converging. Tesla out today saying they may have a fully autonomous car in only 2 years, ahead of others who have said 2020. Predictions for what that will mean are a much lower rate of car ownership, far less need for parking, but many more passenger vehicle trips made as driving barriers to personal car use (license, age, disability) and economic barriers are removed. They will likely all be evs, so that won't even be considered a problem. But we'll still need roads.

Kingstonist.com : Poll: Wellington Street Extension

Sun, 10 Jan 2016 17:55:14 +0000

??? https://wellingtonx.wordpress.com/2015/11/10/pave... "However, it has become clear now that what is proposed for the Fluhrer Park section is a THREE METRE WIDE asphalt pathway to replace the current more narrow path. See the report here. The WellingtonX core folks have no time or energy to go to EITP tonight to fight this (we are still in the throes of the Transportation Master Plan coming to Council next week), so we hand it off to you: do you think this is a good idea? How will you feel when those bulldozers come along? Is this what the greening of Kingston should look like? "

Kingstonist.com : Poll: Wellington Street Extension

Tue, 5 Jan 2016 19:07:39 +0000

Fully support it, its good for the environment to enable intensification that will be able to take place. It will end up similar to Breakwater park, the most used piece of parkland in Kingston. Which certainly isn't "ruined" by having King st go by. It certainly makes one wonder about the real agenda of the Wellington X people when they were against having the K&P trail extension paved (so it can be cleared in winter and more intensively used). There could be so much more there then a "backyard" for the existing condo owners with the tannery developed with public waterfront access, and Belle Park repurposed form a 48 member golf course.

Kingstonist.com : Guide to Little Free Libraries in Kingston

Thu, 19 Nov 2015 07:11:14 +0000

One on the corner of Churchill and Francis