Comments on: Barrington 2010: ChangeCamp plans for a street in limbo http://spacingatlantic.ca/2009/12/08/barrington-2010-changecamp-plans-for-a-street-in-limbo/ Thu, 09 Feb 2012 17:10:14 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Michael http://spacingatlantic.ca/2009/12/08/barrington-2010-changecamp-plans-for-a-street-in-limbo/comment-page-1/#comment-362 Michael Wed, 16 Dec 2009 10:16:30 +0000 http://spacingatlantic.ca/?p=1962#comment-362 What bothers me most about Barrington is that the current state is so unnecessary. Halifax's economy is doing well and there's lots of interest in the downtown, but for the past few years the street's been in limbo because the HRM has had no clear policies regarding development and heritage funding. The HRM has promised heritage funding and streetscaping for years for Barrington but not delivered, and so building owners have held off on improvements; you don't sink money into a building if waiting a year might get you an extra tax break. The Roy Building and Sam plans give me some hope. Add in those, fix the empty NFB facade, and the different will be like night and day. What bothers me most about Barrington is that the current state is so unnecessary. Halifax's economy is doing well and there's lots of interest in the downtown, but for the past few years the street's been in limbo because the HRM has had no clear policies regarding development and heritage funding. The HRM has promised heritage funding and streetscaping for years for Barrington but not delivered, and so building owners have held off on improvements; you don't sink money into a building if waiting a year might get you an extra tax break.

The Roy Building and Sam plans give me some hope. Add in those, fix the empty NFB facade, and the different will be like night and day.

]]> By: carolined http://spacingatlantic.ca/2009/12/08/barrington-2010-changecamp-plans-for-a-street-in-limbo/comment-page-1/#comment-312 carolined Wed, 09 Dec 2009 14:07:00 +0000 http://spacingatlantic.ca/?p=1962#comment-312 I eagerly participated in this workshop with growing excitement each minute we spent in conversation about Barrington (and the less I felt like a nerd for being so passionate about a street!). Since I came to Halifax for community design school 5 years ago I have been thinking up ideas to BRING BACK BARRINGTON. It hurts to experience an urban landscape is such disarray .. and hurts even more when I must go to the carbon-copied concrete deserts that are our malls (though I have managed to avoid being there in a year) to buy something basic. And, hurts to the edge of heart-break when I hear how many tax breaks these urban-sprawly malls get (ya, tax breaks to large corporate chains vs tax breaks to local businesses downtown). Whatever playful, interactive and fun actions we take to BRING BACK BARRINGTON - I will be pushing for us to aim it toward reforming the policies that keep our downtown streets suffering (not just Barrington though, it is really about the entire downtown). Playful policy reform! yah! I eagerly participated in this workshop with growing excitement each minute we spent in conversation about Barrington (and the less I felt like a nerd for being so passionate about a street!).

Since I came to Halifax for community design school 5 years ago I have been thinking up ideas to BRING BACK BARRINGTON. It hurts to experience an urban landscape is such disarray .. and hurts even more when I must go to the carbon-copied concrete deserts that are our malls (though I have managed to avoid being there in a year) to buy something basic. And, hurts to the edge of heart-break when I hear how many tax breaks these urban-sprawly malls get (ya, tax breaks to large corporate chains vs tax breaks to local businesses downtown).

Whatever playful, interactive and fun actions we take to BRING BACK BARRINGTON - I will be pushing for us to aim it toward reforming the policies that keep our downtown streets suffering (not just Barrington though, it is really about the entire downtown).

Playful policy reform! yah!

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