freemantrailfamily wrote:
I&J wrote:
freemantrailfamily wrote:
Creating "unique" tourist attractions is nearly always risky, expensive and controversial. You may see the velodrome as a white elephant. Many of us see it as a unique tourist attraction.
Izzy Asper in Winnipeg deperately wanted a holocost museum. He had the money and influence to make it happen. Waay over budget, waaay behind schedule, and will be a long time before we see if it proves itself. Sucked up a lot of federal tax dollars too. You really want something like that in Milton? Many would say that's what the velodrome is (you included). But then by your definition, that would be "just a museum" and lots of places have museums so it's not REALLY unique. THEMUSEUM in Kitchner has become a great tourist attraction - making use of a vacant department store that stood vacant for 10 years but it again was citizens initiative, backed by council support. That's just how things happen. It's not a cop-out at all.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_M ... man_RightsBut, even this initiative what spearheaded by an individual, not a politician (an individual who admittedly had the dollars and power to get whole ton MORE dollars). Milton residents are conservative enough they would not stand for such extravagance. You only have to look at the rumbles creating the Center for the Arts, the Town Hall expansion, and the Velodrome created to understand that. And you want something "unique"? Lets see what you propose and the response instead of a vague generality.
There is no vague generalities implied here I'm sure. The assumption that the velodrome will become a center of activities for the people of Milton is such an assumption. Everyone is now a great visionary if everyone plans grandiose schemes. The individual who spearheaded the velodrome could well do that financially but then he's only paying back what great profits he derives from continuing to build homes in Milton. Let's give it another 10 years to see if this gamble paid off.
Let's face it Milton is a bedroom community and the residents seek to be entertained elsewhere. If there are opportunities financially in Milton, investments will come normally.
You are right that time will tell if the velodrome can be made a success from a financial and cyclo-tourism standpoint. Margaurita Maudes statements about Milton being boring without any specifics as to what would make it intersting for her is definitely a vague generalitiy. I think Milton has grown beyond being a bedroom community though. We can find most things here for daily living and entertainment. Sure, like anywhere there's the occasional excursion to places like Wonderland, the downtown Theater District and what-not. That's like many places. Can't have everything. My friends from Stratford come into Toronto on a regular basis for the Musuem, Science Center and attractions they don't have. It's not cost-effective to have a Wonderland in every community. That's the beauty and challenge of living in the GTA - there are some very unique tourist attractions very close by. I agree Milton doesn't have anything like that - yet. Maybe it will in time depending on what the community wants and is willing to organize and pay for. Who knows? Does it take away from the quality of life here? No. Not at all. If she wants something unique (by whatever her definition of unique is), be part of the solution and do something about it instead of waiting for politicians to dream up something. It's not in their job description. They are facilitators and screeners for ideas.
Yes, I would definitely describe Milton as a bedroom community. I will be more specific (I can't be the only person who is bored with Milton!):
80,000 (that's only a 2011 statistic) and we have one movie theatre, one independent coffee shop, one mall that is a ghost town aside from Target, one or two very small museums, one arts centre and our attractions are The Farmer's Market, Chudleigh's, Kelso, Rattlesnake Point, Mohawk Racetrack, Country Heritage Park, Halton County Radial Railway, Crawford Lake, Springridge Farm, Mountsberg, Waldie's Blacksmith Shop, OLG Casino and various festivals. Most of these attractions are on the outskirts of town and what takes up most of Milton's scenery is urban sprawl, model homes and plazas filled with corporate chains and no small businesses.
For comparison:
Brantford (pop. 90,000): Canadian Military Heritage Museum, Laurier Brantford, Brantford Twin Valley Zoo, Sanderson Centre for the Arts, Bell Telephone Memorial, Arnold Anderson Stadium, Personal Computer Museum, Earl Haig Family Fun Park, Brant Museum and Archives, Glenhyrst Art Gallery, OLG Casino, Glenhyrst Gardens, Grand Valley Trails Park, Lorne Park, Wayne Gretzky Sports Centre
Burlington (you said it was more comparable than Waterloo but its population is around 164,000): The waterfront bike path, Royal Botanical Gardens, Spencer Smith Park, Burlington Art Centre, Mount Nemo, Burlington Mall, Bronte Creek Provincial Park, Ireland House Museum, Burlington City Hall, The Museum of Oddities, Climber's Rock Climbing Gym, plenty of golf clubs, Joseph Brant Museum, Primetime Bowl, Burlington Bowl, The Putting Edge, LaSalle Park, Outdoor Movies in the Park, Central Park Labyrinth, Sound of Music Festival, plenty of Conservation areas, Silver City Burlington
Stratford (pop. 30,000): Stratford Shakespeare Festival (and the hundreds of concerts and activities that come with it), Gallery Stratford, Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame, Stratford Summer Music Festival, Shakespearian Gardens, Brickman's Botanical Gardens, Loreena McKennit lives there (I wonder why she didn't choose Milton…), McCully's Farm, Millennium Park, Castle Kilbride, Railway Heritage Tours, plenty of walking and biking tours, Bicycle Opera, Stratford City Hall, Stratford-Perth Museum, Savour Stratford Culinary tours, Perth County slow food market, Avon River, Perth County Court House, not to mention the beautiful architecture and shops around town.
I think we are a fairly large town now, but our entertainment is like that of a small town. We're basically the worst of both worlds; the bad drivers and unfriendliness of a larger city with the limited entertainment and culture of a small town. Campbellville (which is part of Milton) is a town with a beautiful atmosphere (lots of nature and beautiful unique homes). It doesn't have as many attractions as Milton because it doesn't have the population and it can bank on small-town charm.
Entertainment-wise, what is there to do? Our sports centres, several bars, the arts centre, golfing, one overpriced bowling centre and a movie theatre. Other than that, it's shopping or leaving town (usually the preferable option).
Nature-wise, we've turned most of our trees and forests into corporate plaza after corporate plaza. We do have a few man-made parks and the Mill Pond but most of our nature is on the outskirts, too far away for most Miltonians to appreciate it.
I don't have an idea on how to change Milton. I just thought I was allowed to voice my opinion on a public forum without being voluntold to go work on a project that I have no desire to work on. Besides, the velodrome, the Laurier campus, etc were all organized by the town, not random citizens. I'm sure many of the attractions in the towns I mentioned were either organized by the town councillors and Mayor or they at least saw a need for entertainment, parks, etc and found a way to make sure the need was met. If the main goal of local politicians is not to make a city livable, beautiful, interesting , fun to live in and environmentally friendly, then what exactly is their goal?