17 Responses to “Rude Awakening”

1. john b. kalb, said:

   Thank you’s to Liz, Marty, & T. Didier. We will remember this at the next primary election covering city council. And we hope you are opposed and defeated then! Conservatives??? They sure aren’t !!

2. Joe, said:

   This may be my hometown … but it’s not “mine”. There they go tearing down ‘paradise and putting in a parking lot’ … well, the next best thing to it. Unnngh. Sad.

3. Joe S., said:

   GREAT JOB to all involved with this travesty. The most aesthetically pleasing street in all of downtown and it is being destroyed. Just to make it 2 -way…unbelievable. It will never be the same. We should be preserving these type of areas, not destroying them. This really angers me.

4. Andy, said:

   Looks like a tornado ripped through that street.

5. Kim E., said:

   We were down at the Pint and Slice until fairly late. Early the next morning, going to Barr Street, Calhoun was already decimated. So, before there could be anymore public outcry, they rushed in, ON A SATURDAY- can you say overtime- to start the destruction. I am so tired of our politicians flat out lying to get into office, and once there, they don’t represent us at all! It’s just a matter of how much and how fast they can cram their agenda down our throat. “For the people, by the people” what a farce.

6. Alan Billings, said:

   Sad very, sad. Was a beautiful downtown destination.

7. Corcoran, said:

   I used to feel that way too, but lately I’ve been talking to the business owners who hope this will help bring more tenants to the store fronts down those streets. Also, the designs will be much more attractive in the long run to what is there now.

8. Corcoran, said:

   Also, my lone cry, but I’d like the city to incorporate more evergreen into their downtown landscaping.

9. Gloria, said:

   WOW! That was quick! Wonder if the new ice rink will be done by next week?

10. Scott Greider, said:

    I’m with Corcoran on this. This street and sidewalk needs major activity, not just lunch at three places. And no offense to Joe S., but this is Calhoun (http://tinyurl.com/pk8usk) is much more aesthetically pleasing to me.

11. barranda, said:

    This was really a tough issue for me. I think I have a good grasp on the issues involved (as it seems that Greider and Corcoran do). I just find it hard to believe that Calhoun was such a priority at this point that we needed to spend $1+ million in this economy to fix the most walkable street in town. By the way, I saw this article a few weeks ago. Scroll down to the bistro license thing. http://www.metromodemedia.com/features/cheapdowntownrevitalization0126.aspx

    I couldn’t help but see the irony – business owners that favor wider sidewalks to on-street parking / loading.

12. SwiSh, said:

    (We were down at the Pint and Slice until fairly late. Early the next morning, going to Barr Street, Calhoun was already decimated. So, before there could be anymore public outcry, they rushed in, ON A SATURDAY- can you say overtime- to start the destruction.)

    It’s the same way they took down St. Pauls Cathedral. In the middle of the night, on a weekend. Before anyone knew what was going on, the demo had already begun. However, I do see the flipside. Delivery trucks need to get down there, in order to have buisness, or bigger buisnesses. The reason there isn’t more shops, is becuase it’s horribly expensive to have one down there. I’d just like to know how they re-used all the wood they cut down? Oh, right… mulch! Too many companies in this town make way too much money through destruction. A farce indeed!

13. Robert Pence, said:

    IMO, pleasant as Calhoun Street was, it needed refreshing. What’s done is done and there’s little to be gained from accusations and loud mourning. I wait to see what takes shape in its place. Knowing some of the people involved in the design, I’m optimistic.

    If my memory serves me well, there was some public dissatisfaction in the early 1980s over the creation of the transit mall, and then the merchants got upset because they thought the presence of all those “bus people” was driving away customers. When the bus transfer area moved to Baker Street and Superior Street, and the bus people were gone, some business owners realized that what little business they had was from them.

14. Mike Harvey, said:

    Re: nothing to be gained from accusations and loud mourning?

    When experience is not retained… infancy is perpetual.
    Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it. – Santayana

    I’m sure they’ll make the street all pretty-like again… with thanks to the taxpayers. I can see where some of the businesses would be happy about it for sure… Thanks for the sewer overflow!

15. Robert Pence, said:

    Mike, I didn’t say we can’t learn from experience or discard memory of past events; we always need to learn from our experiences, both good and bad, and the experiences of others. It’s possible to extract and retain the lesson and move on without incapacitating ourselves by continuing to rehash and relive the experience.

    ‘Tis folly to cry for spilt milk. – Unknown

    This is just the first step in redoing those blocks. I choose not to form my opinion or express my pleasure or indignation until I see the final result.

16. Corey, said:

    It certainly is disconcerting to see the street in a state of such total destruction. I was much opposed to the “Calhoun Improvement” project until the morning they actually cut down the trees. Sounds bizarre, but once they removed the trees (my wife and I rode our bikes down to witness the “tragedy” of it all) one could not help but notice how in disrepair the street actually is. It seems that the canopy of trees (which we are told were in poor health) was actually hiding the true scene below, which turns out to be rusty streetlights, dirty streets and sidewalks in bad need of repair.

    My only hope now is that the execution and quality of the re-facing of the street is timely and well done. Who knows, maybe we will all look back in a year and say “this looks a lot better”… only time will tell.

17. timraiders, said:

    Fort Wayne, the ungreen all american city. Who needs tree lined streets anyway. Progress through paying consultants. That’s the way to prosperity.

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