pheloniusfriar (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
pheloniusfriar) wrote2015-06-21 09:14 pm
pheloniusfriar) wrote2015-06-21 09:14 pm
Entry tags:
Forgotten fun?
I watched that documentary I linked to in my last post all the way through and felt compelled to write something in response. It kind of makes me sad because Ottawa could definitely be so much more than it allows itself to be. I'm also sad that any time I meet someone who is creative and full of life, my only advice to them is to find a city (or town, or hamlet) that is not Ottawa and they will stand a chance to shine. Ottawa eats its own for the most part in my experience (Parliament Hill isn't the only place where politics happens around here) and I've seen such talent wasted as they dash themselves senseless on the unforgiving and uninterested shoals of Ottawa city life. Anyway, in response to the video's question: "what do you think our elected officials need to do to make Ottawa a cooler and more vibrant city?"...
<rant>
I think street food and street performers should be deregulated (I might phrase it unstragulated) and that would be a good start. I could do my own documentary on what elected officials need to do to make Ottawa a cooler and more vibrant city (I could go on for hours), but even the smallest of details are so badly hamfisted that I despair of a breakthrough in my lifetime. The fact is that it seems worse every year. As a minor example, I was in the market a while back and could not find a chip wagon when I went looking for one with a friend from out of town... they've apparently been banned (along with food "carts") from that area ... http://ottawa.ca/en/business/business-licenses-applications-and-permits/business-licensing/new-street-food-vending. What the heckskie? I agree with the statement in the documentary that what makes a vibrant city is for it to facilitate the gathering of people where things are happening (or to bring people together and allow things to happen), wherever that might be. There are huge issues in Ottawa with that, but I will go back to the smaller and seemingly trivial instance of "the chip wagon"... it's a place where you can at least say hello to other people who are out enjoying the day and grabbing a bite, but all we are apparently allowed to do is sit in restaurants at tables (where talking to your neighbour is generally discouraged from an etiquette point of view)... even when we travel downtown, we are forced to isolate ourselves in the company of others. There is no fun to be found in that sort of environment. Yes, there is fun to be "found", but it's never just "there".
</rant>
<rant>
I think street food and street performers should be deregulated (I might phrase it unstragulated) and that would be a good start. I could do my own documentary on what elected officials need to do to make Ottawa a cooler and more vibrant city (I could go on for hours), but even the smallest of details are so badly hamfisted that I despair of a breakthrough in my lifetime. The fact is that it seems worse every year. As a minor example, I was in the market a while back and could not find a chip wagon when I went looking for one with a friend from out of town... they've apparently been banned (along with food "carts") from that area ... http://ottawa.ca/en/business/business-licenses-applications-and-permits/business-licensing/new-street-food-vending. What the heckskie? I agree with the statement in the documentary that what makes a vibrant city is for it to facilitate the gathering of people where things are happening (or to bring people together and allow things to happen), wherever that might be. There are huge issues in Ottawa with that, but I will go back to the smaller and seemingly trivial instance of "the chip wagon"... it's a place where you can at least say hello to other people who are out enjoying the day and grabbing a bite, but all we are apparently allowed to do is sit in restaurants at tables (where talking to your neighbour is generally discouraged from an etiquette point of view)... even when we travel downtown, we are forced to isolate ourselves in the company of others. There is no fun to be found in that sort of environment. Yes, there is fun to be "found", but it's never just "there".
</rant>