Wyandotte decision just plain wrong

City council’s decision to shelve the Wyandotte Town Centre BIA’s districting plan is astounding in its hypocrisy and doublespeak.

The plan was the result of a four-year process involving and decided upon by residents and businesses. By reneging on this now, we send the message that the grassroots will only be listened to if politicians get the answers they want to hear.

It is the worst example of top-down decision-making. Is that how we plan to move forward with these new districts — only pretend to listen to residents and businesses and then do whatever the politicians wanted all along? Unlike the Christmas lights, this would be a feature that will benefit adjacent businesses 365 days a year. This could potentially draw new businesses and help existing businesses, giving Windsor taxpayers a return on investment separate from beautification that could create jobs, raise property values (tax assessments) and attract new residents.

This area is between the downtown and Walkerville, so the Wyandotte Town Centre districting plan would benefit both of those neighbourhoods. Imagine how it would look to those travelling across the city going through multiple distinct neighbourhoods. It would be the equivalent of fixing a smile in the core that has a missing tooth.

The mayor and council just approved spending to create new districts. The money for those districts will now come from this decision. Taking money already approved for existing districts to pay for new ones is a terrible decision that pits neighbour against neighbour.

The only difference I see between the new districts and Wyandotte Town Centre is it has no high-profile anchor, so this is now also about class warfare. We are stealing from poorer neighbourhoods to give to richer ones, which is ludicrous and just plain wrong. Mark Boscariol, Windsor