Why Taylor's Way Shouldn't Be the Final Word on the Clock Tower Development

There are a number of people in Newmarket who feel that Main Street is perfectly fine as it is. Those people will be happy to hear that the Clock Tower development proposal won't be going ahead.

But in order to have a vibrant community, growth and change must happen. Otherwise Main Street is to become as lifeless as a museum. And unless we start charging admission (like most museums do), the economics of keeping Main Street locked in one point in time don't make sense.

What we are seeing on Main Street and elsewhere in Newmarket, are the results of years and years of neglecting planning. The Taylor legacy, from Tom Taylor through to John Taylor, over the past number of decades, has been a passive approach to development. The Taylor way is to sit and wait until developers propose something, then give into the various NIMBY groups who in turn promise to vote Taylor in the next election, And here are the results:

• Davis Drive - once the business heart of our community is now essentially a ghost town. Multiple proposals for high rise condos gather dust on the shelf because our economy is not in good shape for high rise condo development. There just aren't any new jobs in Newmarket that would support new high rise condo development.
• Yonge St - again, mostly a ghost town. Same plans as Davis Drive and guess what? Same sorry end result of empty plazas and derelict buildings. 
• Harry Walker Parkway - this area was supposed to become the economic driver of our community. Most lots are either empty or have a vacant structure occupying the lot. 

Main Street Newmarket is not in a good economic health. We know this because one bank has already left Main Street for greener pastures. Banks go where the money goes and Scotia Bank leaving indicates that the money has already left. 

Anyone with two eyes knows what Main Street needs to thrive. It needs a grocery store and a general goods/ hardware store (like a Home Hardware). Without these two anchor businesses, serving not only Main Street, but also the residents nearby - like Church, Botsford, Queen, Park and Millard residents - then there is really no reason for people to head over to Main St on a regular basis. 

But without an influx of new people moving into the Main Street area, something that the Clock Tower development would have provided, entrepreneurs don't see the upside of opening a grocery or hardware store. And that is the predicament that we are in. 

My advice for the Forrest Group, which owns a valuable asset in these Main Street buildings, is to take a page from the Taylor election campaign book. The next municipal election is just under two years away. There is time to recruit and promote the right candidates for mayor and other council seats. Good, hardworking, decent people who appreciate what prudent municipal planning really means.

The Clock Tower development doesn't have to be at odds with the best interests of the public. In fact, a good case can be made to say that this construction is exactly what our town needs. So if Bob Forrest believes in what he is doing, then put the case to the public through the ballot box in 2018.  

We all should care about the economic vibrancy of Newmarket's Main Street because a disproportionate amount of public resources are spent propping this part of town up. If Main Street was in better shape economically, then it would result in public money being freed up to be invested in other parts of the community or maybe even a reduction in property taxes (something that hasn't happened in Newmarket for as long as a Taylor has been in charge).