From: Kai Hildebrandt
Sent: Friday, June 12, 2020 2:41 AM
To: mayoro < mayoro@citywindsor.ca>
Cc: Toldo, Beth < toldob@citywindsor.ca>
Subject: Celestial Beacon near Ambassador Bridge
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Your worship, dear members of Council,
I write to you with regard to the Celestial beacon that has been suggested to be placed at the foot of Askin Ave.
First of all, I am not clear of why this is named a " Celestial Beacon" --if there is in fact a (lazer?) beacon to be part of it, I would object on two accounts: One, close to the Ambassador Bridge we do not need any additional source of light, as the drivers across the bridge do not need to be distracted; two, the northern hemisphere suffers from an overabundance of light sources at night: cutting down on light pollution is what we need to do, not adding to it!
Second, I concur with many of the points in opposition to the location of the streetcar at this location, for many/most of the reasons that have been raised by my very eloquent neighbours in the West Side
I should note that I am not opposed to state of the art facilities to replace the currently closed washrooms, nor, as a former European resident, would I be opposed to a restaurant where one could order a glass of wine or beer--the kind of place you'd find along major rivers all over Europe--I have taken many visitors from Europe to the Bistro at the foot of Oullette Ave, and they all thought that it was an obvious choice to be, and why would there not be more places like that along such a beautiful river!
Third, I am writing in support of the more obvious place to put the streetcar--and I applaud Council to have funded the refurbishing of this major piece of Windsor history--: in the vicinity of the AGW and the Chimchuck Museum of Windsor History.
A "destination location", for either area local residents or for foreign visitors--think cruise ship passengers-- does not consist of a single object of historical significance, but of cluster of objects of interest: like the AGW, the Chimchuck museum, the Baby House, and the Streetcar: that would be worth visiting, esp. if one could get to all of them on foot, within a small distance! (Yes, you are right, there ought to be a place to get sustenance close by, closer than the Bistro--we used to have a restaurant in the AGW--how about working toward that, instead of a stand-alone concession stand--like at Reaume Park???)--that would be a winning combination!
I respectfully urge Council to at least seek additional input into this decision, and hopefully reconsider the location of the streetcar museum.
Respectfully submitted,
Dr. Kai Hildebrandt