(Published in ARTSBeat - October/November 2002 Issue)
While Locke Street South is just one of a dozen designated Business Improvement Areas (BIAs) in the New City of Hamilton, Locke Street Interiors owner Rob Walker stresses that this BIA is somewhat unique in its approach towards economic development in that its members tend to avoid bureaucracy and veer instead towards team-focused efforts to accomplish improvements within the community.
While it was Mr. Walker who made the analogy to Toronto�s ritzy Yorkville district, I found the neighbourhood to be more similar to the Withrow Park area (Danforth/Chester) of Toronto. Although it�s not quite as upscale (yet), it�s just as classy, and much more user-friendly and scenic than Yorkville. At one location I observed a sign asking business owners and staff to park on the side streets, to allow driving customers better access to the stores. There is also a local bus that travels through at least the central portion, (although not as frequently as this spoiled ex-Torontonian would like)!
The Locke Street South BIA even had the good grace to allow �outside� vendors, including Hanky Hats Inc. (Port Credit), Beluxe (George St.) and Spirit of the Garden (Chatham St.) to participate. One of these �outside� vendors, OE (Outdoor Excitement), had been disqualified from participating in its own neighbourhood festival due to an apparently strict �zoning policy�. In fact, the overall impression I get from Locke Street�s self-contained but hardly �closed� village is one of optimistic co-operation, a �live and let live� philosophy and a determination to be successful, but not aggressive, in its commercial enterprises.
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