Gates and Mazes

Forget Mapquest, check out Google Maps. It seems that whatever Google touches turns to gold. I'll stop the fawning over this omnipotent corporation now; lest we forget that they sold out by releasing information on our searches to the US government and they are oh so helpful to the censor-happy Chinese government.

But despite these shortcomings, I did learn something recently looking at my instant Google Map of Hamilton. You can tell a lot about a city from the air. Look at the way the streets are laid out and you can tell where the suburbs begin and the traditional urban area ends. In Hamilton most of downtown from Westdale to the Red Hill Creek is in the standard grid format. Straight lines running up and down and left and right. Seems boring but makes sense for getting around. There are no crazy courts to trap you or dead ends that you'll have to double back on.

In the newer suburban areas, by contrast, watch what happens to the map. Say you're looking at the large city block bordered by the Linc, Upper Sherman, Stonechurch, and Upper Gage. There are just a few access points to the major roads from the interior of the subdivision. Is it just me or do you think it would be pretty easy to put up gates at those few access points into the subdivision? Private security anyone?

So who cares? Well it's just another example of how you need to have a car to get around in this place and, like Jason, you'll need to memorize the maze of roads. If you're on foot you're going to have to walk much further than you would on the downtown grid structure; there walking is king. You can get anywhere; maybe even faster than a car. In the 'burbs good luck.

And if you don't know where you're going you're doomed. Walking through the dismal suburban nightmare of the Greenhill and King neighbourhood the other day I found I was walking in circles. I just wanted to get back to the office but I made the fatal mistake of heading through the maze with few exits. I thought logically that the quickest way between two points was a straight line; I was wrong. I ended up having to double back and join the inefficient main road and go out of my way. Essentially the message of the city planners is: if you don't have a car you're not welcome.

I guess these neighbourhoods will have to change and very soon given the reality of peak oil. I hope that many new paths will be created by homeowners to allow quick access by pedestrians and cyclists from interior roads to major streets. There they would be able to catch buses or get out to shops and markets. But maybe the secured gates are the more realistic solution. One can always dream.

(And yes, I'm sure I could have come to the same conclusion looking at a standard road map. Do they still make those anymore?)