1. Complain, complain, complain. I’m tired of hearing Torontonians, especially anyone associated with Queen Street, complain about gentrification, Starbucks, suburbanites, etc. Get over yourself!! Why can’t you just live your life without having to broadcast every shortcoming to the general population? You live in the city, good on you for choosing the “right” lifestyle. But, lets face it, every inch of the city is not going to be accessible, you’re going to have drugs in your neighbourhood (there are drugs in the suburbs too, but the high school kids are polite enough to do it in their parent’s basement) and yes, Starbucks will show up where there’s a concentration of young urban professionals. Get over it.

   Can we start hearing about some of the positive things that are happening in the city, I’m tired of the complaining and doom and gloom.

   Posted by  on  02/22  at  01:07 PM

2. Funny, Starbucks was one of the chain restaurants that signed an agreement with the Ontario Human Rights Commission to improve accessibility to its stores.

   Of course, since your blog uses a CAPTCHA, it is not in a position to really discuss accessibility, though you are notably laundering it through the verbal camouflage of child- or stroller-”friendliness.” Also your character encoding is incorrect.

   Posted by Joe Clark  on  02/22  at  05:37 PM

3. Hal wasn;’t complaining, he was observing. Big difference. And he brings up valid points. We can’t choose who lives in a ‘hood, but we can have a say in how it is developed thourhg neighbourhood studies and community organizing. While I sometimes get annoyed by Hal, his current posts have been engaging and somewhat thought-provoking.

   To the previous poster, Joe Clark: what the hell are you talking about? Get out from in front of your computer and live a little. Slagging a website about accessibility is like complaining that a dog doesn’t produce milk. Take your gripes elsewhere, Mr. Grouch. I’ve seen your posts on other Toronto-based blogs and you do nothing but complain. Add to discussions, not pollute them with your miniscule griping.

   Posted by  on  02/22  at  10:28 PM

4. For some reason Hal’s seemingly innocent stories about his Toronto neighbourhood has set off a cascade of flaming unseen before on the pages of Reading Toronto. Even web guru Joe Clark has joined in the fray to take a swipe at Hal and Reading Toronto. I’m trying to figure this one out…

   Hal, thanks for your posts and good luck on the book launch!

   Posted by  on  02/23  at  10:15 AM

5. The Editor is right – a fascinating amount of pent up frustration(?) has been directed at Hal (rightly or wrongly) for his anecdotal musings on living in the neighborhood.

   The majority of it (my posts included) seem to indicate a sensitivity to gentrification and suburbanization of the downtown core. The sanest opinion I’ve heard on the topic to date was in the editorial column of the most recent Parkdale Gleaner (mine was delivered yesterday).

   Relatedly, the Active 18 Association (http://www.active18.org/) will be having a ‘community charette’ at The Gladstone on Sunday, March 5th. I imagine there’ll be many more voices speaking on these topics as well.

   Posted by  on  02/23  at  11:44 AM

6. Hal, Hal, Hal my previous comment about you touring CAMH wasn’t meant to be an insult. It was more than anything else meant as a suggestion to get to know your neighbourhood better. Also as a journalist, I figured the PR people there would be receptive to your request.

   “I’ve now been told by the citizenry to take a tour of an addiction treatment centre (because not wanting a crack vial in your backyard is evidence of a total lack of empathy for those addicted to drugs).”

   I don’t think you have a lack of empathy for those addicted to drugs. But you certainly have a lack of empathy for those who are forced to hear your terrible impressions of Nickelback lead singer Chad Kroeger.

   Posted by Ron Nurwisah, Boy Reporter  on  02/23  at  12:19 PM

7. Maybe I’m not qualified to question, not being a parent myself, or in a position to handle strollers except out of streetcar-boarding-and-demounting courtesy, but I’m wondering how much the “stroller problem” is in one’s head. Y’know, letting your stroller conquer you, rather than just going about the Starbucks-entry procedure with an efficient alley-oop oops-a-daisy sleight-of-hand. (Sorta like shovelling snow, or unloading groceries, etc.)

   Again, I don’t know. But just a warning about letting “stroller friendliness” become arbitrary urban dogma. Y’know, just like the hyped-up disability issue that led to the Uptown’s closure, demolition and collapse…

   Posted by Adam Sobolak  on  02/23  at  08:52 PM

8. I’m going to stay clear of the main debate(s) here. At the risk of going a bit off-topic I have to jump in with more info for Chris:

   There is such a thing as web accessibility. It’s all about making sure that everyone can access the content on a web site (just like physical accessibility is about making sure everyone can access a building). For example, it ensures the blind can use screen reader programs (which read the whole page out loud) and aging baby-boomers with reduced vision can magnify text on the page.

   Lots of info: http://www.w3.org/WAI/intro/accessibility.php

   Posted by Matt  on  02/24  at  02:11 AM

9. Aspects of Accessibility:

   1. to a parking space in front of or near your home, a permit for which you are paying.

   2. the ‘stroller problem’ is also the ‘wheelchair problem’; in the later case we are talking about rights; accepting that ‘some places are going to be inaccessible’ is a discriminatory attitude and unacceptable.

   3. the fact that many still don’t understand or seem to have any sensitivity to the issues around computer and web accessibility is, I suppose, not surprising even while, at the same time, it is deeply depressing. You use the medium—whether to complain or criticize; learn how to use it properly.

   ...edN

   Posted by Ed Nixon  on  02/24  at  09:27 AM

10. Like many initiatives on the Internet, Reading Toronto does its best to be accessible to a broad spectrum of computer users. We, like others, run up against time and money constraints when maintaining the site. We are not a government site, we receive no public funding, and exist thanks to contributors – like Hal – who are willing to post their words and images on the site for the benefit of our readers. We’d like to be more accessible. We’d like to do a better job managing the technology too. The truth is we’ve only got so much time and energy to commit to this project. Any donations of time and/or expertise and/or cash are welcome.

    Posted by  on  02/24  at  09:39 AM

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