Bill Smith's Photography

I got my Nikkormat FT2 back from my new repair tech and I wanted to try it out. After a run to Burlington Camera, I went over to Brant Street and shoot my last roll of Bergger BRF 400. The camera works fine, the meter overexposes by a stop but no big deal. What got my attention with Burlington's downtown was downright hopping compared to Lakeshore Road in Downtown Oakville which is currently suffering from at least 24 vacant storefronts. Burlington and Oakville population-wise are roughly the same size, both are on Lake Ontario between Toronto and Hamilton, both communities could not be more different. Burlington allowed condo, office and apartment development in its downtown to co-exist with low-rise retail and heritage buildings. Another observation, Burlington's Town Hall is downtown and is front and center. As a result, downtown Burlington has a much lower commercial vacancy rate and a more diverse retail cross-section than downtown Oakville. As a long time Oakville ...