Is the city investing too much money in its downtown core—neglecting other areas of Thorold in the process?
Thorold resident Silvana Lagrotteria, who has lived in Confederation Heights since the 1980s, says that she’s fed up with not seeing any of the city’s money invested in her part of town.
“I love Thorold,” says Lagrotteria, in an interview with ThoroldToday. “I chose to live here, but at least could we please get things on this side of the city as well? It’s always everything centralized down there.”
In the last few years, the City of Thorold has heavily invested in its downtown core, overhauling Front Street and giving Battle of Beaverdams Park a $650,000 makeover.
Meanwhile, neighbourhoods like Confederation Heights and Thorold South have seen a boom of new housing developments, but no real push from the city to support the residents who move there.
“I can count on one hand the times when I see two or three people at the bus stop [downtown] they’ve spent ridiculous money on,” Lagrotteria says. “Meanwhile in Confederation, when the students are in session, I’m seeing 15-20 students standing in the rain waiting for busses with no shelters. You’re not even accommodating seniors. It’s been going on for years.”
What Lagrotteria really wants to see are more affordable amenities around where she lives.
“Where can I go to buy underwear in Thorold?” she asks. “There’s nowhere to buy things like basic necessities. We even had politicians come to the door and they say: ‘Oh, you can just go down to the Pen Centre.’ That is St. Catharines. I pay my taxes to Thorold. If you’re not going to do things to make this work, then just amalgamate already. At least that way my taxes are actually going to be working for me.”
In the last year, Confederation Heights has been in the press because of noise and vandalism complaints about the students who live there. Lagrotteria thinks those issues would easily be resolved if there were places those students could go.
“If you would put in a coffee house, they’re going to go there,” Lagrotteria says. “They’re not going to go partying in their neighbourhoods necessarily. Do something out here to capitalize on the people that are here.”
Lagrotteria just wants the city to listen to its residents more.
“What I would like to see them do is do some kind of a real population study,” she says. “Do something to see what people actually want and need here. [There are] all kind of strategies that the city could be doing to bring businesses here, from no taxes for five years to incentives of every kind. They could be doing so much more, and it seems that every time it’s downtown.”
Asked for comment by ThoroldToday, City Hall said it works to promote all areas of Thorold, not just downtown.
“We are actively working with regional, provincial and federal levels of government in addition to the private sector to attract new businesses to all areas of Thorold, while continuing to work with existing businesses to retain and expand their operations," said Manoj Dilwaria, Thorold's Chief Administration Officer (CAO), in a prepared statement.
Said Mayor Terry Ugulini, in another written statement sent to ThoroldToday: “We are grateful for the Thorold Business Improvement Association that provides direct support to growing and supporting our downtown area. As Mayor of City of Thorold, I’ve had the pleasure of welcoming multiple new businesses to the city on behalf of Council, including Essential Café and Quartz Co.”
