\t\t\tFind another way<\/p>\n
Re: Arlington Bridge begins its long fall<\/a> (July 17)<\/p>\n Coun. Janice Lukes talks about a $5 million study to replace the bridge (and then likely another $300 million to actually do it). There is only one feasible solution for Arlington Bridge \u2014 don\u2019t rebuild!<\/p>\n There are actually four other nearby ways to go over or under the rail lines \u2014 count them \u2014 Keewatin Street, McPhillips Street, the Slaw Rebchuk Bridge and Main Street. In the case of Arlington and McPhillips streets, the routes are literally one block apart on Notre Dame Avenue<\/p>\n Some, like the William Whyte Association, try to position this as an issue of affluent vs non-affluent neighbourhoods. Folks, we live in a city of rivers and rail lines. Everyone, no matter where they live, has to use a bridge or an underpass to get somewhere in this city.<\/p>\n Most of the time people have to go a few blocks or kilometres out of their way to get where they are going \u2014 there are few straight lines in our town. A trip from most parts of River Heights to Portage Avenue requires some backtracking and a choice of two busy bridges \u2014 St James or Maryland. That\u2019s just the way it goes.<\/p>\n Derek Rolstone, Winnipeg<\/p>\n Remembering McLuhan<\/p>\n July 21 marked the 115th birthday of Marshall McLuhan.Who was he? He was one of the most quoted Canadians in history.<\/p>\n \u201cThe medium is the message\u201d and \u201cthe global village\u201d are household expressions, but what do they mean?<\/p>\n Marshall grew up here in Winnipeg at the house at 507 Gertrude Ave. in Osborne Village, and became one of Canada\u2019s most renowned public intellectuals and media visionaries. He lived on Gertrude from 1920 to 1934, during his formative years. All of his education, up to and including his first master\u2019s degree, took place in Winnipeg and gave him the foundation to pose such crucial questions that are even more relevant today than ever.<\/p>\n Such questions are: In what way do technologies change our perception of the world? How do they change the way we communicate? And how do they affect social relations?<\/p>\n In the age of artificial intelligence and social media, McLuhan\u2019s insights provide us with antidotes to the breakdown of communication, loss of identity and drowning in an overabundance of data. Understanding Media, his seminal 1964 work, guides us to critical thinking and to affirming our humanness.<\/p>\n Thank you for these gifts, Marshall.<\/p>\n Howard R. Engel, Winnipeg<\/p>\n Keep sidewalks safe<\/p>\n