Phillip Hong
March 8, 2010

 

The Romantic Bus to Newmarket?

 

Farewell, Newmarket "B".

 

It's ironic, but some of my happiest memories living in York Region were actually aboard a bus, and these keepsakes of mental substance are still packed in my head, nearly six years after they happened. It's also not a very normal occurrence to hear about a transit route, any transit route, being cancelled in a growing community like this.

 

It was during my high school years when I discovered what commuting was all about, and I did fall in love with the picturesque landscapes that laid ahead on Yonge Street. I commuted north in the morning, so the GO Newmarket "B" was a speedy, efficient way to get to school. I carried large instruments from the school band to a roll-away backpack when the books started piling up, onto this unassuming mostly quiet little coach.

 

According to York Region Transit, GO Transit will be ending this route soon, and for me it will be sad to see it go, since it played an interesting role in my increasingly free young adult life.

 

Viva simply doesn't have the hurried drivers, or the comfortable seats. The silence is superseded by eliminating duplicate routes and et cetera.

 

I also remember bringing a girl on board... but that's another story.

 

 

Retail Shock Therapy

 

For the mountains of people who are living in the Town of Georgina right now, hoping for Walmart to set up shop up there, you must face the music and deal with the fact that there won't be one under today's unique conditions.

 

I know that a lot of you love the low prices or the convenient shopping and such, and I'm not trying to promote or criticize this American retail chain, but to be a tactless dork who has heard of a handful, I can tell you that you won't get one if you keep shopping there.

 

Why? First of all, Northern York Region is within driving or commuting distance of Newmarket and East Gwillimbury, which means that Walmart will be hesitant to add unneeded costs involving the transport of merchandise to their targeted crowd. You encouraged this inaction since they don't see a problem with supply and demand.

 

Second, you do not live in a large enough community to support a Walmart within such close proximinity with other locations. Any retail chain won't cannibalize their business if there are "so many places to serve you", according to one corny advertisement. Southern York Region has plenty of locations, because three times as many people live here, and that sadly doesn't carry any favour for you at all.

 

Please, do yourself a favour and stop trying to search for possible miracles regarding this issue using search engines.