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8 + WATERLOO CHRONICLE + Wednesday, May 14, 2008 Peter WINKLER PUBLISHER EDITORIAL Bob VRBANAC EDITOR exi. 229 editorial@ waterloochromicle.ca sports@waterloochronicle.ca Jennifer ORMSTON Greg MACDONALD REPORTER ext. 215 Tackie HAMILTON ext. 228 jhamilton@waterloochronicle.ca Carly GIBBS ext. 222 cgibbs @waterloochronicle.ca REPORTER ext. 203 jormston @ waterloochronicle.ca edmacdonald @waterloochronicle.ca Gerry MATTICE ext. 230 RETAIL SALES MANAGER sales@waterloochronicle.ca SALES REPRESENTATIVES Norma CYCA ext. 223 nevea@ waterloochronicle.ca Brenda SOKOLOWSKI ext. 202 bsokolowski@waterloochronicle.ca CLASSIFIED 519â€"895â€"5230 CIRCULATION 519â€"886â€"2830 ext. 213 Canadian Publications Mail Sales Publication Agreement Number 40050478 International Standard Serial Num ber ASSN 0832â€"3410 Audited Circulation: 31,292 ADVERTISING The Waterloo Chronicle is published each Wednesday by Metroland Media Group Ltd. The Waterloo Chronicle is a member of The Ontario Press Council, which considers complaints against memâ€" ber newspapers. Any complaint about news, opinions advertising or conduct should first be taken to the newspaper. Unresolved complaints can be brought to: Ontario Press Council, 2 Cartton Street, Suite 1706, Toronto, ON., MSB 133. ONTARIO PRESS COUNCIL The contents of this newspaper are protected by copyright and may be used only for personal nonâ€"commerâ€" cial purposes. All other rights are reserved and commercial use is proâ€" hibited.«To make any use of this material you must first obtain the permission of the owner of the copyâ€" right. For further information conâ€" tact Bob Vrbanac, Editor, Waterloo Chronicle, 279 Weber St. N., Suite 20. Waterloo, Ontario N2J 3H8. COPYRIGHT Letters to the editor must contain the writer‘s full name, signature, address and telephone number. Addresses and telephone numbers are used only for verification purposes and will not be published. Names will not be withâ€" held. We reserve the right to edit, conâ€" dense or reject any contribution for brevity or legal purposes. Letters may be submitted by fax to 519â€"886â€"9383 or by email to editorial@waterâ€" loochronicle.ca or by mail or delivâ€" ered to Waterloo Chronicle, 279 Weber St. N.. Suite 20, Waterloo, Ontario N2J 3H8 LETTERS POLICY WATERLOO CHRONICLE 279 Weber St. N., Suite 20 Waterloo, Ontano N2J 3H8 519â€"886â€"2830 Fax: 519â€"886â€"9383 ww w. waterloochronicle.ca FAX 519â€"886â€"9383 EMAIL uptown. The old line is that there is no such thing as free parkâ€" ing. The premise being that you have to pay for it someâ€" how, not just in the obvious way of plunking a few coins into the meter. And in this case it‘s true because ultimately taxpayers pay for the parking in the uptown as we subsidize the health and vibrancy of core merchants instead of collectâ€" ing taxes on what could be developable land. But this is no competitive advantage, it simply allows core merchants, restaurants and other services to comâ€" pete with big box developments and more traditional malls and their acres of "free" parking. We all know there‘s a cost for that too, whether enviâ€" ronmental or otherwise, but it‘s the price of doing busiâ€" ness in a modern retail landscape. â€" s Free parking might also be cheaper than the downâ€" town revitalization projects that a number of municipaliâ€" ties have had to do when bad decisions conspired to kill the golden goose of a healthy main street. The city should tread carefully in its plan to transition to a paidâ€"parking system in order to double uptown parking capacity. You hope it doesn‘t come down to the law of diminishing returns where due to the loss of free parking there is less traffic coming into the core, and no need to fund the expansion of more parking structures. What makes a core of a city healthy is a healthy mix of ingredients. Destination shopping spots, safe and accesâ€" sible amenities and city attractions that make it the place that people want to visit. Take one of those things out of the mix and it just doesn‘t taste the same. Same goes for parking. Has anyone bothered to ask people who visit the core whether they‘ll pay for it, or if they‘ll park in the new parking structures? ________ _ It‘s something that must be answered before leaving everyone involved with a bitter taste in their mouths. No free parking he most controversial aspect of the city‘s new parkâ€" ing strategy for the core, other than the $40â€"million price tag, is the proposal to end free parking in the VIEWPOINT 1 I could do was shake A;ny head when [ read bout the recent car accidents in the area. Two weekends ago, two people died, and drinking and driving may have played a part in their deaths. _ One accident was on Marsland Drive, a street I drive down every workday. The other collision was on Highway 8. It‘s been reported in the media that a man has been charged with impaired driving after a woman‘s car was rearâ€"ended â€" the impact was so strong she was thrown from her car even though she was wearâ€" ing a seatbelt. I understand that acciâ€" dents happen, and someâ€" times there‘s nothing that can be done to prevent them. But, in my opinion, when a person chooses to drink alcohol before they drive any motorized vehicle, it‘s no longer an "accident." Instead it‘s a senseless, preventable crime that has unimaginable consequences for the innoâ€" cent victims and their famiâ€" lies. OPP commissioner Julian Fantino said in an open letâ€" ter to Ontarians that he believes our society has developed a "tolerance" for the crime of drunk driving. "But, whether it is a crimâ€" inal homicide using a gun or a criminal homicide using a vehicle, the trauma and tragedy of the end result are the same." Think twice this weekend He cited a recent poll that WHHORATIEE shows the number of Canaâ€" dians who drive drunk has increased by about three per cent since 2004, up to 8.2 per cent. "It is reality for families who are left to deal with the ultimate and unforgiving consequences of the irreâ€" sponsible actions of drunk drivers, to say nothing of the extraordinary medical costs, loss of productivity and other impacts that society in general is forced to shoulder in the aftermath of such blaâ€" tant criminal conduct," Fanâ€" tino said. I know people who have a few drinks and drive a car. Often, I hear them debating if they‘re "OK to drive." I‘m no puritan. I‘ve been known to have a glass of wine or two. But I‘ve never driven a car after imbibing. After just one glass of wine, I can feel that my vision is not quite the same as it normally is. And there‘s no way I would take the chance of getting behind the wheel. The Waterloo Regional Police Service agrees that this is the right decision for every driver to make. "Our message to people is they should never drive after they‘ve consumed any amount of alcohol," said Olaf Heinzel, the police service‘s public affairs coâ€"ordinator. "We can‘t get into a disâ€" cussion about how many drinks are safe because, from our perspective, any amount of alcohol starts to impair the driver‘s ability," he told "If you‘ve had any alcoâ€" hol, or any product that is going to potentially impair you, our message is do not get behind the wheel." And with the Victoria Day long weekend coming up, let‘s hope drivers make the right choice: find a sober designated driver, take pubâ€" lic transportation or a taxi, or drink nonâ€"alcoholic beverâ€" The police‘s RIDE proâ€" grams are ongoing throughâ€" out the year, and there will be increased focus on findâ€" ing drunk drivers on long weekends this summer, Heinzel said. I know local police were out in full force last weekend â€"I went through a RIDE program on Marsland Drive on Friday night, and I noticed they had pulled sevâ€" eral cars over to the side. Hopefully this weekend will pass without any carâ€" nage on our roads.