MAYBVM

212 213 Diodati: “Niagara Falls is often misunderstood. People think it’s all about Clifton Hill – they need to know we have regular neighborhoods, church- es, schools, parks.We’re actually a really nice community to live in. But we’re so well-branded for our tourism that I refer to us as ‘The Coca-Cola of Municipalities.’ I’ve been all around the world, and I challenge people to show me a person who’s never heard of Niagara Falls.We’re a small city with a big reputation. “Because we get 14 million tourists, we’ve got great restaurants, attractions, and hotels; a buffet of fun and excitement for visitors and residents. Those kinds of amenities you rarely get in a city our size.We also have 125 wineries, and 95 per- cent of all ice wine in Canada is made in Niagara. With good wine comes fine dining and hotel stays and longer visits.We’ve also got the best white sand beaches along Lake Erie, horseback riding, outstanding golf courses, and farmers’ mar- kets. So, it’s the best of both worlds. It all plays together with a great quality of life. And it’s only a 12-minute flight from our Niagara District Airport to Billy Bishop Airport in Toronto for $159 return. That’s amazing. Plus, everyone likes the proximity to the U.S. border for shopping, or an NHL or NFL game in Buffalo.” BVM: How has the recent housing boom affect- ed the city? Diodati: “It’s a double-edge sword. Because houses here were beyond dirt cheap, compared to the GHTA, people moved down here in droves. We’ve had this massive growth, and now it’s NIAGARA FALLS, ONTARIO difficult for first-time home buyers to get into the ownership side of things.We’re hoping that will ease with enough inventory of homes. As it stands, we’re selling out entire subdivisions be- fore the services are even in the ground. Thank- fully, we built new pumping stations, and we’re expanding that network to handle the growth and the infrastructure. But we want it to be mea- sured growth, to ensure the new neighborhoods still have the warm, folksy character of Niagara Falls. “Expansion of our trail network is another key aspect of community development. In 2000, we started the Millennium Trail that runs along former open canals on the hydro corridor, which were once seen as a scar across the city. Now, we’ve done arrangements with Ontario Power Generation (OPG) and we’re building a full trail from the north to the south of the city, where you can walk, cycle, blade in the midst of wild- life and nature. The breathtaking Niagara Parks Commission Recreation Trail is another incredible pathway, running from Lake Erie to Lake Ontario along the Niagara River. “We’re also upgrading and rebuilding our parks. Last year, we did ten; this year, another ten.We’re connecting the trails, the parks, and the neigh- borhoods, so people won’t feel isolated. All our new roads will have bike lanes for safety.We even built a rubberized trail around the ice surface at our arena, so it’s comfortable to use for exer- cising and socializing regardless of the weather. We want to get people out of their houses, out of their cars, out of their neighborhoods to build