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Downtown parking tops Tale of a Town list

The Tales of a Town team was only in Sudbury a few hours, and they already knew parking in the city's core was a common problem for residents. They now know quite a bit about downtown, in fact, thanks to some kind locals who shared their stories.
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Lisa Marie DiLiberto and Charles Ketchabaw are looking for stories about downtown Sudbury in the Tale of a Town machine. Photo by Jenny Jelen.
The Tales of a Town team was only in Sudbury a few hours, and they already knew parking in the city's core was a common problem for residents.

They now know quite a bit about downtown, in fact, thanks to some kind locals who shared their stories.

On Aug. 20, Charles Ketchabaw and Lisa Marie DiLiberto were in Sudbury, collecting stories about downtown in exchange for ice cream.

DiLiberto said in the short time the tour van was stationed outside the YMCA on Durham Street, people offered up numerous accounts on their perspective of downtown.

“The project hopes to bring people downtown,” she said, encouraging them to “reflect on the importance of downtown.”

Ketchabaw, who was conducting most of the interviews from his studio on wheels, said people talked about everything from shopping to art when speaking about downtown.

“The No. 1 complaint about Sudbury is parking,” he said.

Since the team has been doing the same thing in various Ontario cities, Ketchabaw said it's not uncommon for citizens to complain about the issue — in some cities, though, accessibility is what draws people to the core, he said.

“The more places we go ... we notice common things that come up,” he said.

Ketchabaw and DiLiberto will collect their data from various cities and turn it into podcasts for various outlets and will eventually focus their efforts on creating plays based on people's stories in some of the towns they visit.

Ketchabaw said Sudbury is a place they would like to know more about.

“There seems to be a large group of passionate people,” he said.

Anyone who wants to share a Sudbury story is welcome to contact the Tale of a Town hotline at 1-855-CAN-TALE (1-855-226-8253). Visit www.thetaleofatown.com for more information.

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