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Of course, State Street is home to the historic Chicago Theatre and flagship stores of some the country’s most popular national retail chains, spanning the shopping gamut from Old Navy to Anthropologie. Are cars part of what sparked State Street’s rebirth?

If so, what to make of cars being banned from Times Square? Barring vehicles from arguably the world’s most famous piazza met with plenty of skepticism (especially from cab drivers) when it was first tried in 2009. Naturally, it was an instant hit.

The reason that these projects were successful — one adding cars, one taking them away — is that both locations offer visitors plenty to do and see.

Sparks Street used to do that. According to Alain Miguelez, author of A Theatre Near You, Sparks boasted a number of cinemas, including the Regent and the Centre, both of which closed in the early 1970s. Until the mid-’90s, Place de Ville on the west end of Sparks had movie theatres. Now you can’t find a single theatre in the downtown district west of the canal (unless you count Lansdowne Park and Old Ottawa South as downtown), let alone on Sparks Street.

Another factor in the Chicago and New York wins in redeveloping their respective cities was they each had a mayor with a vision and the determination to make it happen. But with Sparks Street, it’s hard to know who should be stepping up to the plate. The city is only responsible for the actual roadway. Public Works department and the NCC own most of the actual buildings. With three different government entities involved, coming up with a bold plan becomes that much harder.