Problem with the city of Hamilton

Can’t argue that Ockham. Totally hear ya.
My thoughts (and, certainly my proud-Hamiltonian bias gives me some rose-coloured glasses here) would be that, hopefully, a large attraction in the West Harbour, coupled with Bayfront Park, would draw people down there and have their perceptions changed.

Note that I didn’t say a stadium. If there was a nice park with an ampitheatre, nice and new mid-rise condo’s and a bit of a villa, it would certainly do the job of making trips to the downtown area more palatable for locals and visitors.

This is exactly why I see so much opportunity in our downtown. I really do believe that we’re on the cusp of exploding growth. That doesn’t mean that Hamilton civic leaders have anything to do with it. We’re just next down the line where housing is still affordable, while commuting into Toronto is relatively convenient.

Me too. And the other thing is that studies have shown that the people who make such decisions (i.e., to move into older, somewhat run-down, but improving areas), not surprisingly, are young couples. But more importantly, once these young couples reach the point where they have school-aged children, they often cash out and move to ‘better’ neighbourhoods. These kinds of families need to be retained or the cycle will repeat itself in such neighbourhoods and how do we do that? Amenities - parks, esp. waterfronts, specialized school programs, entertainment venues, festivals, recreation centres, museums, libraries, galleries, rapid transit, shops, cafes, and such on walkable streets (that means two-way!) that have the symbols of social and cultural diversity. There is a huge demand for this kind of lifestyle. This is what will start to help with the things shown in Code Red and why the City has to be concerned with making sure its investments build off the planned infrastructure investments coming from the province (GO and LRT). It will also transform the image of Hamilton.

red24

What bothers me in the downtown area as much as anything else is that empty wasteland between King and King William around Catherine. What a blight on the landscape.
I usually park there when I drive in for a game because it's cheap and I can catch the Tiger-Cat Express around the corner on King.
I don't think a stadium at the West Harbour would help that area...other than with the parking...for a long time. Unless they put the stadium there.
When I left Hamilton (New Years Eve 1961) that area was bustling. The Capitol and the Palace theatres were going strong along with the bars and department stores. I know things change and the attraction of 'burbs affected most cities. But other big cities seemed to react faster and did not allow their downtowns to deteriorate so badly.
I think it was asking too much to think a stadium at the West Harbour would do that. So maybe the progress that has been made in recent years will keep on going.
But it looks like it will take decades before those run down areas east of James St and north of King, will change for the better.

Agreed. That’s why Bob’s ampitheatre/rec centre plan was too good to pass up.

The WH has great potential but serious issues which may or may not be readily fixable. I’m still convinced a football stadium is not the best solution for the area. Freddy said so himself when he was the manager of the Port Authority. What’s changed his mind now that he’s the mayor?

Why haven’t condos been going up in the WH already? Yes the rail yards are one issue, but another is access. Condos go up along the lake in Toronto because you have the Gardiner and Lakeshore Blvd. Perhaps the best use of the Hydro sale money is to clean up the brownfields and attract condo developers instead of this fixation on a 15,000 seat stadium.

According to the panel discussion with architects last Friday night, condos are not being built because residential use is not possible on most of the site because of contamination, and CN’s opposition to re-zoning has been tied up at OMB since 2002. There has already been quite a lot of infill build of single-family homes on Crooks St. and elsewhere, so it’s not like it’s not a good idea, just the barriers are too great at this moment.

Re: Young’s ‘offer’ of the amphitheatre - there were 3 things wrong with it: 1) it was premature, still didn’t know the costs of EM; 2) it had a ‘I’ll make you an offer to spend your own FF money on this’ ring to it; 3) insufficient political tact - introduced it in the media, didn’t work the idea behind the scenes with Council, so they could take ownership of it and make it sound like their own idea, so he was painted as a somewhat disingenuous, self-appointed saviour of the WH (whether that’s accurate or not).

red24

Going to T.O to watch a concert in the club district tonight, Will be glad to get out of there when its over
TO THE SAFETY of THE SAFE (compared with Canadas other big cities) HAMILTON DOWNTOWN!
I know people(relatives) who look down their noses at Hamilton from their crime infested burbs in Mississauga(I KNOW I GREW UP THERE!)
Hamilton is getting treated like crap in all this wine-ing about the W.H site
Majority of Hamiltonians are Hardworking family folks
Stop Spreading Lies to get your way!

[quote="Ockham"]It doesn't matter what anyone's personal experience is in the Hamilton downtown core. It's about non-Hamiltonian's perception of the downtown core. I"ve asked people I know who I sometimes manage to get to a TiCats game if they would rather go to the game in a new Aldershot or East Mountain stadium and everyone said yes. They love the product but are reluctant to drive through Hamilton. What a stretch. Roll up the car windows and lock the doors where driving through Hamilton . Snobs and sheep abound outside of Hamilton .