Quote:
Originally Posted by van Hemessen
My prediction: Dundas between Talbot and Richmond is going to improve dramatically over the next 5-10 years. The bums and crackheads will still be there, as in pretty much every other North American city, but they'll be less noticeable.
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This is basically how I feel. Downtown will always have some undesirables around and people just need to get used to that. Slowly over time the core with gentrify and the bums will either be less prominent or will move three blocks south to Horton. Regardless, I'd wager they'll always be nearby.
Rerouting LTC to King/Queens would definitely help solve the loitering problem because a fair amount of those people really are waiting for buses. Not only that, but I'd imagine the increased foot traffic would have a pretty positive impact on those streets. Either way doing something as extreme as removing all public housing within a certain radius should never be encouraged.
Also, it really sucks to hear you're uncomfortable walking Dundas with your family, Molson, but I genuinely don't think there's much to worry about. Downtown is a surprisingly friendly place and it kinda sucks that you're willing to let a single intersection stop you from enjoying it. I definitely recommend you check out one of the next car-free weekend dealies if you haven't already done so. I've seen tons of families biking down Dundas to the river, browsing around in Heroes and The Met, checking out the Museum, playing around in the spray-pad at the forks, getting food and listening to music. On top of all of that, DnR is deserted because the welfare crew can't shop at the welfare store on the weekend.
Btw for curiosity's sake, that intersection in Montreal you mentioned, how many people would you estimate live and work within a couple minutes of it (the size of London's core)? Is it even remotely comparable to Dundas and Richmond? Also, Montreal has the super-dense neighbourhoods surrounding its downtown which would surely have an impact.