How to fix Hamilton's downtown

[SteelTown]

How to fix Hamilton's downtown

January 31, 2008
Paul Morse
The Hamilton Spectator

A comprehensive report on how to make downtown Hamilton feel safer says the city must send some of the services for its most vulnerable citizens elsewhere.

Difficult and controversial decisions must be made -- such as the relocation of certain community services, decentralization of certain social services and a moratorium on new shelters, says consultant John Kousik in his Protecting the Future: A Safety and Security Audit of the Downtown Improvement Project Area.

The city's Downtown Cleanliness and Security Committee commissioned the report early last year from Kousik, a former Windsor police chief and senior commander in the Montreal police, who now runs a security management consulting firm based in Mount Hope.

"Downtown Hamilton is a place from which everything has been built and, unfortunately, over time the centre became hollowed out, abandoned, and an attraction to those less fortunate and able," he writes.

The report identifies 32 residential and lodging home facilities, six emergency shelters, three addiction treatment centres, two halfway houses, a Corrections Canada parolee halfway house and a brain trauma centre all in or within close proximity to downtown.

One key recommendation is to relocate the Wesley Centre out of the city's core.

"During public meetings, the executive director of the Wesley Urban Ministries Centre had mentioned that, based on political will, he would consider moving if a suitable place could be found," the report says. "Wesley Centre does not want to be an impediment to economic development."

Paul Johnson, Wesley's executive director, could not be reached for comment yesterday.

The report's 66 recommendations run the gamut of common-sense things such as replacing burned-out street lights to more controversial ways to discourage street people and panhandlers such as getting rid of the grass in Gore Park.

Kathy Drewitt, head of the Downtown Hamilton Business Improvement Area, said the report is surprisingly detailed and already making an impact.

"It's already starting to accelerate the recommendations and all of it will help to speed up the recovery of downtown."

Committee chair Bob Bratina said he is pleased with the report, but that some of the key recommendations on homelessness, street people and panhandlers still need much more discussion.

"We haven't finished our work because we still want to meet with social services and discuss matters raised with regard to those agencies."

Bratina hopes to bring the report forward to council by the end of February.

Some key recommendations:

Physical environment

* Develop a more proactive property standards enforcement program.

* Aggressively enforce downtown property standards.

* Police and property standards inspectors should respond quickly to complaints.

* Make James Street North a priority for complaints about bars for three months.

* Update property standards rules to include "perception" issues such as replacing broken windows with windows, not boarding them up.

* Identify shoddy facades and encourage owners to use money from available programs to fix them.

* More garbage cans in high litter areas.

* Hire street youth and homeless people to clean streets similar to program in Victoria, B.C.

* Get businesses to wash down their sidewalk twice a day and clean windows.

* Speed up replacement of broken street lights.

* Continue lighting alleys, especially in James Street North neighbourhoods.

* Trim more trees to increase lighting.

Homelessness, street people and panhandlers

* Apply panhandling bylaw or Safe Streets Act consistently against aggressive panhandlers.

* Adopt a "yellow star" system on sidewalks for buskers to rent monthly after audition.

* Re-landscape Gore Park with low-growing bushes instead of grass.

* Look at relocating Wesley Centre.

* Place a moratorium on new residential or lodging care facilities in downtown. New facilities should go into neighbourhoods and communities outside the core.

* Count street people numbers yearly.

* Develop a "meter program" to discourage panhandling. Instead of giving cash to panhandlers, people can put coins in special parking meters where needle goes from "despair" to "hope." Money used to fight homelessness. Modelled on Denver program.

Policing

* Expand closed-circuit TV (CCTV) program to all downtown.

* Use portable wireless CCTV cameras to target specific crimes.

* Include live CCTV monitoring at peak problem times.

* Use portable CCTVs as a calming agent and to identify troublemakers in Hess Village.

* Change police core patrol officers' schedules to put more on street at high activity times.

* Allow people to report crimes through police website.

* Review police's telephone complaint-taking process.

* Link police graffiti hotline to police's non-emergency response centre.

* Encourage downtown businesses to do security audits.

Task force

* City council to raise the task force to full committee status and receive quarterly updates and presentations.

* Walk about the downtown every four months with at least one done at night.

[DC83]

I don't undertsand the "remove the grass from Gore Park" argument??
Isn't that what they tried in the '80s? Didn't that turn into a big, ugly square with a horribly horrible fountain? Kinda looked like 3 flying saucers?
Only to have the whole park redone PROPERLY in the a decade later?

[flar]

The Gore Park suggestion is beyond stupid but some of the others are okay. Expensive stuff like CCTV should be a last resort because they haven't proven effective. Scientifically, numerous studies have been conducted and the jury is still out. Anecdotally, I've seen drug deals go down right underneath the current cameras, they just make the dealers more discreet (they used to be very open about it).

Panhandling is not really too bad downtown compared to other cities, but we do have a lot of bad looking people walking around. Many of them are not homeless, just poor. Moving some social services out of the core will help a bit, but I think a lot of poor people (who often look scary to middle class types) live near downtown. The best way to see improvements in this respect is to put the legions of unemployed young men here to work, which is easier said than done.

[DC83]

Moving the Wesley Ctr from Ferguson N is imperative especially with all the development going on in the area (General Hosp, etc). Walking along this stretch truly IS scary... even for a downtown dweller such as myself. I purposly avoid it any time I'm near.

This guy has some good ideas, for sure. But why force business owners to wash their sidewalks twice daily!?!?! hahahaha Such a bizarre suggestion. Once a day should be fine, no?

[raisethehammer]

remove the grass??? lol. Obviously suggested by someone who thinks a people-free, fake-looking downtown like Disney World is our goal.
Some other suggestions are good on here, but they are really missing the point.
The deadbeats running the Downtown BIA need to be splashed across the front page and taken to task on being so lousy.
People would gladly sit on that grass every night of the spring-fall if we had jazz in the park/theatre in the park/buskers/free movies/concerts/artisan-craft markets/organic food markets/patios etc.... instead of buses or cars. Winter could have winterfest/ice sculptures/hot chocolate stands/markets etc....
They have done NOTHING to improve their business district. We don't need more cameras showing us that, indeed, nothing is going on downtown again today. We need to turf this inept and useless BIA.

[the dude]

beware the long arm of the law...

these are not recommendations on how to make our downtown safer or better, but a quick and painless way of making our core a police state.

believe me, they're drawing on examples from the states and around the world where the police wage war on the homeless and impoverished. These former coppers want to make it illegal to be poor or mentally ill. there are examples south of the border of the homeless being rounded up and sent to work on farms...against their will, of course. it wouldn't be right to make those decisions based on ethnicity or religion, so why is it okay to do so based on their socio-economic status?

these dudes are fascists. all the stuff about the 'physical environment' is a smoke screen. the real meat of the report is the creation of a police state.

[SteelTown]

I wish the city got tough on homeless people littering our streets. I take former Mayor Rudy Giuliani's approach any day, which includes closing down sex shops, strip joints, etc at Times Square, for us Gore Park.

[HAMRetrofit]

Actually all the recommendations are very good except the point on planting shrubs in Gore Park. I think more flowers could be planted as well. The grass is not actually a problem. The ideas about enforcing property standards are very very good. Boarded up windows are like a welcome sign for squatters. Deconcentrating homeless shelters and drug programs away from the core is something to definitely start working on. They should be distributed more evenly throughout the city. High concentrations of certain income groups is never a good thing especially the poor. Some shelters should be moved onto the mountain and further east towards the industrial areas and Stoney Creek.

I am indifferent to the points about CCTV. Hiring specialized officers with experience dealing with downtown crimes could help. Hiring a full time detective for the area could help weed out more crime as well.

[the dude]

Originally Posted by SteelTown

* Adopt a "yellow star" system on sidewalks for buskers to rent monthly after audition.

are you kidding?? why would we make buskers audition and then pay to perform? this is public space!

this whole thing makes me sick.

and the whole connotation of the 'yellow star' is a little too much to bear.

[Jon Dalton]

Yeah, because the downtown is overrun by crappy buskers trying to tap into the lucrative market of poor people. I thought that was pretty funny.

[SteelTown]

^ There's a lot of cities that does the yellow star. I believe Ottawa does.

[block43]

There's a yellow star on York Boulevard, outside the main entrance to the Farmers' Market. Sometimes there is a guy playing an accordian there. It has been there for years.

[DC83]

Originally Posted by SteelTown

^ There's a lot of cities that does the yellow star. I believe Ottawa does.

I thought we did already have this set up? Why else would there be yellow stars on the sidewalk in certain parts downtown?

What Giuliani did was out-of-control!! NYC DID have a huge problem with crime, prostitution, etc. What he did DID help, but he's not 100% of the reason why NYC turned into (arguably) the world's greatest city. The fact that his terms as mayor was after the recession doesn't hurt either.

Hamilton is not NEARLY suffering as badly (crime wise) as NYC of the 80's/early90's. WHY would we subject our city to that type of policing. It's more like military-state.

I don't want to be walking through Gore Park and have a cop pull me aside, embarassing me with loads of questions just b/c my style "fits the profile of a drug dealer in the area" which is exactly what would happen since I have a parka with (edit: FAUX)-fur on it!

When this type of "policing" is accepted by city staffers, it allows cops to do whatever they want to whoever they want. And that, imo, is a violation to ALL our rights: poor, rich, middle class, black, white, brown, etc etc etc.

The whole idea of a police-state scars the crap out of me, and I (for one) would avoid a police-state'esq downtown. It all sounds so Stonewall to me *shudders*.

[raisethehammer]

yea, people who complain about the danger of downtown are either full of very bad luck (and have actually seen something dangerous happen there) or full of shite. usually the latter.
I'm downtown every single day and the worst thing I've ever seen (pretty funny actually) was a guy strutting down the street buck naked. Wouldn't you know a female cop comes around the corner and is staring at this guy. We're all laughing our heads off... a couple old Italian ladies were gesturing to him in Italian.
He's smiling the whole way...either sloshed at 11am or completing a dare someone sent him on.
She asks him what he's doing and he says with a straight face - "out for a walk". She's laughing her head off now too and puts him the back of the car.

That was 3 or 4 years ago. Haven't seen anything that remotely scares me, day or night.
we need MORE people downtown, not shrubs cameras or free parking.

[SteelTown]

The worst experience I had in the core was walking along James St along City Centre and I had to jump over a puddle of piss as a homeless guy was taking a piss right at the bus stop.

I've been asked if I wanted to buy drugs a few times too, twice in less than 10 minutes too.

[HAMRetrofit]

The kind of policing that is suggested is hardly as harsh as everyone is suggesting. It is not anywhere close to the type of enforcements executed by New York in the early 90's. Crime rate statistics show that crime is concentrated in Hamilton's core. This is an extremely problematic figure for real estate values and retail. Retailers will not locate new business in areas of high crime.

Cities require eyes on the street as Jane Jacobs suggests. More policing of high crime areas is only going to make things better for everyone and that includes the homeless and the unemployed. If they are acting as good citizens then what do they have to be afraid of?

[oldcoote]

CHML reported that the removal of grass was meant to discourage people from "hanging out".

Imagine that, in a park no less.

[fastcarsfreedom]

Unfortunately, the image of downtown has been shaped by naked paraders, urinators, panhandlers, drug pushers and the likes of the mentally disturbed man who hunted down that mall employee and came close to killing her. Arguments about the media "focusing" on inner-city crime aside, these incidents have resonance with people, it's undeniable. When I was a kid and we'd go downtown--the core was at the point where it's glory days were drawing to a close. Still, in this era of Robinsons/Eatons/Chicken Roost, there was not the visible presence of society's less-fortunate that have been so prominent more recently. I spent a lot of my formative years visiting downtown, and yet, my opinion of it now is shaped by the experiences I've had visiting recently.

In no way is this meant to provoke debate--the point is, what does need to be done, if anything, to change the tenor of the streets down there. RTH, you're right, naked paraders are more-likely-than-not harmless--but accepting the presence of that type of behavior as being "par for the course" definitely puts a spin on life in the core that a good swath of society would probably prefer not to partake in.

I love downtown, only want the best for it--would I take my kids for a stroll through Gore Park? Probably not. Does grass removal make sense?...I don't see how. Does CCTV make sense?...possibly. Moving some of the social service facilties out of downtown has merit--but where do they go? NIMBY anyone? If the city is committed to "changing" downtown there is no doubt the police have to play a major role--frankly speaking I think it's intensification of enforcement or the status quo.

[oldcoote]

Originally Posted by fastcarsfreedom

Unfortunately, the image of downtown has been shaped by naked paraders, urinators, panhandlers, drug pushers and the likes of the mentally disturbed man who hunted down that mall employee and came close to killing her. Arguments about the media "focusing" on inner-city crime aside, these incidents have resonance with people, it's undeniable. When I was a kid and we'd go downtown--the core was at the point where it's glory days were drawing to a close. Still, in this era of Robinsons/Eatons/Chicken Roost, there was not the visible presence of society's less-fortunate that have been so prominent more recently. I spent a lot of my formative years visiting downtown, and yet, my opinion of it now is shaped by the experiences I've had visiting recently.

In no way is this meant to provoke debate--the point is, what does need to be done, if anything, to change the tenor of the streets down there. RTH, you're right, naked paraders are more-likely-than-not harmless--but accepting the presence of that type of behavior as being "par for the course" definitely puts a spin on life in the core that a good swath of society would probably prefer not to partake in.

I love downtown, only want the best for it--would I take my kids for a stroll through Gore Park? Probably not. Does grass removal make sense?...I don't see how. Does CCTV make sense?...possibly. Moving some of the social service facilties out of downtown has merit--but where do they go? NIMBY anyone? If the city is committed to "changing" downtown there is no doubt the police have to play a major role--frankly speaking I think it's intensification of enforcement or the status quo.

Good points.

I'm relatively new to Hamilton (6 years) but I do feel that the core needs a destination retailer that makes it unique in Hamilton.
MEC would have fit the bill. Someone mentioned Sporting Life previously. Perhaps a flagship H&M or a SilverCity with an IMAX.
Either way, give a major retailer a sweetheart deal. That will draw people and in turn, other retailers, which will drive up the price of real estate, forcing the bingo parlours and dollar stores to move on.

[fastcarsfreedom]

No question oldcoote, destination retail is a piece of the puzzle. Increased hotel space is a piece, residential is a big piece--it all has to fit together to make it work. There was an interesting article published recently about the upswing in upscale residential in urban areas across North America. It focused on a few major U.S. cities including Atlanta, Houston and Denver. An interesting point the article made was that in many of these booming, upscale districts, retail amenities have been very slow to follow...so clearly even as we attract more residents downtown it is going to take real work on the part of EcDev to draw even "amenity" based retailers into the city.