01-06-2020, 10:32 PM
(01-06-2020, 08:35 PM)tomh009 Wrote:(01-06-2020, 06:46 PM)panamaniac Wrote: It’s more than “some people”. Although that person put it crudely, many people are not comfortable in, and certainly don’t want to share, an environment that includes the homeless/the poor/the mentally ill. I abhor the attitude, but I recognize it as pretty common in K-W (not that K-W is unique in this regard). I believe it will fade over time, although I have doubts about DTK as a significant retail destination, which seems to be a key element for “non-Downtowners”.
I don't know what it's like in Ottawa, but certainly downtown Toronto has far more homeless people than we have. And yet people accept it as a destination. Not to mention big US cities, whether New York, San Francisco etc.
We need to work on this problem. But I say that because I think we should help these people, not because I'm looking to clean up our downtown so that people like Arthur can shop there.
Ottawa also has many more, especially in parts of the Market, with its 3 large shelters. It really wouldn’t occur to most people to avoid (most of) the area only because of homeless people. But again, Ottawa is a much larger city with a much larger and busier core.