What does DTK need?

[dtkvictim]

I can't then say "oh it's not so bad, here's a bunch of data and graphs about why it's fine" - she doesn't perceive it as safe and that's a big problem.

Many people do say this, but the data that gets posted only counters misinformed people who have never set a foot in the city or downtown. There are plenty of valid feelings, be it safety or something else, that prevents people from wanting to spend time in a place. These feelings can be well justified by things that will never show up in statistics, especially crime statistics. I'm not suggesting which of these apply to Kitchener, though they certainly apply to North American cities in general, things like uncleanliness, decrepit buildings, people screaming, human suffering on display (,and apparently open drug use) are not illegal but don't make for a place that people will want to be. Safety doesn't even need to come into it, though perception of safety is in practice tied to those things too.

For many suburban councillors, that's perfectly ideal...

I'm not sure if you're implying some sort of conspiracy here, but I've found many suburban places appear to have far more people out than downtown does on a typical evening.