01-10-2023, 11:36 PM
I live pretty close to downtown and I see people out and about all the time. I walked and drove by the ice rink at City Hall frequently over the holidays and not once was it empty. Usually it was full-ish of families with kids, as well as uni and college students. I saw the same at the Pop-Up Park this summer as well as for other events on Gaukel and around the core.
There's a whole thread on this forum full of legit things DTK needs to do to become more vibrant and alive, but to say it is entirely "a dump" that no one wants to live in or visit is clearly not true. Conestoga College is expanding their downtown campus, there's a new condo or apartment building going up on pretty much every downtown block, not to mention the the well attended festivals, markets, and events that run there every weekend from June-November.
IMO Repeating the false narrative that the streets of DTK is brimming with crime, addicts, violence, and drugs only serves to contribute to suburbanized mentality of people in the Region, making them fear taking transit and rally against proposed housing developments. This narrative is not accurate and it's def not helpful.
There's a whole thread on this forum full of legit things DTK needs to do to become more vibrant and alive, but to say it is entirely "a dump" that no one wants to live in or visit is clearly not true. Conestoga College is expanding their downtown campus, there's a new condo or apartment building going up on pretty much every downtown block, not to mention the the well attended festivals, markets, and events that run there every weekend from June-November.
IMO Repeating the false narrative that the streets of DTK is brimming with crime, addicts, violence, and drugs only serves to contribute to suburbanized mentality of people in the Region, making them fear taking transit and rally against proposed housing developments. This narrative is not accurate and it's def not helpful.