Our Future Downtown: Hamilton’s 10-Year Downtown Revitalization Strategy

I have nothing new to say, really. It’s all been said before, except perhaps this….

My primary concern is that the City will take a rushed approach to fix all the problems that will only be bandage solutions that don’t really fix the core of the problems, at least not in a humane and sustainable manner. By sustainable I mean efficiency of materials, energy and resources and not the greenwashing we see all too often.

Another concern is the City will take a too narrow view of what the downtown is. It’s not the map we see on the brochures. Hamilton has grow and so has the downtown core.

My other concern is the City will just hand over the downtown to developers and won't leverage its investments in the downtown to bring about the investment needed to truly flourish in shared partnerships. The downtown needs to be clearly designed and communicated rather than bending to the latest developer that promises to solve all our housing goals in "one big beautiful building cluster” that’s so dense you can watch you neighbour’s big screen tv in the next building over.

The downtown needs more trees that will grow to maturity, and greenery to help fill in the understory in a way it can be well maintained by residents and City staff.

Bike friendliness and safety - I feel like my bike will get stolen so I tend to drive everywhere, yet I love cycling. The option is not to rent a CogeGo bike, it’s to reduce bike theft and increase cycling safety.

Hamilton has a wonderful legacy of heritage buildings, but too many are vacant and/or derelict and need to be restored, fixed up or torn down. Offer incentives and penalties to help get the owners to improve their buildings.

However, my biggest concern, and the one most affecting the downtown, is the concentration of drug users on the street. I have no concerns with encampments or tents in parks, but the people using drugs on the street need to be picked up and taken to a safe place. It used to be known as the drunk tank, and now we need a drug tank.

That said, we need to improve the affordable housing properties in the downtown. The City could offer free paint or services for the low income residents to help fix up the neighbourhoods they live in. I don’t mean hand-outs, I mean hand-ups. That’s what the City of Hamilton was all about when I was a kid, and it was a respectable city of innovation and pride.

It's wild that downtown's biggest draws are directly across the street from a large homeless shelter/mission.

While I visit the Farmer's market once a month and the library with my 4yo I basically have to walk through an open air drug market. When I invite my family into the city to see a shows at First Ontario place and they see crazies everywhere. It's a horrible setup.

I'm not saying get rid of shelters just move them away from kids and families.

Next up BUILD THE LRT. It'll completely change the vibe and make Hamilton feel like a city that values people. Honestly it will feel modern, quieter and bring in more young people.

Please include more indigenous recognition.

More transit Go and HSR

Immediate follow up on all the closed buildings. Either clean them up or tear it down.

A place for those who need it instead of the street.

More parking enforcement.

More activations.

A connection between The downtown sign and Hess Village to Harbourfront to Hamilton Go to define our amazing City.

As someone who grew up in Hamilton downtown, moved away to other neighbourhoods, cities, countries, and then returned, I’ve seen the city struggle to change in the direction I thought it would go with its potential as one of the most promising mid-sized cities in Southern Ontario. However, outside of the larger systemic issues that brought Hamilton’s positive momentum to a halt, I still see its potential as a city where people—from multi-generational families to new immigrants—have a strong sense of ownership and pride. What has always stood out to me is how much Hamiltonians care about their city and work to make it better. I'm going to be repeating a lot of what's already said here so consider this adding my voice to the masses.
I’ve also always took pride in Hamilton’s long-standing reputation of providing social services and its focus on supporting vulnerable populations. Right now we are struggling because the system is overloaded and underfunded, but it just means we need to pivot, not get rid of, the social services. As we look to the future, I want Hamilton to work relentlessly with neighbouring municipalities, the province, and the feds to work this out.
We must also keep the City’s declaration of climate emergency top of mind as the next 10 years will be more critical than any following decades to come. I think it is inevitable that Hamilton will become a future climate refuge due to its nearly ideal geopolitical situation. This should been seen as both an opportunity and a responsibility to make “3 Pillar” sustainable decisions, ensuring we have the infrastructure, housing, and services to make sure the boom in population results in positive economic development and not drown in it with lessons learned from the pandemic.
In 10 years, I want Hamilton’s downtown to feel alive, connected, and safe for everyone from children, students, seniors, to visitors. I want us to take what makes Hamilton unique—our nature, our cultural diversity, and our fortunate location—and build a city core that reflects and supports those strengths.
Some things I’d like to see in downtown in 10 years are the things I had 20+ years ago, when I was an elementary school student at Queen Victoria. I could walk to school without fear of fast moving cars a metre away, bike to the Central library and spend the whole day there in the kids area with the treehouse and green carpet that felt like our territory, and play with my friends at Corktown Park and the trails until dark with minimal worry on our busy parents trying to make a living for our safety. It felt like the community was looking after us. These spaces—parks, libraries, and recreation centers—weren’t just amenities; they were part of my home. They were safe, accessible, and affordable, and gave me and my other kid friends a chance to develop our sense of independence and belonging. I recognize now that this is something my friends who grew up in suburbs didn’t get to experience at such a young age, who had to be brought everywhere by their parents for expensive programs and activities, or be stuck at home until the family car is free. We need to recognize what we had that was good and worth restoring.
Now if I were to have free reign on my ‘wishlist’ for Hamilton, this would be my vision:
1. A Safe, efficient, accessible, and connected City where everyone—whether they’re walking, biking, using public transit, or relying on mobility aids—can move safely, efficiently, and with dignity.
Right now, navigating the downtown core feels daunting for everyone, but especially for wheelchair users, people with walkers or canes, and parents with strollers or young children. Narrow sidewalks, snow-covered pathways, and unsafe intersections often force people into bike lanes or even onto the road. This needs to change. Our streets should be prioritizing people, not the movement or storage of cars.
We should prioritize:
More wide, accessible sidewalks
Protected and connected bike lanes, with much better signage than we have now (MTO standards do not cut it for Hamilton traffic, new drivers, who are not used to the new bike lane infrastructure)
Better cycling safety education - is it easily available? What are the rules cyclists need to follow, what gear do they need as by-law, and what are the consequences of not following them?
Clear rules on who can use the bike lanes - motorized scooters? What are the rules they need to follow, how are they learning them, and what are the consequences?
Year-round snow-clearing policies to ensure sidewalks, bike lanes, and transit stops remain accessible in all seasons and are PRIORITIZED.
Accessible transit stops with clear pathways all-season, more visible signage, proper safety barriers, and clearer navigation information available that is focused on direction and landmarks and more integrated with popular navigation app instructions.
More frequent and reliable service. Busses stay empty because people don’t trust them to arrive on time (either too early or too late, or don’t show up at all). It is a feedback loop.
Improved wayfinding at transit hubs like West Harbour, with signage that guides users to parking throughout the downtown area/city, drop-off zones, and connections to other transit options.
Downtown needs better multi-modal and transit connection to the Mountain, Dundas, Westdale/McMaster, Bayfront, Confederation park, Gage Park, and the GO stations.
2. Optimizing land use: I would be very interested in seeing the City commission or conduct an Urban3-like study on revenue modelling and cost benefit analysis of services and identify areas where land is underutilized. I also wonder if new development goes through a tax revenue modelling analysis to determine if it will be beneficial for the City or if it drains the city in the long-term.
If programs or changes based on this 10-year Strategy depend on the City’s budget, I’d also like to understand how to shift residents’ and councillors’ mindsets from focusing on being limited by the budget and seeing everything as a cost, to thinking about how we can grow Hamilton’s budget by enabling successful businesses and public services. By creating conditions where businesses can thrive and people are drawn to live, work, and spend money downtown, we can expand the City’s financial capacity to reinvest in its people and infrastructure.
3. As I mentioned earlier, Hamilton’s public spaces—parks, libraries, recreation centers, and arts venues—should be the heart of the community, but right now, they are underutilized due to capacity issues, potentially outdated policies, and missed opportunities to meet the community’s needs.
I may be a little behind on what’s been done and what’s happening but I’m still finding that Hamilton’s arts and entertainment scene needs more investment to recapture its vibrancy. Grassroots movements like Art Crawl needs to be supported and continuously evolve for the better. Venues like the AGH, Hamilton Conservatory for the Arts, Theatre Aquarius, Playhouse Cinema, and the Cotton Factory should be better promoted, utilized, supported, and better connected.
To strengthen our public spaces and arts scene, I’d love to see:
Increased investment and/or support for art programs/courses and extracurricular arts opportunities for both kids and adults. I know of art programs that are waitlisted and/or just a tad too expensive for more people to engage. I’m sure this can bring employment opportunities as well.
Better transportation and accessibility to venues
For recreation spaces, we also need to address issues of accessibility and capacity:
Better management of drop-in programs via online sign-ups, online live capacity updates, etc. so that participants aren’t turned away unnecessarily after spending time and money to travel to the rec centre. See how other municipalities handle this.
Improved facility rental options, making it easier for the public to rent under-utilized recreation centers, school gyms, and other community spaces for personal, NPOs, and business use. This is a potential stream of income.
Expanding programming especially where there are known popular programs and known underutilization of the City’s existing facilities. Need proactive training of staff members to fill spots. We shouldn’t be in a situation where there’s lots of people looking for jobs yet the City can’t seem to find people to fill entry-level roles.
Addressing waitlists for childcare, after-school programs, and summer camps to reduce stress on families.
Higher fences for downtown parks beside busy roads to avoid balls and frisbees an etc. to escape onto the roadway.
Better lighting and public sanitation facilities in parks
4. I love my small businesses downtown and honestly moved here from the mountain so I can be closer to my favorite businesses. I have a theory that the density of bakeries are an indication of urban success. In all seriousness, in the next 10 years, I’d love to see more bakeries, cafes, independent grocers, medical/wellness centers, and boutique shops making downtown feel alive and exciting. I hope for the following:
No more vacant storefronts (also houses..)
No more vast swaths of parking lots to have to walk across to get to anywhere interesting. There must be a better way to use those spaces for all.
Support businesses along Main St. East during LRT construction and two-way street conversions to ensure they can survive and ultimately benefit from these projects.
Extend business hours by making downtown safer, more accessible, and more appealing. I know there is a need for late-night food and drinks and entertainment but there’s almost nowhere I can spend my money after 9pm.
4.5. Strengthen local industries
Revitalizing Hamilton’s Healthcare industry by working with McMaster, Mohawk, HHS, to attract talent and give them lots of reason to stay. We need to identify issues with lack of funding, student support (college certificate to post-grad), and attracting and retaining world-class researchers and health care professionals compared to other universities and take advantage of the political climate we are in now.
Revitalize the taxi industry so it is competitive with Uber, and give people a reason to work with Taxi and keep the money flowing within the city or at least the province instead of being siphoned out to Silicon Valley to an increasingly scammy and unethical company.
5. Our geography—abundant water source, no hurricanes, no earthquakes, no direct wildfires, and a relatively stable political climate—makes us a desirable destination, but we need to act now to prepare for this future:
Expand housing and infrastructure to accommodate population growth while maintaining a high standard of living. Allow and encourage gentle intensification/incremental development.
Investing in green initiatives like pollinator gardens, permeable pavement, electric vehicle infrastructure, and sustainable urban design to ensure Hamilton grows responsibly.
I realized I made some suggestions I don’t really know everything about, I’m not a city planner. I’m trying to learn more about how a city works, and stay updated when I can. However, I hope you can see past any silly suggested “solutions” and focus on the vision and use your expertise to make this happen. I’m really excited about what comes out of the Strategic Plan and its implementation.

One of the most important issues that must be addressed in terms of revitalizing the downtown core must be that every effort must be made to preserve the wide range of historic architecture that only really exists in this area. We cannot afford to let any more important Victorian or Edwardian era buildings deteriorate to such a degree that they basically just fall over again. These architecturally and/or culturally significant buildings are part of what distinguishes Hamilton from the many other cities in which the downtown core either dates from a much later period or has been substantially rebuilt. We should be emphasizing our distinctiveness from other places in order to draw in visitors from out of town, quite aside from the more welcoming aesthetic that many of these more traditional older buildings would also offer to local residents if they were kept in a state of fit repair.

Downtown Go train station feedback. I’m not sure what the relationship is between the city and Go transit, however, as a Go train user I do not go into the station as it does not feel safe. I take the bus home at night and exit on Pearl Street rather than using the train as I don’t like to debark at the Go train station late at night as it is desolate, and many people who are there do not exhibit safe behaviour. The city should be developing this area as it has so much potential that is not being used.

My immediate response is safety. Living downtown and participating in many activities when offered, I will walk to and fro. I have definitely been less inclined to stay later into the evening as walking home as a single female does not feel safe with so many people exhibiting unpredictable and harassing behaviour.
Having a greater presence of security, people, cleaner and greener streets that are well lit would definitely make the downtown core more welcoming and secure for pedestrian traffic.

Hamilton could consult with the non profit organization Project for Public Spaces (pps.org). They have years of hands on experience and a proven track record for turning cities around.

This has been an ongoing issue for so many years. Enough of pouring money into something that will never happen. No one wants a business downtown or to live there or shop. It’s been tried and was not successful. Stop wasting tax payer money, if anything for those buildings out for the homeless.

Has putting the whole downtown under surveillance been considered. This is something that has worked I England and parts of Europe. Camera’s on every street corner with a central dispatch that sends police to every incident where the law is being broken.

You can't declare yourself a sanctuary city and then expect a vibrant downtown core. Get rid of this title, get the social services out, get the police on every corner, and have crews cleaning the streets every night. Then we can talk about a 10 year plan.

Open drug use, theft, mental illness, decaying properties and lack of property standards in our downtown core. People here do not feel safe and community is being lost due to this. If this is not addressed now then whatever good that is downtown will leave.

Homelessness, drug use, and individuals living in tents in public spaces. Please do something to clean up our downtown core. It is not safe for young families, such as my own. I avoid the area, which is such a sad thing because downtown has so much to offer.

People in general need to feel safer when visiting downtown. If families, women, children, the elderly and other sensitive groups can feel safe enough to linger downtown, that would go a long way towards the local economy and placemaking objectives

I feel all the good things the core has to offer are being overshadowed by feeling safe and secure. The places I used to frequent such as the library and the market are now places full of people with drug and mental health issues. Gore Park where I used to see families feed Pidgeons is now a place where the homeless get fed. And the graffiti is out of control everywhere

I agree with Corey Sullivan's good points. Too many vehicles - yes - on sidewalks downtown (bikes, scooters, skaters) endangering pedestrians. Alleys are for vehicles, not dealers, or to dump garbage illegally.

Generally, business/property owners are inconsiderate of their neighbours who reside on the block: who slip on their sidewalks, have rain/ice fall on them from the eaves, and have to smell urine/feces/vomit from their filthy doorways. No to mention the same at the base of every other boulevard tree or garden bed...along with ciggy butts, syringes, glass pipes, plastic, and chicken wing bones. I applaud the workers who clean sidewalks everyday...its time the rest pitch in. Broken-window theory at work.

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The number one priority needs to be public safety. If people don't feel safe, they will not come back Downtown. The area around city hall and the YMCA is an absolute disgrace and reminds me of hastings street in Vancouver. The stretch of York Blvd between Bay and James is downright scary. I couldn't imagine being from out of town and staying at the Sheraton hotel as i would be scared to leave the hotel. Yes we do have Locke street, James north and restaurant row on King William but I fear if we don't take action soon these areas will turn into a zombie wasteland like so much of our core has become. We need immediate action not a 10 year plan.

Our Family moved here from Toronto pre covid and were very happy with our decision until the last couple summers. I just feel like many others on here that our parks and streets have been taken over by less desirables. Yes Toronto has this problem as well but can mask it by the sheer volume of other people on the streets such as residents and tourists. Until Hamilton can attract more people downtown and remove the begging, open drug use, and food lines I don’t think it will be a viable place for any investment or development

The encampment protocol was a council decision that the city may never recover form unless serious action is taken immediately. We invited some pretty bad people here by allowing a camp anywhere and do whatever you please policy. The start to revitalization would be to remove these folks from our streets and green spaces and show them that they are no longer welcome in this city. We need to make it as most uncomfortable for them as possible, so they go back to where they came from.