Raise the Hammer

I'm going to try to copy & past to reply on each point, Stoneycreek.

Thank you for taking the time to respond in detail
***You're welcome.

I will claim no familiarity with the incidents you've mentioned. I'd be curious to hear responses from those in positions of responsibility within whose remit these events fell.

***Well, good luck to you in that matter!

Have you ever enquired to the various Councillors' offices?
***The 1st few years that we lived here, I did try, with not much in the way of results or real answers.
*** I did have an incident that really took me aback.
I actually had a person @ a constituency office mock me, berate me, & generally attempt to humiliate me on the phone. We had a similar episode with someone who I believe was the same person, working as a scrutineer at a polling station. Nasty, Rude, Loud & overbearing individual!

Even before you posted a response, I was wondering how what you came up with would compare with other cities. (Especially seeing as you were so scalding in your comment "I have NEVER been in any city or town that is so secretive about it's problems, public health issues, traffic accidents, public land use, & on & on..."

***I lived in many areas of Toronto, also a (then) borough of Toronto, Haliburton, & several towns both north & west of the Haliburton area. (so you have Ontario - big, small, & an area somewhere in between to compare.)
***I have spent not quite a year in the Yukon Territory. (Haines Junction) & correspond regularly, (sometimes about local politics)with people in rural Manitoba, Saskatchewan, rural (Gulf Coast) & urban (Dallas/Fort Worth) Texas, & rural Missouri.
***It's been my experience in other places that if you ask a question, you will get a proper reply. If things are not right, you can & often will be able to 'beat City Hall' by using simple common sense, & logic, if you have a valid point.

Is Hamilton any worse than other comparably-sized communities?

***Hamilton is an 'odd size'. Bigger than small, but are you talking population, or geographical size?
***I don't think many communities have the kinds of diversity that Hamilton has in terms of rural & urban, diversity of lifestyles, & income. (It's a match made in HELL! :D

Anyone have any empirical evidence to either prove or disprove the accusation?

*** No, but do you have an empirical evidence to disprove it?
***What are your experiences of living outside of Hamilton & how do you compare your experiences here?

I'm not saying that we should just 'suck it up' and accept what we're given. But there needs to be perspective. And context.

*** Is it not possible that part of the apathy, voter & otherwise, stems from people sucking it up, for decades & generations?

By the way, regarding your reference about your local park and its access hours: there's a park in my neck of the woods which has the same ground rules. And unless I'm mistaken, the by-law for it has been in effect for decades. Nothing new there.

***I have never seen anything like that sign/law outside of Hamilton. Even parks in the roughest areas of Toronto don't try that kind of thing. What they Do try is getting residents into the parks during the night. You'd be surprised how quickly drug dealers, gangs, & vandals leave an area with People watching them. We live in a 24/7 world. Parks are not just for Sunday afternoons anymore.

***The local park in East end Toronto, near where I lived @ the time had problems. We had a solution! Late night potluck dinner parties in the park. People stayed for desert, & glass of wine, you got to know their neighbours, & the druggies left for good. (Don't you think that's better than charging residents with trespass, or asking police & politicians to do all the work for you?) Trespass laws = Privatization of Parks. Can you not see that? Name one other Public Space that we 'forbid' people from gathering after dark. Nobody has suggested that we close Hess St., or Yonge St. because 'things might happen there' after midnight!

***If you work shifts,or are retired you may want to get your biking, walking, or jogging at night, early mornings, or evenings. If you want to walk your aging hairy dog in July, you may want to do that late night too. If you are aging & hairy, you may want to walk, jog, or cycle during the night or early morning during the Summer.
*** The park area that was "Closed After 11 p.m." is the only paved route to get to the homes, park & stores south of here. This would have been a excellent bicycle/walking route to get from here to there without having to get onto heavy traffic areas. Yet another lost opportunity!