Hamilton Warnings Or Dangers

If your a tourist first coming into the city of Hamilton - role up your windows! The lake water smells when you arrive. I've lived in Hamilton all my life. When I go away and enter from the lake it stinks! But! do not be fooled the waterfronts ( confederation park, and Pier 4) does not have that smell. and they are must sees! When you first arrive you will most likely smell a fishy smell - but you get use to it quickly.

Avoid driving in the downtown area if you hate one way streets. Eventually they will be converted to two way streets I believe. And also there is not alot of parking. Where there is parking, is not a good idea to park there with a nice car. There are some stupid punks that hang around.

Also ignore anyone that yells or screams downtown at you. there are some crazy people down there, just like any other city though. Just remember they are probably on some kind of drug, homeless and losing their mind, or has a mental disability and is not recieving medical attention. There are alot of punks out at night downtown. Most won't harm you unless you do something that gets them mad and some you just have to look at the wrong way. Mind yourself and they will leave you too be. ( as for that guy that got jumped twice - he probably did something if he really did get jumped )

Barton street is known for its bad condition - road wise. There are pot holes in alot of places. Stick to King street and Main street. They may be One way streets but are connected by two way streets and have better shops along them and more appealing to the eye. The benefit of them being one way is that the traffic is faster ( more lanes )

Halt for buses. They WILL cut you off. They have the right away by law. Most drivers do not have the patience to wait for cars.

Also when your driving pay attention. There are alot of bad drivers in Hamilton. I've been hit by a car ( luckily he was just turning the corner so he wasn't going fast ). You'll find most drivers will cut you off or tailgate, and all that annoying stuff. Stay calm, we don't need more angry drivers on the road. Also there are kids that might run on the road. This is present in any city, but just seems more of a problem here ( even if its not a big problem watch out!)

On really hot days Hamilton is 'muggy'. You feel all sticky and just want to take twenty showers. So plan ahead to go to a swimming pool, or indoors.

Although the water at the beach front is clean. Over half of Hamiltonians agree that if you step in that water your going to come out with another body part! Its pretty to look at, maybe dip your feet in but not to swim in really. Theres fish, sharp rocks at the bottom, and your stuck with a bad smell for days and the water isn't treated ( like a pool, or the water in many of the conservation areas).

As for the train tracks the only time a tourist will have to pass them will be by gage park (which the trains are very short if they do run during the day - five minutes max and very rare) or going to the pier and then again not usually present during the day time. More in the evenings. there is a track that runs along the back of the Centre mall. But mainly on the other side is neighborhoods and no tourist attractions. I believe it runs the length of the city. When you come from the 'mountain' there is a track that runs along there somewhere. You may have to worry about that one. I waited about twenty minutes for a train there. But I'm pretty sure there was a problem because it stopped backed up went forward and backed up again. Or the operater couldn't work the controls!

Yes! there are too many seagulls at the water front and too many pigeons downtown. DO NOT feed them, please! Only feed the little tiny brown birds if you have the need.They are cute and leave you alone.

And again, just because one person says they hate tourist doesn't mean everyone here thinks that. Businesses love tourists! I like tourists too. Also with the diverse cultures ( and many people live or work in different cities - like over half the teachers at my high school did not live in hamilton area for example) alot of people will be interested in where your from. Only people that will hate you are again probably those crazy people on the streets talking to themselves ( which every city has ).

Where do you people come from? Are you all soft in the head? I have lived in Hamilton all my life. I work right downtown! I have been a fire fighter for 31 years and the only people smoking crack is you people who write this garbage!

The crime rate in Hamilton is way below Toronto. You have to step over the aggressive pan handlers in TO. As to 1 person saying “they” don’t like tourist is like saying no one drinks coke because a person in Hamilton say’s so.

So you got stop by a train. The 30 minutes was most likely only a few minutes. After 50 years in this city, I most likely could count on one hand the number of time I was stopped for any length of time.

When the air is bad in Hamilton it is bad everywhere in southern Ontario. The air quality in Burlington (Borington), Oakville, Mississauga, Toronto and into Oshawa and Durham is usually worse that Hamilton.

There is no one way street winder than 5 lanes. It is where the street meets the Hwy and traffic is either entering or exiting from both sides.

Paul get away from the computer and the virtual world. You where not attacked and robbed by gangs twice in one week! If you where, you are the most unlikely person in the world. You must have been the only one to have this happen to. Gangs don’t attack random people. They attack other gangs and people who *** them off. And as to your statement “Crime is very high in Hamilton”, do your research first and don’t make things up. The murder rate average in Hamilton is less than 10 people a year and that is a city with over 500,000 people. In 2006 it was only 7! It is way lower than Hog Town with murders every weekend. Toronto will set a new record this year for murders since they have already broken the old one. Even Regina and Winnipeg have almost 5 times the murder than Hamilton.

You guys where either making it up, sleeping or smoking crack.

Hey, I lived in Hamilton for a while and I'll help you out with some stuff. The entire city is safe during the day. Downtown you'll probably run into beggars and hustlers but it's a busy place and unprovoked violent altercations rarely happen. Mainly if you're engaging with hustlers and stuff you're gonna get problems. Hamilton has slightly more 'crackheads' than Toronto with a tenth of the total population... Translation: You're likely to encounter them. If you go looking for drugs or prostitution you will certainly be robbed, cheated, or murdered. Also, let's say you don't find the drugs or kitty you're looking for... More than likely Hamilton's finest will hold you up and possibly bring you to the station for even being in one of these areas. I'd say the run-down area of Hamilton is anything North of Main Street, between Bay Street and Sherman. As well, the entire East-End is a dump and has especially noted problems with asian gangs. The 'North-End' is also pretty bad. If you take a look at a map, you'll see that the area I've told you to avoid is pretty much the entire lower city. Being a black man waiting for a bus in one of these garbage areas is likely to get you a chat with the police or at least a nice long staredown. Hamilton has the same crimes as Toronto however, since poverty is centered in Hamilton, many of our criminals lack firearms. But don't worry folks, they improvise; using hammers, steel bars, knives, police batons, pepper spray, or just the old fashioned crush your skull with five other people in a parking lot. The city goes from being completely infested during the day to deserted and intimidating in the evening. Before making accomidations, ask yourself why you're not going to see Toronto or Niagara Falls instead of this bleak, rust-bucket with adjoining bedroom communities...

hamilton aint all that bad just stay out of the hoods like barton area from sherman to bay...also dont walk downtown if you are new to this city and dont know anyone by yourself...no offence but if your a tourist of darker skin colour watch the cops they are quick to jump at black men especially cause of all the drug dealing that goes on down here...the pigs in hamilton are quick to lock you up if you look at them wrong....other areas to avoid quigley area near stoney creek now thats hood oh yes dont step near oriele crescent either one of the baddest hoods in hamilton.... i think your best bet is to stay on the mountain if your a tourist you wil enjoy it there its rich snobby people but at least you know they wont rob you.....Oh but also avoid limeridge mall on the mountain that malls bad 2 ppl have been beat to death there one last year and another a couple years ago but on that note i love hamilton and wouldnt trade my city in for anything

hehe... we take a lot of balcony shots in our home! Anyhow, please make sure you are not in Hamilton when it's very hot, because we get trapped in a fog of polluted air! It stinks and it feels like a Tim Burton movie... you can see this all too well from the 17th floor...just check out the pic.

Hamilton is NOT a tourist friendly city. Most Hamiltonians like to stick to themselves, and don't mind the rest of the world. One Hamilton resident actually told me 'We don't like tourists here'. Also, be aware of the police in Hamilton. Apart from being totally useless, they like to give visitors a hard time. Crime is very high in Hamilton. The last time I was there I was attacked and robbed by gangs twice in one week! Stay clear of Hamilton.

Driving on the one way streets of the downtown is a serious threat for visitors. You can easily find yourself trying to make a futile effort to turn left from the midmost of the 6 to 8 one way lanes you previously thought to be running both directions...

Make sure you don't take rodas with railway crossings.... it can take up to 30 minutes for a train to go by...and since most streets in Hamilton are ONE WAY....you won't be able to turn around....