[kettal]

I'm not sure that the whole idea of stigmatizing neighbourhoods as "dangerous" is worth much in Toronto.

It's not danger as much as getting yelled at by a drunk, or getting offered drugs, or surrounded by prostitutes. Dundas & Sherbourne is like a different planet compared to Dundas & Spadina.

 

[jenny_zhang]

Do prostitutes actually exist in Toronto? I don't think I've ever seen a single one.

When I lived in Markham I did get a bunch of people offering pirated DVDs though.

 

[PukeGreen]

It's not danger as much as getting yelled at by a drunk, or getting offered drugs, or surrounded by prostitutes. Dundas & Sherbourne is like a different planet compared to Dundas & Spadina.

Different, sure. Different planet? Not so much. I've been hassled for change and been alarmed by addicts and the mentally ill near both corners. On Queen they are younger with funkier hairstyles, and on Sherbourne they are older. But the same essential problems are evident in both places.

 

[Torontovibe]

^^ I heard there were a couple shootings in that area, and I was almost expecting to at least get mugged. Didn't help that I just missed the previous bus, and that it was freezing outside.

So really, it wasn't anything in the neighbourhood that scared you, it was your own preconceived notions of the neighbourhood that scared you.

I find most people in Toronto who are afraid of certain neighbourhoods, think very much the same way. They are not fearful from bad experiences, they are afraid because of what they heard. (which is usually coloured by exaggeration or complete lies)

Let's face it, lots of people are afraid of the homeless, especially suburbanites, no matter how docile they are. They tend to label areas with larger homeless populations, as very dangerous. Of course, in areas where you have drug addicts, the mentally ill and the down-and-outs, you will have more problems but that doesn't make the neighbourhood dangerous. I don't think any neighbourhood in Toronto is dangerous. (as far as I've seen)

Crime is random and can happen anywhere in Toronto, so what's the point in getting all paranoid about it, when the odds of being killed or attacked, are very small?

 

[gabe]

I've noticed that it's often quite sketchy by a Beer Store or cheque cashing place. Not really dangerous, but sketchy enough to be unpleasant. And often in many areas, just go a few stores down, and that sketchiness fades to a large extent.

I'm disappointed I have to take my empty wine bottles to the Beer Store if I want a refund. I don't enjoy having to navigate around the drunk dude that hangs out at the front of the store, etc.

I agree. also in the beer stores you got to wait in long lines since the beer store is usually under staffed and you also get bums in there returning shopping carts full of bottles. i don't understand why LCBO doesn't use modern technology like bottle return machines like places in the states have been using for the last 20 years.

 

[SP!RE]

My classmates went out first and screamed there was a naked guy running around. Seems he might have been from an insane asylum nearby maybe.

Insane asylum?

Rephrase...

 

[Eug]

Do prostitutes actually exist in Toronto? I don't think I've ever seen a single one.

I used to see them near Wellesley and Jarvis downtown. My friend moved away from there specifically because of the prostitutes and their johns.

I'm not sure that the whole idea of stigmatizing neighbourhoods as "dangerous" is worth much in Toronto. Compared to many cities in the US, the differences between neighbourhoods are more muted. Sadly, I think people like the idea of "bad neighbourhoods" though because it makes them feel safe if they do not live there. Crime happens to "others" who live in "dangerous areas" and therefore it will not affect you in your nice safe haven.

In Toronto your risk of being a victim of crime depends on many factors before geography. If you are not in a gang, if you are not a drug dealer or drug addict, if you do not carry around a weapon, if you are not a criminal, if do not associate regularly with criminals, if you do not wander the streets in the middle of the night while intoxicated -- and so on -- you will seriously minimize your risk of winding up stabbed or shot. If you engage in these activities -- regardless of what part of the city you are in -- you are more likely to meet violence.

Yes, there are exceptions (Jane Creba) but these exceptions are memorable because they are so rare. Rather than focus on geographical areas, we should focus on wider causes for crime. The very fact that the areas of Toronto where you are most likely to be harassed are near centres that supposedly treat mental illness and drug addiction shows that our current solutions aren't quite working. Labeling neighbourhoods stigmatizes everyone who lives and works there. Even in Toronto's "worst" areas I'm sure that 98% of the residents are hardworking and law-abiding citizens.

I think we should not ignore the truth. It's absolutely true that certain areas will give you a much higher chance of being accosted. I can walk down Blythwood near Bayview and feel very safe at night. I can't say the same thing about certain parts of southeastern downtown Toronto. It's always pretty disturbing to have some high or drunk guy hassle you. That just doesn't happen at Blythwood.

Geography is very, very important.

I happen to live in a very safe area of Scarborough. However, it would be foolish of me to claim that all parts of Scarborough are as safe. I used to live in downtown Toronto. It would be foolish of me to claim that all parts of downtown Toronto are the same too. It really depends on what part you're in.

 

[kettal]

You ever notice those ladies who wear high heels and barely-there skirts who walk up and down the street at night?

 

[adma]

You mean Entertainment District skank?

 

[egotrippin]

I've been walking down Sherbourne late at night, usually after a show at the Phoenix, and had 'ladies of the evening' proposition me. Not necessarily blatantly, but I know well enough what they're trying to sell.

 

[Towered]

Let me guess, they ask you out on a "date".

 

[harsh]

My dealer lives in Cityplace... guess it's going down the tubes after all!

Seriously though, there is a very timely article in The Star about this subject.
As suspected, the George Street area really is number one in the city.

Dundas-Sherbourne ranks No. 1 in violence

Who would have thought the area around "The Love Cafe" could be a violent wasteland?

I remember going to Phoenix nightclub late 90s early 00s and parking my car by the buildings opposite of Phoenix and not remembering where I parked.
@3am I had to walk all thru those side streets the scariest streets I have ever witnessed

1. ppl where out on their porches drinking and open drug use
2. Hookers on every corner
3. Cops finagling with hookers
4. A mumbling drunk broke a bottle on the pavement and was walking behind me lucky he had his eyes on another person with whom he had a dispute


3 Cabs wouldn't stop to pick me up finally on the 4th one I jumped in front of the road to get them to stop and drive me around until I found my car.

Never been so scared in my life and I'm from Scarborough btw which is very safe. the hot pocket right now IMO is keele + eglinton

 

[UserNameToronto]

I remember going to Phoenix nightclub late 90s...

This thread is starting to devolve into the same pattern where a random experience or anecdote serves a justification to write off some of Toronto's most vibrant & liveable neighbourhoods.

So in the same spirit, Yorkville is a dive! Full of smelly hippies and subversive Neil Young types! Yuck!

 

[jenny_zhang]

I remember being downtown at 3AM one night going home (alone, one of my stupider moments) and being approached by this big, surly, ragged homeless man. I was frightened out of my mind and there wasn't anyone around, but he sat down next to me and started asking me about who was winning the Olympic medal count (it was during the winter olympics). If he had asked me I probably would have given him all my money out of fear.

That was the closest I've ever been to being mugged.

 

[nfitz]

That was the closest I've ever been to being mugged.

Encountering a chatty homeless person is "close to being mugged"? Imagine how he felt with the vibes you'd be giving off!