Downtown Peterborough and Lift Lock

[MisterF]

Well, I guess it's a matter of opinion then. I'm not basing this on stats, because we all know that not every crime is reported, nor does the crime rate in Flin Flon matter. Fact is I've seen gay and black kids come back to rez beaten, and I've seen groups of people chased down the street by cars, only nearly avoiding getting hit. Shots have been fired at parties too. No, there aren't (m)any murders, but these things aren't even close to what I experienced where I grew up in Welland, which is only slightly smaller.

I agree wholeheartedly that there are many positives to Peterborough. I enjoyed my time in the city, but I've seen enough of what goes on there to know that I didn't want to put my roots down there after graduating.

duck: As for "Otonabee", whatever. We strictly wrote OC (Otonabee College) for the 4 years I was at Trent, so if you're trying to dispel my opinion by pointing out a spelling error, give yourself a pat on the back. well done.

Shots fired at parties? Did you actually see that or is it a story you heard? Either way it's extremely rare. According to the Peterborough Police 2006 Annual Report (pdf) there were no murders in 2006 and 2 attempted murders. There's no reason to believe that unreported crimes are more common in Peterborough than any other city.

This just goes to show that you can't use anecdotal evidence or even personal experience to judge how safe a city is. Fact is you're more exposed to crime when you're in university, especially in residence. I saw and heard about more crap when I was at Waterloo than anywhere else I've lived, but that doesn't really mean anything.

 

[Xoote]

great pics

 

[Long Island Mike]

Wylie: Good Peterborough pics!

Wylie: Good Peterborough,ONT pics! I wonder if PBO has benefitted from people priced out of the Toronto real estate market in any way? It looks good to me-and the Lock pics look interesting as well! LI MIKE

 

[canrocks]

Part 2 of my Peterborough photo tour. A few photos of George Street in downtown Peterborough on Saturday afternoon, and then some of the Peterborough Lift Lock on the Trent-Severn Waterway.

Downtown

Oh Cashmoney, you scavenger of human misery.

 

[Dichotomy]

Small towns are very picturesque, to be sure, but the veneer can be very thin. I lived in Collingwood for 11 years and let me tell you from experience: Wasaga Beach is not one place I would want to raise a kid. The drugs, the parties, (not in the summer, but the winter), the unemployed transients that made the bi-annual migration from cheap winter houring in Wasaga to cheap summer housing nearer to Collingwood, the bored kids roaming the streets at night because the parents were at home drinking beer and watching TV....
It may not LOOK like the projects, or what Regent Park used to, but when one moves past the postcard pictures, there is a darker side, an underbelly. I wouldn't be suprised to find Peterborough the same.

Still, I've loved my visits to Peterborough. I've done the Trent system via boat and it is a trip everyone should do at least once in their life. It's amazing what past governments could do with 19th century technology and no environmental impact studies or unions to hamper their vision....

 

[toraerach]

Shots fired at parties? Did you actually see that or is it a story you heard? Either way it's extremely rare. According to the Peterborough Police 2006 Annual Report (pdf) there were no murders in 2006 and 2 attempted murders. There's no reason to believe that unreported crimes are more common in Peterborough than any other city.

This just goes to show that you can't use anecdotal evidence or even personal experience to judge how safe a city is.

Yeah, I've never heard of any shots being fired though I've only lived here for two years. The only thing coming close to a murder here that I've heard of was the body someone saw float down the river a few months ago. I don't know what came of that - does anyone have anymore information about it?

I've definately have seen quite a bit of crime living here though. Mostly I've just seen drug deals going down. I had an attampted break-in one night while I was home alone - it was pretty awesome. And then there was the memorable time I was chased across the Hunter St. bridge by a crackhead .

I don't know how much the police are trusted beyond the fact that I don't. There have been a few allegations of corruption/racial profiling plus I only ever see them sitting around in parking lots drinking coffee when there's stuff going down a block away. If I was the victim of a hate crime, I don't think I'd go to them, but that's just me.

I think the crime thing comes from the fact that there are a lot of homeless people. It's really sad that there can be that many people living on the streets in such a small city. That and the drug problem. I remember about a month after I moved up here the cops busted like 40 crack dealers downtown.

In general though I feel safe walking around alone at night, although there are some areas I avoid. A lot of the streets are poorly lit around downtown with lights out for months at a time which probably doesn't add too much to people's perception of safety.