Downtown Councillor Bob Bratina is calling for a pre-Pan Am Games cleanup of the city core, especially the north side of King Street from James to Catharine.

He says the high-profile strip facing Gore Park is largely to blame for giving downtown the image of being dirty and unsafe.

"Now that we're getting buses out of the Gore, I'm really pushing council and staff to take action," he said in an interview. "Let's commit ourselves to fixing the downtown once and for all.

"We have to do something with the peep show, bingo parlour and thrift store," he said, complaining about what visitors encounter.

"We also have to deal with the people who have taken control of downtown by squatters' rights. They're an undefinable group, not winos, not bums, but it's daunting for other people who go down there."

"Attitude surveys show people still think the core is unclean and unsafe, and until we change that perception we won't have succeeded," Bratina said.

Kathy Drewitt, executive director of the Downtown Hamilton Business Improvement Area, says cleaning up the core is exactly what her organization wants

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Bratina wants core cleanup prior to Pan Ams