Couldn't agree more. I have enjoyed many an afternoon at the Hamilton waterfront, but would likely have enjoyed more if I could have, for instance, actually had a view of the beautiful harbour for the entirety of the walk, or had access to more on-site amenities than a Williams Coffee Pub that is ridiculously over-crowded in decent weather, as well as rather mediocre (speaking as someone who loves downtown Hamiltonian cuisine) and over-priced.
I'm also speaking as one who is temporarily living in Vancouver. I'm certainly prepared to give each city its due, but Vancouver has a much more organized, contiguous, integrated and democratic (significant for a city often rightfully criticized for being too expensive to live in) waterfront, and it pays huge dividends in promoting tourism, boosting property tax revenues, and getting people out of their cars and onto bikes, rollerblades, or their own two feet. Hamilton's waterfront is beautiful, but could be so much better.