[wardlow]

Originally Posted by oftheMoon

I'm a glass half-full sort of guy. I live/work downtown and defend it where it make sense. I'm not one of those intimidated by people asking for change - I generally tell them 'no sorry' and continue on. However, what goes on behind Portage Place is entirely different than the usual that I tolerate.

I will admit I don't spend much time in there other than passing through during the day. However, during Fringe Fest this summer, I used the back door by the clock tower to walk to/from other shows in the Exchange. In my travels, I witnessed 2 drugs deals right in front of me and 2 fights which resulted in me having to change my route to avoid. It's not just people hanging out back there smoking or asking for change or casually reading a book. I challenge anyone to go sit out there on a bench on "The Promenade" for an hour and see how comfortable they feel. Try it in the day...and then try it in the evening...

It's so frustrating that there doesn't seem to be any room in the greater public dialogue for this kind of nuanced, reasonable perspective on downtown safety. It's almost always a binary choice between 'Downtown is a dangerous cesspoool and its a wonder we're not all murdered' and 'Downtown safety issues are just, like, your perception, man'.

All of these things can be true at the same time:

• not all of downtown is bad;
• not all panhandlers are dangerous or seemingly dangerous;
• crime happens in many areas of the city;
• some Winnipeggers/Manitobans may have unrealistic/unreasonable expectations regarding poor people and public disorder or unsightliness;
• there are more seemingly dangerous or at least very disorderly and unpredictable people with mental health problems wandering around downtown today than there was 10 years ago;
• this scariness is especially worse around Portage Avenue, Graham, U of W;
• downtown safety is different for able-bodied men than it is for women;
• downtown residents and visitors (especially women) should not be expected to be okay with frequent street harassment, feelings unsafe, or encountering people behaving aggressively;
• we can do a whole lot better, but we have to be a lot more honest, precise, and comprehensive.