Urban living in Edmonton - Page 33

ExcaliburKid · #**641** Posted **Jan 17, 2022, 8:42 PM**

So what's the problem? Do the police not patrol the streets on foot anymore? How is all this crime and vandalism happening?

Curious as I'm hardly ever downtown

Coldrsx · #**642** Posted **Jan 17, 2022, 8:55 PM**

It's complex.

But yes, EPS dedicated ~66 beat officers to Downtown/Central Mc/McC and Oliver when Rogers opened in 2017. They quietly removed them in 2019 and reallocated them. Losing this visual presence was significantly detrimental to the feeling of safety (which had been improving yr/yr for a decade). I can speak to this directly and let you know that we went from 2/3 feeling unsafe in 2010/11 to 2/3 feeling safe in 2017/18. I would say that we are well below 25% feeling safe now.

This has been accelerated and spotlighted by COVID, a lack of regular/'normalized' use day to day, eyes on the street etc. etc. and pair that with the current (and very tragic) drug crisis and police feeling like their hands tied on many issues when it comes to crime... and here we area.

But we are not alone and are seeing this in Vancouver, S.F., Calgary and most Downtowns across N.A. That said, I would say it is far more pronounced in Edmonton for most of those cities have more regular use due to residential populations and being larger centres.

When I moved Downtown in 2005 it had similar issues but I've personally never seen things so bad, so unsafe, left to rot and folks doing very little it seems on the ground.

kcantor · #**643** Posted **Jan 17, 2022, 9:25 PM**

^
it’s more complex than just more beat cops. they will perhaps make us more comfortable (which is important, don’t get me wrong) but most of the underlying issues will potentially disburse, not disappear.

beat cops won’t stop things like parkades being broken into at 3:00 in the morning and seeing 10 or 12 cars stepped off their catalytic converters etc. it won’t stop construction site theft of tools or spools of copper wire.

one, we need to legalize the drugs and normalize the pricing and quality of the drugs these activities are taking place to purchase.

two, those places these things are being sold to need to stop looking the other way when they’re laundering this stuff for pennies on the dollar.

three, we all need to be reasonably diligent in not allowing people or cars to follow us into a secure parkade and not buzzing people remotely into buildings.

four, we need to report things even after the fact and even if nothing can be done so there is accurate data available and not just stories.

Coldrsx · #**644** Posted **Jan 17, 2022, 9:59 PM**

Reporting is such a huge problem. Easily 50% of the thefts/minor B&Es I know of in our condo were not reported by unit owners. As such that tree did not fall in the woods and with EPS using statistics to allocate resources a major issue for accurate distribution and clear picture.

Beats are most certainly not the answer, but would help.

feepa · #**645** Posted **Jan 17, 2022, 10:37 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by kcantor

^ ^^
it was obvious 10 years ago but considerable progress had been made. we have lost that and more, mostly in the last 5, and we need to reverse the current trend quickly and sharply while there is still a base strong enough to build on.

agreed that progress was made, in that the problems were much easier to hide due to the in with the increased traffic of downtown. This is a provincial problem though, and good luck solving that with this order of government, or any sort of version thereof.

EdmTrekker · #**646** Posted **Jan 17, 2022, 10:50 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Coldrsx

It's complex.

But yes, EPS dedicated ~66 beat officers to Downtown/Central Mc/McC and Oliver when Rogers opened in 2017. They quietly removed them in 2019 and reallocated them. Losing this visual presence was significantly detrimental to the feeling of safety (which had been improving yr/yr for a decade). I can speak to this directly and let you know that we went from 2/3 feeling unsafe in 2010/11 to 2/3 feeling safe in 2017/18. I would say that we are well below 25% feeling safe now

.

Highlighted above is the best strategy an unscrupulous police department has in its arsenal to get more money from the politicians (City Council). 66 officers hired and sent elsewhere over time leaving the downtown no better than when the 66 were hired. Police administration sucked those resources up and are now back asking for resources to make the downtown safe again. Worked once should work again. Police Department is not accountable to anyone but themselves ... apparently.

feepa · #**647** Posted **Jan 18, 2022, 3:10 PM**

The solution to poverty, houselessness, and etc, is not more beat officers. Locking these people up, or handing them fines (that they can and never will be able to pay) is a fruitless exercise, and just end up in the same loop. This is not a solution.

The yr/yr increase in feelings of 'safetyness' had more to do with people in the area. The problems were always there.

How about we spend some of the resources in beat officers chasing away the 'bad people' , and actually put it to solving houselessness and other mental health resources to help deal with the issue?

Coldrsx 'solution' is to continue doing as we've done before, which has proven not to work.

Harrison · #**648** Posted **Jan 18, 2022, 4:41 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by feepa

The solution to poverty, houselessness, and etc, is not more beat officers. Locking these people up, or handing them fines (that they can and never will be able to pay) is a fruitless exercise, and just end up in the same loop. This is not a solution.

The yr/yr increase in feelings of 'safetyness' had more to do with people in the area. The problems were always there.

How about we spend some of the resources in beat officers chasing away the 'bad people' , and actually put it to solving houselessness and other mental health resources to help deal with the issue?

Coldrsx 'solution' is to continue doing as we've done before, which has proven not to work.

Thankfully the city realizes housing as many people as possible in permanent housing is the best option as is evident with the focus on permanent supportive housing construction. I just hate how long it's taken for the city to do that - why didn't we focus on developing PSH at the start of the last oil boom?

Coldrsx · #**649** Posted **Jan 23, 2022, 7:38 AM**

Loblaws City Market ICE District - opening 'towards the end of 2022'

https://globalnews.ca/news/8518403/edmonton-ice-district-loblaws-city-market/

Coldrsx · #**650** Posted **Jan 24, 2022, 5:13 PM**

A school in a condo? Yup

https://www-livabl-com.cdn.ampproject.or...nto-condo-first-school-ontario.html/amp/

Coldrsx · #**651** Posted **Feb 9, 2022, 4:07 PM**

Ouch

https://twitter.com/Brett_CBC/status/1491407323373641728

thebasketballgeek · #**652** Posted **Feb 9, 2022, 4:26 PM**

As an outsider I am really surprised by this. I thought Edmonton was undergoing a pretty sizeable building boom in the core?

Although from my lurking of r/Edmonton they speak of downtown like it's a warzone so that might be a factor in this.

Coldrsx · #**653** Posted **Feb 9, 2022, 4:34 PM**

Towers do not equal population growth in all circumstances.

I would be curious to know what the census response rate was in the core.

Hardhatdan · #**654** Posted **Feb 9, 2022, 4:56 PM**

What is defined as Downtown?

If it's east of 109st, I'd buy into that. Seems off it includes west of 109st to 124st.

Coldrsx · #**655** Posted **Feb 9, 2022, 6:12 PM**

11.6km2 and 55,000 folks so Downtown, Oliver, Rossdale and north edge maybe?

Coldrsx · #**656** Posted **Feb 9, 2022, 6:20 PM**

https://www.edmonton.ca/transportation/on_your_streets/boyle-street-mccauley

Harrison · #**657** Posted **Feb 9, 2022, 6:26 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Coldrsx

11.6km2 and 55,000 folks so Downtown, Oliver, Rossdale and north edge maybe?

Coldrsx · #**658** Posted **Feb 9, 2022, 6:39 PM**

Thank you good sir.

DKaz · #**659** Posted **Feb 9, 2022, 6:45 PM**

1-2% total loss over 5 years isn't that bad. It could be a families in the core being replaced by singles and couples.

Coldrsx · #**660** Posted **Feb 9, 2022, 6:55 PM**

1. that's disturbing if true given our work to attract a greater diversity of residents.

2. vis-a-vis other cities we are lagging and not trending the right way given our major investments and plans to increase density/populations.

3. bird in the hand - that 1-2% growth before this was quite resource intensive to achieve and so this really sets things back overall.