Crime in Calgary

[Ramsayfarian]

Originally Posted by Jimby

Best Buy had a dumpster fire on the weekend.

I don't think it is safe to shop at Market Mall at 4am, you might get hit by flying glass and debris.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgar...l-robbery.html

Can't wait to see the CCTV footage for the Market Mall hiest.

[Radley77]

Most common type of crime in my community (Bridgeland) is theft from vehicle. And of the theft from vehichle, 40% of those incidents are happening in one parking lot on St. Patrick's Island. It's so easy to harden your vehicle from theft and to not leave any valuables inside. There is a lot of individual choices one can make to prevent crime from happening. So awful to see this kind of petty thievery when it is so preventable.

[hulkrogan]

Originally Posted by Radley77

Most common type of crime in my community (Bridgeland) is theft from vehicle. And of the theft from vehichle, 40% of those incidents are happening in one parking lot on St. Patrick's Island. It's so easy to harden your vehicle from theft and to not leave any valuables inside. There is a lot of individual choices one can make to prevent crime from happening. So awful to see this kind of petty thievery when it is so preventable.

After two vehicle break-ins (zero in Bridgeland.. haha) I no longer leave anything visible in my cars. They are spotless.

When I used to park downtown I had my window smashed so someone could grab my parking pass.

They made me buy a $500 window so they didn't have to pay $20 for parking.

[suburbia]

Originally Posted by hulkrogan

When I used to park downtown I had my window smashed so someone could grab my parking pass.

They made me buy a $500 window so they didn't have to pay $20 for parking.

That's pretty sad.

[MichaelS]

Originally Posted by Ramsayfarian

Can't wait to see the CCTV footage for the Market Mall hiest.

I remember seeing a news story (with CCTV footage) about a month or two ago of a very similar crime in Vancouver. Someone used an SUV to drive into a mall, where they then robbed a jewelery store. Wonder if it is the same people, or they were just inspired by the Vancouver story (too lazy to go looking for it).

[suburbia]

Proposal from Mar to deal with some of the problems in the Beltline:
http://www.calgarysun.com/2012/11/05...e-the-red-mile

If drunks were calm and considerate, there wouldn’t be an issue.

If only alcohol didn’t result in yelling, violence and sidewalks full of vomit, Calgary’s busiest bar stroll wouldn’t be in big trouble — but booze does, and city hall wants 17 Ave. S.W. to sober up.

For example, the report says 2012 saw one dozen establishments targeted by the city as regular spots for trouble, with seven receiving official warnings or having conditions applied to their licences.

“If you go down there later at night, it’s scary actually,” said Reid-Bilton.

“The avenue isn’t as family friendly now and it’s more of a place to get drunk and hang out — it’s totally saturated and there are more than enough bars in the area.”

[Ramsayfarian]

Originally Posted by suburbia

Proposal from Mar to deal with some of the problems in the Beltline:
http://www.calgarysun.com/2012/11/05...e-the-red-mile

I agree, 17th ave isn't a lot of fun late at night. Too many drunken idiots. You think The City would have learned its lesson with Electric Avenue.

[DizzyEdge]

Isn't this really just an issue that there is a demand for an 'entertainment district' (like every other biggish city) and since the city frowns on such a thing, shopping districts start to turn into them?

[suburbia]

Originally Posted by DizzyEdge

Isn't this really just an issue that there is a demand for an 'entertainment district' (like every other biggish city) and since the city frowns on such a thing, shopping districts start to turn into them?

Was at Toronto's entertainment district recently, and there certainly is a very high density of eating establishments one after another. I don't know if the proportion of mid-high end restaurants to bars would be relative to Toronto's entertainment district. Seemed the people were dressed better and were from either the higher end residences or hotels in the area (of which there are many). I don't think that holds water for the beltline and the portion of the low-rent population that I think is the root of its issues. The Ritz-Carlton and Roy Thompson Hall are in Toronto's entertainment district.

[hulkrogan]

I still don't get why Stephen Ave wasn't targeted to fill the void after Electric Ave. People can make a ton of noise and not keep anyone awake, it's the perfect spot to have your after hours drunken idiots being idiots. They'll do it somewhere, so why not in the CBD far away from open residential bedroom windows on hot summer nights.

[Radley77]

Originally Posted by DizzyEdge

Isn't this really just an issue that there is a demand for an 'entertainment district' (like every other biggish city) and since the city frowns on such a thing, shopping districts start to turn into them?

The last time I was on the Red Mile, I was accosted by Budweiser floozies that wanted me to do survey on alcohol. Very hard to have a vibrant scene of live music and comedy clubs and food when Big Alcohol is busy branding that scene to the lowest common denominator. Need to make it a friendly environment by reaching out to 8 to 80 year olds. Also agree with Hulk Rogan that Stephen Ave should be a better place for the rowdies in a place that is not part of a residential community. When I was young we used to go to a giant agricultural building in a bus. It was safe and there was no negative impact on anyone else.

[DizzyEdge]

Originally Posted by suburbia

Was at Toronto's entertainment district recently, and there certainly is a very high density of eating establishments one after another. I don't know if the proportion of mid-high end restaurants to bars would be relative to Toronto's entertainment district. Seemed the people were dressed better and were from either the higher end residences or hotels in the area (of which there are many). I don't think that holds water for the beltline and the portion of the low-rent population that I think is the root of its issues. The Ritz-Carlton and Roy Thompson Hall are in Toronto's entertainment district.

That's the one part of Toronto I haven't checked out yet. I think there is some merit in having a a 'get drunk' part of town, away from residential, and full of cops, for those who are into that kind of thing, and leave the rest of the districts for those can be hold their liquor.

I'd disagree about Stephen Ave being the entertainment district, there would be a some pretty big blowback if the ave was covered in puke Friday mornings. Besides, Stephen Ave i believe would like to be full of 'trendy high end shopping', as would Uptown 17th, as would etc etc. 17th ave should be a Queen Street West.

Maybe the Stampede mainstreet will take care of all of this.

[DizzyEdge]

"The crowds, noise, and occasional crime especially associated with the clubs caused conflict with the new homeowners. However, local councillor Adam Vaughan is doing his best to try to shut down this area for businesses which he has deemed 'inappropriate' or likely to attract the wrong type of crowds. Subsequently, greater restrictions on venues in the area resulted in loss of jobs; by 2011, the number of clubs had decreased substantially."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toronto...nment_District

Sounds like the Toronto district was rowdy, but the clubs are being weeded out.

[Calgarian]

Calgary needs to man up and have an entertainment district. I don't see why they don't just put a police station in the middle of the bar district too, that would deter a lot of people from starting shit. 17th is great and if you feel threatened that says something about you more than the street I think.

[kw5150]

Am I the only one that thinks Calgary is a great place to live right now and it is evolving in many right directions??

Many other cities of our size (or even larger) cant even hold a candle to Calgary in terms of urbanism and having a good night out without needing cabs all over the place. I find everything really distributed now and I think some exciting things are coming within the next few years in regards to clubbing.

I always have a good time going out here and I usually hit up about 3-10 places. I also find that you could really start up a conversation with a stranger and most of the pubs / boutique clubs, or strangers are not afraid to good around with you a bit....that is what I always liked about Calgary and what helped me make a decision to move here....the people.

17th is under a revival right now as well. I enjoy living next to the action and I have learned to laugh at the drunk idiots. I can admit that sometimes 17th can be intimidating to walk down at 2 in the morning (alone), but there are many other streets you can take. The area between melrose and the ship can be particularly douchey.....but if you know how to hold yourself, you can usually get along with the idiots.

For all of you that havent realized this......stephen is already an entertainment district. I love going down there on the weekends or prctically any evening during the summer. Things have really changed in the last 2-3 years and more to come.

[DizzyEdge]

Calgary is pretty good for what it has, but what would really help it out would be a) filling in all the gaps on the retail streets (like the east and west end of 17th, the empty lot in the middle of marda loop, etc), and more developments like the 17th Ave Best Buy and that Vic Park rendering which included a movie theatre, so that someone in the centre city doesn't need to grab a car to hit a canadian tire or whatever. That said there are a LOT of new projects coming online or proposed which would really help the second part of my comment, just need some sort of incentive to fix the first problem. I really like the idea of more of those little retail buildings like the one on 4th which was tacked onto an existing building, filling all the gaps.

Anyway, this is way offtopic for crime.

[kw5150]

Its all coming down the line........lots to be excited about for our city. I can show almost any skeptic a good urban experience in Calgary. The easiest myth to debunk is when people say "Calgary is SO dead at night" I take those people right to stephen and show them a good night out. Things are going to fill in, as they have been in the last 10 years. So many great changes already.

Picture Calgary before the design district
Before the 1st street streetscape
Before the new condos in Vic park and sunterra....
Before the west LRT
Before the 10 new corporate office towers
Before Pixel and St Johns
Before Memorial Drive refurbish and peace bridge
Before 16th ave refurbish
Before Crescent road promenade
Before the new condos near stampede
Before the Inglewood revival
Before Stella, Nova, Luna, CO-OP
Before Sunterra,
Before the 7th ave LRT refurbish
Before Hotel Germain and the others along 9th ave (Bankers court, Homburg, EAP.....)
Before all of the infills in the bankview and marda loop area
Before the Western High School refurbish
Before Haultain and Central memorial parks,
Before the 13th greenway,
Before the (asphalt) sidewalks along 10th ave.
Before the pit was filled on 4th street
Before
Before
Before........

Just Saying.....this city was practically a ghost town 10 years ago compared to now.

For me there is just too much to be excited about here. Enough of this...."ooh, there is so much crime and the inner city sucks crap..."
Its a good place to be.

Originally Posted by DizzyEdge

Calgary is pretty good for what it has, but what would really help it out would be a) filling in all the gaps on the retail streets (like the east and west end of 17th, the empty lot in the middle of marda loop, etc), and more developments like the 17th Ave Best Buy and that Vic Park rendering which included a movie theatre, so that someone in the centre city doesn't need to grab a car to hit a canadian tire or whatever. That said there are a LOT of new projects coming online or proposed which would really help the second part of my comment, just need some sort of incentive to fix the first problem. I really like the idea of more of those little retail buildings like the one on 4th which was tacked onto an existing building, filling all the gaps.

Anyway, this is way offtopic for crime.

[Full Mountain]

Originally Posted by kw5150

Its all coming down the line........lots to be excited about for our city. I can show almost any skeptic a good urban experience in Calgary. The easiest myth to debunk is when people say "Calgary is SO dead at night" I take those people right to stephen and show them a good night out. Things are going to fill in, as they have been in the last 10 years. So many great changes already.

Picture Calgary before the design district
Before the 1st street streetscape
Before the new condos in Vic park and sunterra....
Before the west LRT
Before the 10 new corporate office towers
Before Pixel and St Johns
Before Memorial Drive refurbish and peace bridge
Before 16th ave refurbish
Before Crescent road promenade
Before the new condos near stampede
Before the Inglewood revival
Before Stella, Nova, Luna, CO-OP
Before Sunterra,
Before the 7th ave LRT refurbish
Before Hotel Germain and the others along 9th ave (Bankers court, Homburg, EAP.....)
Before all of the infills in the bankview and marda loop area
Before the Western High School refurbish
Before Haultain and Central memorial parks,
Before the 13th greenway,
Before the (asphalt) sidewalks along 10th ave.
Before the pit was filled on 4th street
Before
Before
Before........

Just Saying.....this city was practically a ghost town 10 years ago compared to now.

For me there is just too much to be excited about here. Enough of this...."ooh, there is so much crime and the inner city sucks crap..."
Its a good place to be.

Strangely I agree with KW, I think this city is amazing in it's own right, sure theres bits and pieces that can use improvement but every city has those. You guys need to stop spending so much time (decrease not stop) picking holes in this city. I understand that it's important to look at what can be improved, but really we need to celebrate what is being done right and encourage that rather than shouting down the bad or the empty.

[artvandelay]

Originally Posted by suburbia

Proposal from Mar to deal with some of the problems in the Beltline:
http://www.calgarysun.com/2012/11/05...e-the-red-mile

This is nonsense. 17th Avenue is tame by any reasonable standard, it's actually a more subdued crowd since most of the establishments are pubs and lounges rather than nightclubs. I live quite close to the avenue and I've never had any complaints nor heard any from my neighbours. If you want to see crazy, go to Whyte Ave after the bars close - It's like the wild west, but there is always a noticeable police presence to keep things under control.

I assume that this is just another attempt by current businesses to limit competition - more establishments coming in will drive up lease rates and cut into the margins of existing bars and pubs. It's also concerning that we are taking cues from Toronto (the city that fun forgot) on these issues. We should be looking to Montreal rather, and making an effort to develop a vibrant nightlife district. I've said before that Electric Avenue was a better location than 17th for this because there is not really any residential nearby. It's a shame the city shut it down.

[kw5150]

Its also not Mar's idea exclusively. He is persuaded and pressured by all the rich folk up in mount royal and the surrounding uppity condos. I think 17th is actually fine the way it is with the odd outburst happening from time to time.