By Max McBride Peterson
An Ottawa city councillor wants fences built in the Colonel By underpass, near the Rideau Centre, to discourage street youth from hanging out and in turn make the area safer.
“At night the area becomes a bedroom for street kids,” says Rideau-Vanier Coun. Georges Bédard. He proposed the fences after numerous public complaints about criminal activity, aggressive panhandling and loitering in the underpass. This, Bédard says, has forced pedestrians to walk along Colonel By, where no crosswalks or traffic lights exist. This creates dangers for themselves and motorists alike.
The proposed fences would not block the underpass’s pedestrian walkway, but would close off the sheltered inclines under the overpass, he says. Bédard suggested a fence based on the recommendation from an Ottawa Police study regarding crime prevention. He says the fence would serve a double purpose: “It would be aesthetically pleasing and could be used for city storage.”
After the 2006 murder of a street youth who used the underpass, Ottawa police have stepped up their efforts to keep the area safer.
“There have been incidents of loitering, sleeping, open alcohol and drug use,” says Ottawa Police Staff Sgt. Paul Johnston. The public have lost the use of the underpass, says Johnston, and it is not keeping with its intended purpose: “This is not a place to hang out.”
“Under a bridge is a hideous place to live, but living without shelter is worse,” says Jane Scharf, homeless awareness activist. Scharf says that the proposed fences are not a good idea. She says that the proposal is to turf street youth out, not fix the issue. There was no public consultation, she says.
“A lot of our street youth hang out there,” says Sylvain Lalonde, an Operation Go Home youth worker. Operation Go Home, a local drop-in service, deals with many of the street youth who frequent the underpass. Lalonde says this is just a move to push the homeless out of Ottawa’s downtown area – not to address the issue: “These programs are to just clean-up the downtown area. A lot of tourists use the underpass.”
The underpass is costly, says Bédard. Ottawa police have spent an estimated $22,000 annually to keep the area safe, he says.
This is on top of the city’s annual $50,000 spent to clean the underpass because of the street youth living there. The proposed wrought-iron fence is going to cost approximately $25,000, Bédard says. The fences will save money and improve the area.
The fences are part of an ongoing action to clean up the Rideau Street area. Bédard has lead the movement, which has eliminated traffic congestion, improved lighting, increased cleaning services and pushed for a greater police presence. The result will be a total redesign of the area, he says.
“I have no idea where the youth will end up,” says Lalonde. These fences would improve public safety, he says, but leaves him unsure of where the youth will go.
The fence proposal comes during the move of Operation Go Home from Rideau Street. The current location no longer meets their needs, so the youth agency is moving to 179 Murray St.
The centre staff is optimistic, but the new location has caused mixed feelings. The worry is over the effects of open drug use, notorious in the area, on recovering street youth.
“We should not be using fencing to keep those people out,” says Scharf. She says that if the city officials were concerned about the homeless, they would put more money into helpful programs. Scharf says the fences are not a solution: “It is downright inhumane.”