East Village safer as crime drops: residents

Efforts to clean up downtown Calgary's East Village are paying off, as the area once a magnet for drugs and petty crime is turning into a safer place to live, according to police and residents.

"It's been better around here," said Steve Gin, who told CBC News two years ago he was afraid to leave his condo because of all the drug dealers in the area.

"Today we love going and walking around. We don't feel like we have to be spying on the activity around here. We can walk down to Fort Calgary. We can walk down to Inglewood and not be afraid in the evenings anymore," he said.

The addition of almost 50 officers dedicated to patrolling downtown streets plus a stiffer pubic behaviour bylaw passed three years ago is behind the turnaround, said Calgary police Const. Scott Kerr-Smith.

'It used to be a free-for-all for people to do what they want.' Const. Scott Kerr-Smith

"It used to be a free-for-all for people to do what they want, really," he said.

There have been one-third fewer robberies downtown so far this year, according to police statistics.

The East Village is about a 50-hectare area east of downtown bounded by the Bow Riverto the north, Ninth Avenue S.E.to the south, Third Street S.E.to the west and the Elbow Riverto the east.

According to Kerr-Smith, many of the repeat offenders who used to loiter in the East Villagehave eithergone tojail, moved elsewhere or stay closer to the nearby homeless shelters.

Last fall, the Calgary Municipal Land Corporation (CMLC) the independent development company the city created to help revitalize the East Village unveiled a master plan for the area. It called for a mixed-use community with arts and cultural venues and a vibrant waterfront.

The city has been improving infrastructure in the area, including new roads, a planned underpass under Fourth Street, and a pedestrian bridge that willlink St. Patrick's Island and the northeast community of Bridgeland to the East Village.

Homeless forced to keep moving

Construction is also underway on Riverwalk, a pedestrian promenade along Riverfront Avenue S.E. which will go through the village, linking Chinatown in the west toStampede Parkin the east.

Aidan Cardinal, who is homeless, said the heavier police presence means he has to keep moving, or risk being fined.

"All over downtown. To Bridgeland, wherever, because there's really no place to go. The police keep me walking," he said.

Louise Gallagher, a spokeswoman for the Calgary Drop-In Centre, said she has heard the same complaint from other clients. But she added that because there is less crime, those same clients are much safer.