CAMPBELL RIVER, B.C.-The City of Campbell River is making a move to make downtown a safer place.
It’s opening a new office on Shoppers Row that will house the city’s bylaw department, provide a checkpoint for RCMP officers, and a base for Footprints Security guards. The city says it’s also hiring a new bylaw officer to focus on the complaints and concerns from residents about unsafe activities that happen downtown. Deputy City Manager Ron Neufeld says that teamwork should make things easier:
The office will be open to the public. It’s all part of what the city is calling its “Safer Downtown” plan. The plan will include helping connect people who are in need with social services. Deputy City Manager Ron Neufeld says that is a key part of addressing downtown’s problems:
Safer Downtown was built through feedback from residents, Downtown BIA, the RCMP, and others. It’s being paid for with money from the city’s gaming reserve. Since that money comes from lottery and casino revenue that means it won’t be coming from property taxes. The city expects Safer Downtown to cost $176,000 this year and go down to $129,000 next year and in 2020.
The city says to ensure Safer Downtown gets the desired results it’ll will be monitored and measured, with council getting regular reports. The goal is to have the new office opened within the next six weeks, in time for summer.
