We should keep in mind that the City and the RCMP took out the greenery and planters at 1st and George Street, and the planters on 3rd and George St., because they said it provided a place for people to loiter, and do drug exchanges, and basically hang out all day.

Now a year later they want to build a park in almost the same area, that would provide all the things that they eliminated last year. Seems their left hands don’t know what their right hands are doing.

As far as a Police presence in the downtown area goes, this has always been an ongoing problem. We used to have foot patrols (which worked out quite well) with auxiliary police, then they went to bicycle patrols during the summer months, and of course car patrols during the evenings.

Seems the policing has not been adequate and therefore is a valid issue in regards to this park.

If you cant solve the problems in the area of 2nd/3rd and George, why would you develop a park to increase the problem to 4th??

Just askin.

A new place for addicts and drunks. Nice.

PS. One would think that a public open house on the WIDC park would take place at the much vaunted WIDC building rather than at the Ramada, after all we built this building with public funds, and the least they can do is open it up so that the public can see how their money was spent.

Or is the building not yet finished??

Just askin.

PG doesn’t need another park downtown. That money would be better spent fixing the parks we have. Many are in terrible shape due to lack of funds for maintenance.

Repair and maintain our current parks before building any more.

There used to be a law prohibiting loitering but some many years ago it was apparently removed. Too bad. However, to let vagrants and loiterers deter us from making our downtown more attractive and livable is not the right way to go either!

Are there laws in respect to public consumption of alcohol, being intoxicated in public, doing drugs in public, being a public nuisance, relieving oneself in public and littering?

If there are, I would recommend enforcing all of the above! We have the police force to do it!

How do other cities in Canada and most other countries deal with this and have beautiful plazas and parks in their downtowns?

I agree. Repair and maintain what we have now!!! 75 000 will help spruce up the exsisting parks.

I heard there was a mom suing the city for putting her child on a hot metal slide. Does anyone know anything about this???

The Mother allowed the child to use the slide, and then blamed the City because the slide was hot and burned the child.

Don’t know if it went to court or not. Seems to me the slide may have been plastic not metal.

I agree with palopu. So much effort to clean up parks in the downtown area for continuous issues, and now they would like to build another one? I would rather leave some spaces open to encourage developers to build more buildings.

Pretty sad when the ordinary taxpaying citizens say – don’t build a park. And I have to agree. Might as well put the money against debt and reduce taxes, because the park will be unusable for the average citizen as it becomes a hangout for street people. Sad thing is, the more you make life comfortable for them, the more of them that end up coming here. And as for the police, even if they did have the resources – what exactly could they do. Arrest them, put them in a warm jail – it costs too much, and loitering isn’t a crime anymore. Even if they arrested them for harassing ordinary citizens, they’d just be released on a promise to appear and show up right back at the park.

I know, we should devote more resources to street people, build them condos, and provide them with free meals, drug and alcohol counselling, maybe even some cuddle bears – but that’s a provincial responsibility, and considering they’re struggling funding healthcare and education, doubt there’s much cash for marginalized people

Are we going to build a free standing Needle Exchange there as well ?

That would be nice of us that pay all the TAX’S ….

It seems to me that some of you are appropriating BC Government money for use by the city of PG to maintain our parks.
As the story states, it is WIDC that wants to develop the park with WIDC funds.
So if not spent at WIDC they won’t be available elsewhere!
As for fear of developing a park or greenspace downtown and it turning into a hangout for the druggies and vagrants…perhaps if its just greenspace, with no benches, no hiding places and brightly lit at night, I doubt that it will turn into a druggie and or vagrant hangout as they will not feel comfortable there.
Just put in some grass, flowers, and a few meandering pathways and they won’t go anywhere near it.

“Just put in some grass, flowers, and a few meandering pathways and they won’t go anywhere near it.”

So you admit defeat and let drug addicts and alcoholics and loiterers keep us from making our downtown more attractive and livable!

Your living in a dream world NhyteHawwk. My bet is they will sleep there at night and basically make it their home during the summer months.

Geez. We just fixed up the civic centre plaza. How many parks do the street folks need ?

Build the park and transplant all the social issues into the neighbourhoods where the mayor and councillors live.

I don’t think the article mentioned if this area was for the sole use of the employees of the WIDC, or the general ‘public’. If it is their property, and they want to develop it for their own use, then I would imagine they would have high fencing around it to keep non-employees out.

If it is to be used for the ‘public’, then everyone has the right to use it, regardless of their social standing, right?

We all have homes to go to after our day is done, but where do the ‘street people’ have to go?

Would we be using this area at night anyways?

I think it would be a great place to go on your lunch-hour to soak up some sun and get out of the office. We desperately need more green space in and around the city, so I think this is a good idea.

I would rather see the money used to beautify our main blvds. Get rid of the dandelions along the bypass and please spray the weeds that grow out of the cracks along the medians (?) of 5th, 15th, Massey, and the list goes on.

Prince George has many green spaces in the City that that need attention so why are they concentrating on the down town area they spent millions to try and make I look right.

We had a green area behind our home on Pinewood avenue that the City listed as a park so do they really know what a park should look like.
cheers

So if I understand this correctly, people would rather have an ugly downtown that street people hang out in as opposed to a nicer looking downtown that street people hang out in? Okay, gotcha.

The reality is that PG is desperately lacking public space in the downtown core. There is literally nothing going on. Nowhere to read a book or enjoy your lunch at noon, nowhere to hang out and feed birds if that’s your thing, nowhere to go for a stroll without having to wait for traffic lights to change, etc. There is no ambiance anywhere and I doubt you can find a city the size of PG that shares that same trait.

I’m not sure that the location proposed for this park is the best (I think something more adjacent to Victoria Street would be better), but it’s sure as heck an improvement on what is there right now. You have to start somewhere. Just my opinion from afar.

NMG – what we do have, you can’t use. Connaught Hill Park – read a book, enjoy your lunch, and politely tell 3 or 4 street people you don’t have any money to give them. Go to the nice area in front of the Civic Centre – same issue. Heck, the former police station has a sheltered entrance that has become a favorite begging spot. The issue to me anyway, is should people who feel they are already overtaxed, spend more money for a park, that they’ll never be able to comfortably use. But if as one poster said, it’s provincial money, well, yeah, build the park so they’ll migrate there, and maybe I can walk from my office to the Salted Cracker without being asked for donations.

“The issue to me anyway, is should people who feel they are already overtaxed, spend more money for a park, that they’ll never be able to comfortably use”

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I suppose the answer is no. Unfortunately, if the criteria being used is that nothing can ever be developed if it means that the residents of PG may not feel comfortable using it, I’m not sure if much progress will ever be made. At some point people have to accept that cities have these issues and they have to work through them and continue growing regardless of them. You don’t just fold your arms and give up and then in the next breath complain that the city isn’t growing or improving (not saying that’s your opinion, but it does seem to happen allot).

I just wonder, when people from PG travel to Vancouver, do they ever walk down Robson Street or do they just stay in their hotel watching TV the whole time?

“Of all the preposterous assumptions of humanity over humanity, nothing exceeds most of the criticisms made on the habits of the poor by the well-housed, well- warmed, and well-fed.” Herman Melville

The increasing appearance of homeless and indigent people on our downtown streets is a running commentary on our success as a society and community. This is their community too, whether you like it or not. Hiding them from sight won’t change their suffering, situation or the resulting implications for the well-housed, well-warmed and well-fed.

For some, downtown is their home. That’s where they can access a number of social services and so naturally, this is where they congregate with their friends and acquaintances. Maybe you should try interacting with these people, instead of just ignoring them or wishing someone would come and cart them off to some forgotten people warehouse. You may think you’re insulated what has befallen some of them, but that is by no means certain. Talk to them.

Build the damn park and let it be used by all. This is how you begin to create a sense of community. If you’re scared, then I guess you better stay in your cell.

This whole idea of a park behind the WIDC seems like a waste of money. That lot always had cars parked in it, making $$ for the city. Who is going to use it in the winter if it is turned into a park?
Here we go again, another bunch of bad ideas to draw people to downtown PG. A permanent, consolidated Farmer’s Market would be more viable.

I agree this is just throwing good money after bad. Keep it as a revenue making parking lot until an appropriate developer finds it.

This kind of money could go a long way in PG developing park trails that everyone can use, or fixing up existing parks like Rainbow Park that is only a shadow of its former self.