Prince George city council decided Monday night to keep the status quo downtown.
There was clear frustration at the council table, from mayor, council and senior administration on what to do next. If the mayor and incumbent city councillors are heading out on the campaign trail this fall to get re-elected to another four-year term, voters will tell them at the polls what they think of “more of the same."
That municipal election will be held on Oct. 15, three months from today. Candidates for city council and mayor will be likely throwing out all sorts of ideas on what to do about downtown in general and specifically the Moccasin Flats encampment. Many of those ideas will be illegal and voters should be wary of any candidate running on a “vote for me and I’ll clean up downtown” platform.
Some legal ideas worth considering come with hefty price tags and other complications.
The City of Prince George has limited options on addressing homelessness, but crime fighting falls entirely within local government’s authority. If residents want serious action on downtown crime reduction and public safety, paying for more police officers is the path and that will cost taxpayers in the form of higher taxes.
Another option would involve the City of Prince George following the lead of Kamloops and other municipalities by spending more on supportive housing. That would involve providing the properties and buildings for housing and finding partners to operate the facilities. That would require some spending, especially if it involves buying private property. That’s what was done to bring the province to the table to make the First Avenue housing project happen, but the city might have to provide many more of these housing sites.
A few people have already suggested building a road through Moccasin Flats, as a trucking route where the eastbound big rigs could take an exit off Queensway, drive this new Lower Patricia route and then more easily merge onto Highway 16 at the Yellowhead bridge, rather than having to make that difficult sharp right turn in place now at Queensway and First Avenue.
This idea is not only expensive but illegal. The only way it might get past a judge would be to have an alternate encampment site in place (but where?) as the courts have made it clear that Moccasin Flats can’t be removed without adequate housing in place. A senior city manager informed mayor and council this week that there won’t be enough housing available for the foreseeable future.
More of the same or spend more time and money to better manage the current problems.
In three months, Prince George voters will have their say on who they want at the table to make those decisions.
- Editor-in-chief Neil Godbout
