Last week I was in a restaurant in Pemberton. A lady from Ontario sitting beside me remarked that she had just had a good visit to Prince Rupert and enjoyed that town. I inquired if she had ever visited Prince George. She said she recently came through by bus, late at night. The bus station was shut down. The reason she was given, and I quote: "There are too many street people hanging around here at night and it is not safe to keep it open," unquote.
She sat there on the sidewalk with her suitcases. She was not impressed with Prince George. Another couple at a nearby table, from Alberta, remarked that they had stayed at a downtown hotel and were advised by hotel management "not to walk around at night due to safety concerns." Another couple who were not impressed. Millions of dollars have been spent downtown - not counting the 900,000 plus just to change traffic flow on 4th Avenue. Putting the Judy Russell Family Theatre downtown for $50 million is certainly not a cure for the downtown cancer. When will city hall realize that there are serious problems downtown? I just met three total strangers who were not impressed and will not be coming back. There are lots more like them out there, I am sure.
Bob Molland
Prince George
