Hmmm, I wonder - do they ever stop to think about why it is that "they are popping up everywhere???"
More people living in city parks
EDMONTON - There's not much left of the makeshift camp in the river valley when park ranger Amanda Rode arrives on Tuesday morning: piles of dirty clothes, cans of soup, an empty bottle of Hugo Boss cologne. Rode came to this spot near Allan Stein Park in Riverdale about 10 days ago to tell squatters living here they had to leave. Like most people Rode encounters, these tenters were not hostile to her warnings. But that's no guarantee they won't set up camp in another part of the 7,400-hectare park. "All of them pretty much know the run-down because they've been talked to before," she says. The people in this neighbourhood will be pleased they're gone, she adds, but that isn't to say the campers won't move into another neighbourhood. People have been sleeping in Edmonton's river valley for decades, but the number and size of camps has increased steadily over the past several years. Last year, city staff cleared almost 500 campsites in the river valley, says park ranger supervisor, Darren Grove. It's a full-time job in the summer for one park ranger and one city staff member. They typically have 15 to 20 sites to deal with, most reported by the public. The camps are spread out as far as Rundle Park and Collingwood. The remnants of this small camp sit just a few metres from a bike path. Rode thinks six to 10 people were living in four tents here -- it's a minor camp compared to those found in Louise McKinney Park or near the Kinnaird Bridge, where a homeless man died this weekend. Rangers visit those sites dozens of times every year. "It just feels like we're shifting them around," Rode says. "It's not a problem that anyone has a solution to and everyone knows that." Rode found two young women and a couple when she first came to this site. She told them they had to leave and posted a notice on one tent, informing residents they were breaking a bylaw that prevents people from setting up temporary shelters in the city. People are given 24 hours notice before city staff might remove their belongings. Rode and her partner wear thick, black gloves when they sift through items left at camps. Needles are so commonly found that Rode's partner recently had a special container installed on the back of his truck to store them. They carry black garbage bags for items that will be tossed, white bags to store valuable belongings that might be reclaimed, orange bags for dangerous materials, such as items covered in blood. City staff who patrol the river valley know Edmonton's homeless problem is not something they can solve. But they also know that living in the river valley is not acceptable. "It's intimidating for a woman to be running through the woods and to see six people sitting around a tent and drinking," Rode says. "We've had few incidents, but it's a perceived threat." Rangers sometimes deal with people who have been living in the river valley for years -- they know them by name and say they are respectful of city bylaws. Younger men, usually recent arrivals to Edmonton, are often the most hostile. Rangers rarely give out tickets -- they know people wouldn't pay them. They rely on their people skills to convince people to vacate the camps. It usually works, but not always. Grove, the park ranger supervisor, says his department is considering taking a "harder line" with people in some areas. They are exploring the possibility of banning certain people from parkland, but knows that is not necessarily a solution to the problem. "Part of it is there's not a lot of good locations for people to go -- it's not as though there is an abundance of available low-income housing," he says. On Monday morning, one of four brothers living under the Kinnaird bridge in northeast Edmonton was found dead. Police said he had been in a fight with one of his siblings hours earlier. Autopsy results could be released today. azabjek@thejour
Wednesday, August 08, 2007 EDMONTON - Edmonton's huge river valley may seem an inviting camping spot to the homeless, but it's not a suitable place to stay, Coun. Michael Phair says. "It isn't the normal camping where you go with all your equipment and food and you're prepared for it," Phair said Tuesday. "We're really talking about people who are making do out in the open. That is not good for many reasons, including health, sanitation, basic food preparation and storage, your belongings." Violence and theft are also issues, because police can't protect people who are hidden away in the valley, he said. There are emergency shelter spaces available for homeless people, he added. Doug Costigan, acting head of the city parks department, said city park rangers give campers 24 hours' notice to move. Boyle Street Co-op outreach workers work with the park rangers, trying to connect with people in the river valley and help them find a better place to live, he said. "We're trying to be as humane as possible," Costigan said. A nurse is available to deal with health issues the valley campers may have. A city committee on homelessness in parks meets regularly to consider strategies to handle the problem, he said. People camping in the river valley isn't new, Costigan said, but the problem is more pronounced this year. "They're popping up everywhere, even places where they haven't been." |
