Edmonton's efforts to bring people back Downtown are hampered by council's unwillingness to address crime, homelessness and open drug use.
edmontonsun.com
For all the hot takes Gunter has I certainly agree with this one.
It seems that at the two year mark of council and for the recent 3 years of the state that has been downtown, it sure seems like council is doing everything BUT clean up downtown. Banning open drug use, reinstating the loitering bylaw, banning encampments are all first steps that could/should be taken if council is serious about starting to mitigate public safety downtown.
These ridiculous "Meet Me Downtown" campaigns are a complete waste of money if you don't fix why people done want to meet downtown in the first place.