[northlands]

Interesting seeing Mr Paquette mention immediate solutions for the short term need of housing using trailers/modulars to help alleviate these situations while the longer term permanent solutions are being developed/built.

I have wondered why it’s never really been explored about using oilfield camp trailers. Stigma maybe? But you can have a 1000 bed camp setup (if all permitting is there) in <2 months and the room cost per night can be less than $15 excluding house keeping. Transportation, installation, and commissioning within the City limits probably cost less than $900,000. Seems like it’d be a quick, fast, relative inexpensive solution for at least the winter to start getting folks out of the streets/LRT stations.

Set it up inside the old Northlands Racetrack. Or have five different sites of 200 bed camps.

Seriously—there is so much unused camp equipment sitting around the Edmonton area—I know one company that has probably 5000 beds worth of modular camp trailers sitting in Lac La Biche and probably 8000 sitting out by Onoway.

 

[David A]

The simplest thing in my opinion and which would probably help a lot would be more permanent shelter spaces rather than more temporary ones.

I wish the province would get off their butt, stop making excuses and just do that now.

 

[northlands]

The simplest thing in my opinion and which would probably help a lot would be more permanent shelter spaces rather than more temporary ones.

I wish the province would get off their butt, stop making excuses and just do that now.

Yes which was Aaron Paquette’s point—short term solutions while the long term ones are in motion—but it takes years to get even the fastest permanent shelter spaces built from initial planning to funding received to commencing construction to occupancy. When you have a homeless population that doubles within 3 years and a Provincial government that only moves on this portfolio when it absolutely has to, there needs to be interim solutions found and put in motion with haste.

 

[dunno]

And literally now is the time to work on building, say, a modular camp or two, to house several thousand unhoused folks. Could be up and ready for November, in theory.

 

[northlands]

No doubt. When Fox Lake First Nation burnt down from the fires in early May, the Feds brought in a 1000 bed camp and by the start of July it was 80% setup and occupied for those displaced from the fires and those working on the recovery effort. And that was with tying it all to the town water/sewer/power.

 

[buildings]

how many transit police officers would it take to have 2 on each station platform and 2 on each train? I remember being in NYC during a time of heightened terrorist threats and the transit police there had card tables at each subway entrance (for the purpose of bag checking) manned by 2 officers, each armed with a fully automatic rifle. there were no troubles on the trains at all. Now I'm not advocating for such an extreme response but heck, even Rodger's Place has better security. Council better toughen up; I can see this as a make/break issue for the lot of them come election time. ***end rant***

 

[jason403]

Maybe just make it illegal to possess drugs. Also legislate statutory minimum sentences for those who assault innocent people. Then have severe punishments with long jail time.

House drug addicts and criminals in jail. There they can get treatment, or not. Spending money on additional prison space would be cheaper then throwing so much dead money at the criminal element that makes up the homeless population.

 

[thommyjo]

I get that people are upset and we have a right to feel safe in our own city, but what you are proposing is not possible. You cannot mandate someone enter a shelter or go to jail in a free and democratic society. What you are describing is Dickensian England where poverty is criminalized.

I don't imagine I will change any minds that believe the houseless population is living a "party summer", but at the very least the argument should be called out for its ridiculousness.

The homelessness of today is not the homelessness of the 80s or earlier. Especially in canada. We have significant social supports.

It’s almost always related to serious drug use and mental health. People experiencing poverty, while not easy, do have supports and rarely fall into long term homelessness without drugs/mental health becoming an issue. Poverty due to income is decently well served in canada (but always room to improve).

But drug use and mental health problems in public aren’t a poverty issue. You can give those people all they need for housing, food, a job, etc. it doesn’t help, their needs are different.

And in the public realm, the risks and consequences are different. It’s not just regular people hitting tough times. It’s people with schizophrenia and generational trauma using drugs that cause violent and erratic behaviour. The risks to themselves and to the public are significantly worse than in other eras of homelessness.

We need a new response. One that doesn’t dehumanize those needing help, but one that also doesn’t dehumanize the grandma, university student, single mom, child, and everyday citizen that wants to safely move around their city. We need 0 tolerance for assaults and bodily harm to random Edmontonians.

At this point I would literally support having the army engaged with our LRT…

I have 3 friends that bought second cars for their households this year so they could stop using the train. That’s a mostly permanent decision to never use the train again. We cannot recover what we’re losing from allowing this to be a problem for so long.

 

[IanO]

^friends and family have done the same and won't be back on the LRT in the foreseeable future, if ever, given their concerns and acquisition of a second vehicle. My brother in law's office now offsets parking for employees versus transit passes due to their concerns and experiences over safety in and around Corona Station.

 

[trevorhayden]

While that is unfortunate, the LRT is actually as busy as ever. Ridership is 106% pre-Pandemic levels according to a local media report I saw a few months ago! I am not going to let the fearmongering police chief conflate stupid people deciding to argue with armed fearful humans. Taking transit is STILL AMAZINGLY safer than driving a car in Edmonton.

 

[Kosy123]

While unfortunate, the LRT is actually as busy as ever. Ridership is 106% pre-Pandemic levels!

Where did you get this? Is this from the APTA thing? I know we've breached ETS Bus ridership but they didn't say anything yet about LRT ridership

 

[Gronk!]

All I know is I'm taking the LRT to the Heritage Festival this weekend, and I'm not allowing some thugs to stop me from doing so!

 

[TAS]

Yes which was Aaron Paquette’s point—short term solutions while the long term ones are in motion—but it takes years to get even the fastest permanent shelter spaces built from initial planning to funding received to commencing construction to occupancy. When you have a homeless population that doubles within 3 years and a Provincial government that only moves on this portfolio when it absolutely has to, there needs to be interim solutions found and put in motion with haste.

Coun Paquette's office provided me this info today. Council previously discussed this when Coun. Stevenson asked for a report on short term housing alternatives. Council decided not to go the route of workforce trailers. Here is some info from city admin.

According to findings of city admin, these trailers are a more expensive of an option than hotels.

 

[IanO]

What in the absolute F? Those per unit/day costs seem classically public sector solutions.

Do they include counselling, food and uber?

 

[northlands]

So City administration estimated it will cost $17.9m to run a 140 bed camp for 12 months.

They really have no idea what they’re doing.

Also to put it in perspective: I know a construction company that rented a 54 man camp, plus a 1450 sqft gym, 2100 sq ft dining hall, complete commercial kitchen, all catering (three meals per person per day) and any required housekeeping/maintenance/installation/logistics, all for $2m over two years. And this is at a site sevens hours north of Saskatoon in the middle of nowhere.