A few days ago someone posted a comment on Squamish Speaks indicating that a 74-year-old man with Parkinson's disease had spent three hours "lying helplessly in a blackberry bush after falling down while picking berries because most passersby assumed he was a drug addict and ignored him."
Added that person who posted the message, "THAT's how bad our downtown area is."
The Chief was unable to reach the victim immediately after the incident, but suffice it to say that if it's true, it is a genuinely appalling commentary on the state of our downtown core, and one that should be much higher on Squamish council's list of priorities.
The No. 1 item on that "strategic priorities" list, which was approved in March, is economic development. Nothing wrong with that. Economic development has been a key issue since Woodfibre closed down in 2006 and it continues to be one, as it was the top issue in last November's municipal election.
But guess what? There's a certain interconnectedness to issues that, at first glance, may appear to be unrelated. If developing the Oceanfront is as important to Squamish's future economy as many seem to think it is, and doing so is a key step in the revitalization of the downtown core, then it behooves us to start working now to make the downtown a safer, more family-friendly place. Money is being spent to upgrade Stan Clarke Park. Money has already been spent on a new downtown pavilion. Still, if most people only go there to attend festivals and the farmers' market, but are unwilling or afraid to go there when the crowds are gone, are we really getting the best bang for our buck? Or are we just pouring good money into a commercial area that's destined to die if the Oceanfront doesn't come to fruition in the next decade?
Council needs to move the re-opening of the downtown community policing office to at or near the top of its priority list, pronto. When it operated from 2005 to late 2010, it provided a regular police presence downtown -a place where people could go to report a crime or just to submit a criminal records check. Getting its doors open again won't just improve public safety. It'll also help clear away a major hurdle to the economic development of our downtown core.
- David Burke
