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Edmontonians will see more police and peace officer patrols in the coming days, with plans for transit peace officers to become a “more consistent presence” on the LRT system starting Sunday.
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“TCAT will use a high-visibility and high-engagement deployment model aimed at reducing and preventing crime and disorder in assigned hot spots,” the report says.
Council will also consider whether to add fare gates to several LRT stations to restrict platform access to riders with proof of payment — a departure from the honor system currently in place.
The report doesn’t detail what areas of the transit system are considered “hot spots” or which LRT stations could see fare gates. If funding is approved this year for the new gates, design and assessment work would need to be done before construction, so full installation wouldn’t be done until 2024.
Safety on public transit in Edmonton has been a high-profile issue in recent months, with some riders complaining about open drug use and harassment, as well as some more serious incidents of violence. Pressure is on the city to find a solution, especially as transit ridership rises after public-health measures were lifted.
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According to city officials, ETS ridership is now back up to nearly 70 per cent of pre-pandemic levels.
“Heightened by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been an increased awareness of many complex issues of marginalization that intersect with public transportation in municipalities,” the report says, noting the need for increased mental health supports and the ongoing drug poisoning crisis, as well as other issues.
There were 227 reports to the ETS transit control center about drug poisonings within the first three months of this year, and the city report says security guards used naloxone 52 times in transit facilities over the last six weeks.
“All these compounding issues are leading to conditions where people feel uneasy and, at times, unsafe while in transit spaces or needing access to transit service.”
The city will be adding drug-poisoning prevention teams to transit facilities and LRT stations from June to September this year. And by July, several more teams of peace officers and workers from the Bent Arrow Traditional Healing Society will be on hand across the transit system, trying to connect vulnerable people to support they need.
Twitter: @meksmith