Chinatown Safety: immediate actions and follow-through
See the City of Edmonton’s commitment to immediate and long-term actions that address community safety in Chinatown.
Something that I consistently hear from community members is that they want more input and more communication on how the City is handling safety issues. If you reached out to your Councillor, came to speak at our meetings, talked to community leaders, or voiced your concerns, I want to thank you for making your community’s needs clear. Safety is a shared responsibility and I am incredibly grateful that the community in Chinatown has continued to call leaders to the table even during a time of incredible grief.
After my meeting with members of the Chinatown community, our administration has put together a comprehensive list of immediate and long-term actions we will complete. There are also links to programs and initiatives that are already underway, so Edmontonians have have the full picture of what is happening for community safety across all City departments.
We are working together to make our city safer for every single Edmontonian. I want to stress that I am willing to work with anyone who shares the goal of keeping Edmonton and Chinatown safe. I care for this community deeply and I intend for my actions to reflect that more than my words ever could.
Please share this with anyone concerned about community safety in Chinatown.
Summary: There are immediate actions and long-term actions that the City of Edmonton has committed to that address community safety concerns in Chinatown and area. These actions were developed in direct response to community requests and range from increasing security and uniformed officer presence on streets, to establishing a post-COVID vibrancy fund, to working with the provincial and federal governments to prevent the release of offenders from corrections facilities into houselessness.
Immediate Actions by the City of Edmonton, Council and Mayor Sohi:
- Implement a Chinatown needle cleanup program.
- Commence a daily cleaning of streets and back alleys throughout Chinatown.
- Establish a dedicated Chinatown post-COVID vibrancy fund along the same model as the Downtown Recovery Coalition. Funds will be dispersed by a Chinatown Committee that will oversee priorities and decisions. The aim of this fund is to equitably distribute resources to those who have not been able to access downtown recovery funds due to boundary constraints.
- Implement a public washroom plan with focus on Chinatown and clearly articulate timing, location, and operational plans which will be coordinated with the Chinatown and Area Business Association.
- Provide a $300,000 grant to the Chinatown and Area Business Association to help fund private security resources in and throughout Chinatown so that businesses do not need to pay for this out of their own pockets
- Provide a detailed breakdown of all resources and funding provided to support Chinatown.
- Develop multilingual information materials where information needs are identified.
- Complete a safety audit of Chinatown, present findings and recommendations to the Chinatown and Area Business Association, and prepare an implementation plan to address all recommendations.
- Review and clarify the powers, authorities and procedures for bylaw officers, private security and police so that businesses and community partners have a shared understanding of the types of enforcement that can be expected.
- Refrain from sending written warnings to owners to clean up properties. Instead, we will communicate directly with those owners and let them know how we can assist them to clean up both public areas in front of their businesses and private property.
- Develop an improved streetscape plan for the core in Chinatown to assist with prevention of encampment set ups. This will be funded through the Chinatown Recovery Fund.
- Commence a Chinatown promotion campaign with a focus on attracting patrons to Chinatown businesses.
- When possible, provide the Chinatown and Area Business Association and other community groups with a summary of actions on fires in the area. This will be subject to the completion of ongoing investigations.
For updates on safety efforts that are already in progress by City of Edmonton departments click here.
Long-term Actions by the City of Edmonton, Council and Mayor Sohi:
- Work with Chinatown on a Community Enhancement Plan for Council consideration.
- Create a 5 year plan for a decentralization of social services to limit the concentration in Chinatown.
- Consider limiting new permits for additional social agencies in Chinatown.
- Advocate to the federal government to stop releasing offenders from federal corrections facilities into houselessness.
Advocate to the province for:
- Preventing the release of health patients into houselessness.
- Preventing the release of offenders from provincial corrections facilities into houselessness.
- Limits to pharmacy concentration in Chinatown.
Co-ordinate with social agencies and charities to:
- Convene a constructive and facilitated planning session between social agencies and Chinatown community members and business owners to review and address operating procedures that negatively impact businesses and residents
- Convene a meeting of social agencies with provincial and federal governments to focus on issues in Chinatown.
- Hire a social agencies client coordinator who would work with the Chinatown and Area Business Association and social agencies to identify and resolve issues and support compliance with the Good Neighbour Plan
- Implement a community-wide public awareness campaign communicating to charities the unintended impacts of dropping resources off randomly in Chinatown and to discourage this behaviour.
- As the above occurs, explore if there are permitting and bylaw rules to clarify which organizations can deliver resources to Chinatown.
- Ask agencies to re-consider methods of food distribution to minimize litter in and around Chinatown.
- Investigate adjustments to reduce queues on Chinatown streets and reduce litter in the community.
- Review and improve all good neighbour agreements.
Increase coordination with Edmonton Police Service:
- Commence integrated joint teams including EPS, Fire, EMS, Social agencies, and City Peace Officers under joint unified command. These teams will also closely coordinate with private security firms operating in Chinatown.
- Request EPS review their custody release procedures, and amend procedures where possible.
- Enhance presence of EPS, Bylaw, EMS, and private security to achieve nearly 24/7 monitoring of Chinatown.
Together, we will build a safer and more vibrant Chinatown for all of us.
