News   Apr 03, 2020
From the Editor: A Message to Our Readers
 9.7K     3 
News   Apr 02, 2020
Topping Off March 2020: What's Hot on SkyriseEdmonton
 10K     0 
News   Apr 02, 2020
News Roundup for April 2, 2020
 3.7K     0 

LRT Safety

Not LRT related and in Calgary not Edmonton, but at the McDonald's on Memorial Dr and Edmonton Trail (our toddler didn't approve of the hipster sandwiches we got, but admittedly we got a couple of treats for ourselves while we were there), there was a very aggressive panhandler. As someone who is very comfortable walking through Boyle/Macauley after dark as well as the Vancouver Downtown Eastside, I was scared. Is Calgary's houseless population still very much there, just more hidden and maybe more desperate? I definitely saw the houseless population elsewhere. At least the C-Train is safe. We didn't take it this time, $4 per adult per trip plus $2/hour to charge our EV didn't make sense vs. parking at Telus Spark for $12 and charging our EV at no additional cost (not the one under the solar hail shelter which is $2/hour after 2 hours but the one in the open closer to the zoo).
 
Could be worse, last Summer on Seattle's Sound Transit, a mostly naked guy - only wearing a potato sack around his waist.....came on the train with 2 propane tanks in tow....needless to say we didn't feel like getting blown up on a train and got off at the next stop.....btw - he was also eyeballing me so bad at a point that I had to take off my watch and grasp it as a "make shift weapon" just in case he lunged at me or my wife....you see, it's not just YEG where we have bad apples....

These experiences tell wicked stories when we get older Ian, we have to think of these little encounters as "excellent story fodder" for the future....lol
 
Last edited:
Two years ago a man tried to fight my dad on Calgary's LRT while he was visiting with his wife for a conference. No police, no security, and onlookers just watched it happen. He hopped off at the next stop hoping to find security or police there, but there was no one around so he snuck back on leaving the guy searching for him at the station as the train took off again. He's a retired police officer so he knew how to handle the situation, but it could have been very bad. He did let police know after the whole situation that this guy was cruising the LRT looking for problems.

It's definitely not just an Edmonton problem.
 
Walked through Downtown pedway yesterday twice through Churchill Station. Private security everywhere, EPS beats having coffee in Stantec. At least 6 peace officers at Churchilll, some checking tickets. Another duo of EPS officers moving someone along in pedway to ECC. I'd say there was some street people but it wasn't overwhelming and much improved from years past given the storm and temperatures outside.
 
degrandprix said:
Just witnessed an OD at Southgate station, before I could finish my text to transitwatch, 8 peace officers, 2 EPS, a firetruck and an ambulance showed up to deal with them. Not sure how long the person was lying there before I walked by, but good response from all departments I'd say!
Click to expand...

A bit overkill, don't you think? Why was a firetruck needed for an OD? Why were 8 peace officers and 2 EPS officers needed for an OD?
 
degrandprix said:
Just witnessed an OD at Southgate station, before I could finish my text to transitwatch, 8 peace officers, 2 EPS, a firetruck and an ambulance showed up to deal with them. Not sure how long the person was lying there before I walked by, but good response from all departments I'd say
Click to expand...
The “mental health” issues of that person just cost us taxpayers about $12,000……
 
Gronk! said:
A bit overkill, don't you think? Why was a firetruck needed for an OD? Why were 8 peace officers and 2 EPS officers needed for an OD?
Click to expand...
Fire services are usually the first on the scene, regardless of what the actual issue is. We have a couple buildings nearby with many elderly residents (our building included) and I, personally, had a couple 911 calls a couple years ago because of a clearly medical issue, and in all cases we see fire services come first, then EMS follows.
 
I think fire showing up first for every event is total overkill. I understand if EMS is tied up, but you just don't see this in other cities. Downtown during certain times it can be firetrucks every 10 minutes for overdoses, the noise is crazy. In other cities that have specialized teams that just deal with that. There's gotta be a better solution than sending expensive firetrucks out for every call.
 
Greenspace said:
I think fire showing up first for every event is total overkill. I understand if EMS is tied up, but you just don't see this in other cities. Downtown during certain times it can be firetrucks every 10 minutes for overdoses, the noise is crazy. In other cities that have specialized teams that just deal with that. There's gotta be a better solution than sending expensive firetrucks out for every call.
Click to expand...
It happens in plenty of other cities as well. Mixture of the fact that fire is specifically funded to arrive as quickly as possible, so they will be first on the scene at most anything. Additionally, Fire being municipally funded and EMS being provincially funded provides a convenient way for the province to further download the costs onto municipalities.
 
Gronk! said:
A bit overkill, don't you think? Why was a firetruck needed for an OD? Why were 8 peace officers and 2 EPS officers needed for an OD?
Click to expand...
Absolutely it was overkill, though it did make me feel like transit security is being taken a bit more seriously now.

Last year I called in an unconscious person at Gov. Center LRT in the morning. Came back later that day and they were still there! Don't know if anyone even came to check on them in the time between.
 
You must log in or register to post here.

Back
Top