Concerns flare about Vancouver tent city scaring away tourism from local businesses
2022. 7. 25. 16:23ㆍ■ 국제/CANADA
Concerns flare about Vancouver tent city scaring away tourism from local businesses (msn.com)
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Concerns flare about Vancouver tent city scaring away tourism from local businesses
Sarah Grochowski
© Provided by Vancouver SunOne of the more than 100 tents pitched on East Hastings Street in Vancouver on July 21.
Tourism operators are raising concerns that a new tent city along Vancouver’s East Hastings Street is driving customers away from area stores at the height of the summer tourist season.
Business groups are calling upon the city to quickly enact a supportive housing solution away from the district, using funding and subsidies from the B.C. government.
More than 130 tarps and tents crowded the two blocks between Main and Carrall streets one morning this week. The makeshift homes provided a sliver of shade and privacy to those inhabiting them; some had propane stoves and heaters.
© NICK PROCAYLOScenes from the Downtown Eastside (DTES) as more than 130 tents are pitched on E. Hastings St. in Vancouver, on July 21, 2022.
Walley Wagolet, executive director of Gastown’s Business Improvement Society, said the tent city is causing undue harm to businesses around the Downtown Eastside.
“This is a business district. Though owners are devastated that so many people are homeless, they too are suffering, teetering on success or failure based on whether travellers explore our city,” Wagolet said. “Tourists are beginning to feel it’s too unsafe to visit shops because of their proximity to the area.”
After city workers, accompanied by police, were accused of dismantling and discarding unattended tents and other personal possessions left on the streets, city council voted to end the practice of daily “street sweeps” July 1.
“It’s been absolute chaos ever since,” said Jason Delesoy, manager of the Anthem Properties building at the intersection of Hastings and Carrall, which contains a cafe, lighting store and commercial offices with a secure entry system.
“We’ve had to double up on our private security, including hiring a guard to work weekends. It’s become dangerous, we’re seeing stabbings almost every day.”
As well as clearing sidewalks beside the building of garbage, Delesoy said security guards’ duties have included instructing lost tourists on the quickest route out of the area.
“Summer travellers come off the cruise ship, maps-in-hand, and wander down here. They get really scared and immediately ask us for help,” he said.
Vancouver police Sgt. Steve Addison confirmed that since the beginning of July disorder along East Hastings has increased.
“There have been a number of violent incidents … includ(ing) a man in a wheelchair who was stabbed while trying to navigate through tents and debris on the sidewalk and a woman in her 80s who was bear-sprayed earlier this week.”
Sunday last week, a 67-year-old woman was struck on the head with a butcher knife while walking near East Hastings and Carrall, Addison said.
Nathan Murdoch, co-founder of Toonie Tours walking tour company, said many of his customers are shocked to encounter East Hastings, a street that sits between two of the city’s oldest neighbourhoods, Gastown and Chinatown.
“We’ve tried to plan tours that didn’t include the area, but tourists weren’t interested. They want to see what has been advertised to them; the most historic spots of Vancouver.”
While community organizations agree that a lack of housing is to blame for the urban encampment, they say the most pressing issue is a lack of access to adequate sanitation and water for those who have set up camp.
“I don’t think anyone likes or wants to be blocking doorways or making it difficult to navigate the street — but the issue is that there isn’t housing,” said Fiona York, former project coordinator with the Carnegie Community Action Project.
© NICK PROCAYLOScenes from the Downtown Eastside (DTES) as more than 130 tents are pitched on E. Hastings St., in Vancouver, on July 21, 2022.