The real question is whether Cranbrook’s public spaces are safe and feel safe — and whether our responses are actually changing outcomes rather than relocating problems.
People are concerned.
- Parents worry about homelessness and drug activity being concentrated near our high school.
- Businesses surrounding the former Travelodge experienced years of disorder and property crime.
- Common Ground, beside Moir Park, was established without running water or power.
- Downtown businesses and residents are now seeing more visible drug use, severe intoxication and disorder.
These concerns deserve to be taken seriously.
So does the person sleeping outside, fighting addiction or mental illness, or simply struggling to survive.
We don’t have to choose between compassion and community safety. We need both. And we can’t just move the problem.
Cranbrook has invested significantly in shelter, supportive housing, outreach, Bylaw enforcement and coordinated policing. But we’ve learned something important: as the Travelodge shelter wound down, City staff documented increased movement of unhoused people toward downtown in search of food, warmth and services — what they called “compelled migration.”
Step Beyond is now providing 40 purpose-built shelter beds near downtown. City staff reported it was operating smoothly, while also noting more unhoused people hanging in the surrounding area. What’s working inside a facility may not be working outside it. Another 50 supportive-housing units are proposed beside it, in the broader area of Mount Baker Secondary School.
Common Ground is the City’s designated outdoor sheltering area beside Moir Park, but it has no running water or power. Service providers tried to bring temporary service trailers to the site, but they were removed after process and communication problems. Travelling elsewhere for food, water, warmth and services contributes to the movement we’re seeing across the city.
The lesson is simple: where we put housing and services matters. A roof is important, but without services, supervision, treatment and reasonable expectations, we risk moving the visible problem from one neighbourhood to another.
Head: Follow the problem, not just the address.
Cranbrook has spent years responding to homelessness, addiction and public disorder. We need a clearer picture of what is actually working.
When one problem disappears from one location, is the problem solved?
- If people leave Common Ground for water, warmth and services, where do they go — and what happens there?
- If a shelter works inside its doors but disorder rises around it, is that success?
- If we enforce a bylaw and move someone from a park, what happens next?
- When a relatively small number of high-needs individuals repeatedly require police, Bylaw, Fire, ambulance and other interventions, are we addressing the underlying problem — or repeatedly paying to manage it?
Council needs to connect those dots: shelter locations, services, public disorder, crime, emergency calls, neighbourhood impacts and actual movement into stable housing.
Then measure the outcomes: Are people moving out of homelessness? Are calls declining? Are neighbourhoods improving? Are parks and downtown feeling safer? Success isn’t where the problem isn’t anymore — it’s whether the problem is actually getting better.
Hands: Make the pieces work together.
Cranbrook already has many pieces: RCMP, Bylaw, outreach, the Safe Community Situation Table, Common Ground, shelters, supportive housing and provincial programs targeting encampments, repeat offenders and community safety.
Now make them work together.
- Target known hotspots. Match enforcement and outreach to the places and hours when problems actually occur.
- Protect public spaces. Consistently enforce reasonable standards of behaviour, especially around playgrounds, schools, parks, downtown and problem neighbourhoods.
- Bring services to people. If Common Ground remains our designated sheltering area, essential outreach, water and other basic services need to reach people there.
- Protect surrounding neighbourhoods. New shelters and supportive housing should come with neighbourhood impact plans, clear operating expectations, after-hours response and transparent reporting.
- Demand our share from Victoria. Mental-health care, addiction treatment and much of supportive housing are provincial responsibilities. Document the costs being downloaded onto Cranbrook and aggressively pursue the resources to address them.
- Make every incident count. Nearly two-thirds of Cranbrook survey respondents who experienced crime didn’t report it. Unreported crime doesn’t help identify hotspots or make the case for more resources. Make reporting easy and encourage residents and businesses to report crime when it occurs.
- Publicly report whether it’s working with a measurable safety scorecard.
Heart: Safe for everyone
A child shouldn’t find a needle in a park. A business shouldn’t repeatedly absorb the cost of vandalism. A teenager walking home from work shouldn’t feel unsafe. A senior shouldn’t stop using a public space because they feel intimidated.
And the person so profoundly addicted or unwell that they can barely function in public matters too. Leaving that person there isn’t compassion. Neither is allowing a small number of people to make shared spaces unusable for everyone else.
Compassion and accountability aren’t opposites. Help people who need help. Expect reasonable behaviour. Protect our shared spaces.
Bottom line: Don’t move the problem. Change the outcome.
Head • Hands • Heart
Do the homework. Make it happen. Remember why.