Downtown benches come under scrutiny by some, others say not the problem

Englot has called police to respond but the problem isn’t going away.

“Sometimes, when we’re open late, it’s dark and I’m alone it’s quite scary,” she added. “They are always drunk and yelling. There are so many people on the street passing the bottle around. Sometimes they’ll follow you down the street asking for money. They just won’t leave you alone.”

Englot said customers are sometimes upset about it, too.

Business manager Jayda Englot says she is concerned about panhandling and downtown safety and feels the new benches in front of businesses adds to the problem. (Angela Brown/battlefordsNOW Staff)

Business owner Melissa Doke-Poitras wants to see the benches on 101 Street removed, and will be discussing the issue with city lawmakers as part of a delegation planned next month.

“I think they need to be taken out, even for a short period of time to see if it helps,” she said.

Another business owner, Andrew Thiell, also on 101 St., echoed Doke-Poitras’ comments.

Thiell said he has never had an issue with safety downtown but sees the benches as a concern and would like to see them gone.

“The people that are frequenting the benches are probably not the people we’re trying to attract to our downtown,” he said. “The benches were probably initially brought to beautify the downtown, which they have. They are probably meant for shoppers that would like to sit and enjoy the ambience of the downtown, and I don’t think they are doing that. There is not enough business downtown to do that.”

But not everyone is of the same mindset.

Long-time North Battleford resident Lorraine Thompson said she has noticed panhandling growing downtown but doesn’t believe it can be attributed directly to the benches.

“The benches aren’t the problem,” she said. “Dealing with the initial people with the addictions or due to circumstance that don’t have the place to go is the problem, and that problem in itself is getting worse.”

She would walk downtown regularly years ago to shop, but rarely goes now because of the proliferation of panhandling and loitering.

“It is an uneasy feeling when asked for money or cigarettes and you get followed to your vehicle by someone asking for more,” she said.

The benches came under scrutiny at a recent RCMP Town Hall. A concerned citizen raised the issue of being harassed, which spiralled into a debate about the benches and how they invite loitering. One resident said he had put in countless calls for the benches to be removed with no response from lawmakers.

Staff Sgt. Darcy Woolfitt, however, said quite simply, “the issue, is not the bench.”

Attendees wanted the RCMP and CSOs to make themselves more visible downtown, something city council is working to do.

Mayor Ryan Bater recently told battlefordsNOW that before the benches were installed, people would find other places to hang out in the core.

“I have worked downtown for a long time, and people have been around downtown before there were benches,” he said. “Before there were benches they would sit on stoops of businesses or windows, and lean against posts. I’m not sure benches are the issue.”

The mayor said if these individuals want to be downtown, they will find a way to be there.

He said police conduct regular patrols if certain individuals are being disruptive “to ensure people aren’t putting others in harm’s way,” adding that many people who shop also use the benches.

“That’s what we are trying to encourage,” the mayor said. “The Master Plan for downtown was about making the downtown more pedestrian-friendly, hence benches, curb extensions, bulb-outs (rounded sidewalk corners). That’s what that’s all about.”

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angela.brown@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @battlefordsnow

by Angela Brown

Downtown benches come under scrutiny by some, others say not the problem

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