Credit: M. Rothenburger

By Mel Rothenburger

ARMCHAIR MAYOR

ROTHENBURGER: Columbia Street West is no place for social housing

Oct 27, 2020 | 5:01 AM

KAMLOOPS — WE OFTEN LIKE TO REFER to street people, the addicted and the down-and-out as mothers, fathers, sons, daughters, aunts and uncles.

It’s our way of being respectful, of recognizing that they’re human beings and deserving of help when they need it. And that’s absolutely true but this is also true: not all of those mothers, fathers, sons, daughters, aunts and uncles are good people.

They live life rough, and consequently they don’t live by our norms. On the street, they sometimes act out, yelling, loitering, aggressively panhandling. Some are drug addicted, some are violent.

Not all; some.

1000 Ways to Heal

1000 Ways to Heal: Moons

Dec 10, 2024

Question of the Week

Should Mayor Reid Hamer-Jackson apologize or resign after it was found he breached a section of council's code of conduct for allowing false or misleading information to be communicated?

Dec 09, 2024

One Man's Opinion

COLLINS: Donald has it wrong - again

Dec 08, 2024

Their behaviour is inconsistent with family life in a neighbourhood, so we have to be careful where we house them. Just as the folks we’re talking about deserve help, more advantaged folks deserve to live safely and in peace and quiet.

Columbia Street West in the 500 and 600 blocks was recently disrupted by two serious police incidents that locked down the neighbourhood. One involved a shooting, the other a domestic dispute.

Nearby Beattie elementary school had to be secured.

That part of Columbia Street West grew up as a pleasant strip of hotels, popular with tourists but also locals who patronized the restaurants.

Nowadays, if you pass through that area, there are street people strolling about, sitting on curbs or congregating. Due partly to COVID-19 and the drop in tourism, and partly because of housing needs, these folks are currently living in hotel rooms there.

Some of those properties look the worse for wear.

Residents are worried. Parents are worried. They report thefts and drug activity, defecation and needles on the school playground.

There will be letters and meetings and committees. One thing is clear — we need to look after these people, but housing them in hotels near schools is not the place to do it.

City council shouldn’t even think about rezoning the area to legalize long-term rentals.

I’m Mel Rothenburger, the Armchair Mayor.

Mel Rothenburger is a former mayor of Kamloops and a retired newspaper editor. He is a regular contributor to CFJC Today, publishes the ArmchairMayor.ca opinion website, and is a director on the Thompson-Nicola Regional District board. He can be reached at mrothenburger@armchairmayor.ca.

Editor’s Note: This opinion piece reflects the views of its author, and does not necessarily represent the views of CFJC Today or the Jim Pattison Broadcast Group.