Police surround the Hospital Inn after shots fired on Oct. 16 (Image Credit: CFJC Today)

By Chad Klassen

COLUMBIA STREET SAFETY

Businesses, schools raise concerns about increase in criminal, transient activity along Columbia Street West

Oct 28, 2020 | 5:21 PM

KAMLOOPS — There is growing concern tonight about the safety of the neighbourhood along West Columbia Street.

A series of violent incidents have taken place recently and businesses have noticed a significant increase in transient people hanging around since the pandemic started in March.

Two weeks ago, shots were fired at the Hospitality Inn. One man was taken to hospital with a gunshot wound. Then last week, domestic violence attracted more police to the area at the Panorama Inn. It has hotels along the strip concerned.

“When you see people you don’t need to see on the property, first question comes, ‘Is this a safe neighbourhood?'” said Ramada Inn general manager Percy Amaria. “We’re getting those questions all the time at check-out time or even on comments that it’s not a safe neighbourhood.”

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The Ramada has cut down trees to reduce the number of homeless people on their property. The hotel has also upped their security to track transients and criminals accessing the property. Management has seen a signficant increase in both criminal and transient behaviour in the last seven months.

“A lot of, I would say, drug abuse, substances found on the property. We barricaded the property, but it doesn’t stop. People still come in and out like it’s their own private property and throw needles all around. Not good for the guests. Not safe,” said Amaria.

The increased violence has also been frightening for School District 73, which has put Beattie Elementary on hold-and-secure twice in the last two weeks. The district has also noticed an increase in homeless activity on the Beattie school grounds.

A tent set up at the front of Beattie Elementary School on McGill Road (Image Credit: Kim Fisher)

“We have had transient people living there, transient people camping there. We’ve had human feces and urine. We’ve had needles. We’ve had drug paraphenalia,” said SD73 Superintendent Terry Sullivan. “So we did an assessment of the whole site at the end of August and we’ve put a number of things in place to help mitigate some of that. We’ve increased security. We’re looking at things like improving the lighting.”

According to the City of Kamloops, some motels along Columbia Street have been deemed nuisance properties under the Good Neighbour Bylaw. The City says areas in Lower Sahali, including Beattie Elementary, are a priority for the Community Services Division that enforces bylaws.

It all came to light at a meeting last Friday (Oct. 23) between the district, City, Kamloops RCMP and the Beattie Parent Advisory Committee. Parents at the school want the transient problem cleaned up to keep their kids safe.

“I believe that a lot of it comes down to the accountability of the hotels in the area, the nuisance they create for the community around us,” said Beattie PAC member Kim Fisher. “I believe the desperation that’s been happening within the people that are living in the hotels near us, they’re getting increasingly desperate to find the quick fixes, whether it be trying to get access to the school grounds, opening car doors of the parents when we’re picking up our children.”

Other parents suggest putting gates up around the school grounds that would be locked after the children arrive at school and when they leave.