I read the City of Calgary's press release about its “See You on Stephen Avenue” initiative with a jaundiced eye. Mayors and city councils have vowed to revitalize the historic downtown zone for decades, and conditions have only become progressively worse. Businesses have been in decline, and Calgarians have shied away from the area because the city has been more inclined to try initiatives such as bike lanes, public art, and more flowerpots rather than admit the problem is due to the area having become unsafe and unclean.I decided to extend my usual walking commute to the Western Standard newsroom (I park distantly to save a few bucks) to walk the length of the Eighth Avenue pedestrian mall. It was the kickoff of the project, and I wanted to see firsthand what the plan was.I began well west of the Stephen Avenue zone by taking the Ninth Avenue underpass on Eighth Street. The transition from beltline to downtown is marked by the pervasive smell of urine, as the underpass is a notorious hangout for addicts. Trash litters the sidewalk, and graffiti is ubiquitous..Rounding the corner onto Eighth Avenue, Century Gardens comes into sight. It’s a small urban park which was redesigned some years ago with fountains and fixed public washroom facilities. The park has been taken over by addicts who can be seen in various states of impairment and consciousness. The fountains haven’t been filled with water for years, and the washrooms have permanent attendants and security assigned to watch them. Clusters of addicts are on park benches smoking substances from glass pipes.Heading eastward toward the revitalized Stephen Avenue section of Eighth Avenue, the signs of social disorder are clear. Closed businesses, trash, and more clusters of addicts seated on corners openly consuming drugs are to be seen..As I reached the pedestrian zone of the thoroughfare, a glance into a recessed doorway for a business revealed multiple piles of feces and blood stains covered with cat litter from a past, quick effort to clean it up. Scorch marks on the door are evident from a recently set fire.Upon crossing Centre Street into the formal Stephen Avenue area, the presence of law enforcement officers was visible and welcome. The dystopian sights from the prior few blocks were discomforting. Within the few blocks of the revitalization project, I saw over a dozen police and peace officers. Some were on bikes, and cruisers were parked. This was, of course, due to it being the formal kickoff day of the new city initiative. It will remain to be seen how much law enforcement presence will be seen in weeks and months to come.I still see this as a positive development, though. City officials are beginning to understand the root of the problem even if they don’t like to talk about it. They know the issue plaguing the embattled businesses in the pedestrian zone isn’t lack of bike lanes, transit access, or benches to sit upon. What has kept people away has been fear for their safety and unclean conditions. They knew that showing a large police presence was integral to convincing people that they could comfortably come down with their families to visit the area..The amount of law enforcement required to make just a few blocks feel safe is distressing, though. As I saw on my walk to the area, the rest of the city core is still suffering dearly from the addiction crisis. Clearing out a safe space on Stephen Avenue is a commendable action, but it also has the consequence of pushing the resident addicts to neighbouring blocks. The greater issue remains unresolved.There are no easy ways to deal with the addiction epidemic. Cities in every developed country in the world are grappling with it. Cheap and abundant supplies of terrifyingly addictive and dangerous fentanyl have flooded nations, and interdiction efforts have been futile. Enablement policies through alleged “safe supply” distribution have proven to be failures, and supervised consumption sites turn neighbouring communities into ghettos. Pushing addicts from one area to another doesn’t resolve the underlying issues..Expanded treatment access coupled with more mental health services can help, but it’s expensive and takes time.What the City of Calgary did in clearing out a space on Stephen Avenue, though, was significant. It showed the city was willing to put the interests of common citizens first for a change. Open consumption was not to be accepted everywhere, and in keeping law enforcement officers on hand, citizen concerns about safety were being taken seriously rather than being dismissed as a “perception of unsafeness.”.The city can’t solve the addiction crisis, but it can provide safe, comfortable areas for citizens in selected spaces. City transit is suffering from the same disorder issues, and hopefully, the city continues to apply reality-based solutions there too..The solution is still elusive, but in recognizing the true nature of the problem, the city has taken a step in the right direction.
