Team-up focuses on safety in downtown Kitchener

The BIA, Waterloo Regional Police and the City of Kitchener are teaming up for a new initiative in downtown Kitchener. CTV’s Jeff Pickel has the details.

The Waterloo Regional Police Service, City of Kitchener and Downtown Kitchener Business Improvement Area (BIA) are teaming up to focus on safety.

The BIA held a townhall on Tuesday to address issues raised by some business owners in the area.

“The members of downtown Kitchener expressed concern about what they were going through as business owners – dealing with mental health and addiction in the downtown core,” Linda Jutzi, Executive Director of the BIA, explained.

Some people strolling through the downtown core on Tuesday said they like visiting and experiencing the community, but it is not always the most welcoming area.

“I would like more security – more of a sense of security so that when I do bring my friends or my family, I can stay and enjoy,” one person told CTV News.

The police said a new crime suppression strategy had identified downtown as a focus area and people may notice more officers on patrol.

“We’ve identified the data that would allow us to bring more resources and do more work in the downtown core to manage some of the situations that they’re having,” Waterloo Regional Police Service Staff Superintendent John Goodman said.

“There’s more of an emphasis on how do we manage some of the situations down here by putting more resources to it,” Goodman said.

The strategy also comes with the promise of more funding.

The city is expanding their Downtown Safety Ambassador team from two people to four. The project is funded by the BIA and was designed by the city’s bylaw department. According to the BIA’s website, the initiative is designed to be “proactive and reactive, ensuring our downtown area is safe and welcoming.”

The ambassadors are trained to deal with mental health situations that may not require police intervention.

“It works well because it meets people with a lot of compassion and it’s people first,” Jutzi said.

Not all business owners were enthusiastic about the plan, but the BIA said it’s a step in the right direction.

For some, downtown continues to hold appeal.

Aved Achkarian is planning to open a new Middle Eastern restaurant in the area called Volume Lounge.

“The last couple of years we’ve seen a lot of progress in the downtown,” Achkarian said. “[There are] a lot of events happening, a lot of people going around here.”

“To be honest, it’s not 100 per cent safe, but what we’ve seen in the last couple of months is the police and the city are trying their best,” he said.