Now that most campers have left Beacon Hill Park to move into temporary housing, the City of Victoria is turning its attention to restoring the park and other former camping sites, such as Stadacona Park.
As of Tuesday, 17 structures, including tents, remained in Beacon Hill Park, said Victoria Mayor Lisa Helps, noting some of those tents may no longer be in use if their owners have moved into a temporary housing facility.
That’s down from three weeks ago, when there were more than 100, she said.
In the same period, the number of people living in Stadacona Park has dropped to four from 25, Helps said.
Campers who move indoors often leave behind tents and other items, so Victoria’s parks department uses a large magnet that is pulled behind a truck to collect debris, Helps said.
In Beacon Hill Park, staff are taking out remaining structures, removing debris and looking for smaller items. Needles are picked up on a regular basis, she said.
Some of the soil has been compacted by campers and some areas may take a couple of years to return to their usual state, she said.
The City of Victoria, B.C. Housing and social agencies are approaching the end of a major push to find housing for hundreds of people who began camping around the city when the pandemic struck and shelters closed or reduced operations.
Some have been housed in motels purchased by the province, but others moved to Beacon Hill Park and other parks where city residents have been dismayed to see periodic episodes of violence and fires.
City staff have been working hard since May 1, when round-the-clock camping was again prohibited in parks, Helps said. Now, people can sleep in the park at night but must pack up at 7 a.m.
“We are pretty close to achieving the goal of having people moved inside, on a pathway to permanent housing, and having the parks returned for general public use,” the mayor said.
On Tuesday night, Victoria police arrested a man who threatened to stab officers and bylaw personnel who were enforcing sheltering rules in Cecelia Ravine Park.
When the man was asked to take down his unlawful structure and leave the area, he refused and became aggressive, police said, and threatened to stab police and bylaw staff with a knife. The man ran off and was arrested at gunpoint.
“We see more knives than we’d like to,” said Helps, noting council has funded police to accompany bylaw officers for as long as necessary.
Despite continuing enforcement of the 24-7 ban on camping, some people are not budging.
For those people, “their situations are difficult and so as much as possible, staff will continue to work with them to find solutions,” Helps said.
But at a certain point, if people refuse to take down their tents, the city will need to seek a court injunction so police can enforce the bylaw, Helps said.
“No one wants that,” she said. “There are easier and more effective ways, but we do have that tool and are prepared to use it should we need to.”
Helps said the “next frontier” is opening complex-care facilities as soon as possible for those who don’t fit into available sheltered housing because of mental-health and addictions challenges.
“In every park and every street in urban British Columbia, there are people who simply don’t fit into the current system. It’s not their fault.
“It is just that the system doesn’t fit the needs that they have.”
