Anti-Human installation? More like welcome change at Kensington Safeway.

[Mister Yamoto]

It wasn't that long ago when the only time we had to look at those people was when we drove through Vic Park on our way to a Flames game.

Hundreds of run down flop houses all torn down and replaced by parking lots, condos and coffee shops.

It is simple. If the vagrants aren't there, they have to be somewhere else. Slums have a purpose. If snob culture hates looking at hobos so much, maybe quit tearing down the ghettos?

[Otto-matic]

https://sprawlcalgary.com/forget-saf...s-b04800aff2a2

But amid the outrage over Safeway, no one seems to be taking about how such design is regularly used by the City of Calgary in public projects. And not as an afterthought, either.
It’s built in right from the get-go, albeit in subtler ways.

Also here's a response from Safeway.

• Over the years, we’ve had a considerable number of complaints from customers about being hassled as they enter and leave the store and feeling unsafe. We’ve tried several preventative measures, including on site security and various signage, but nothing has worked.
• These rubber blocks are part of a short pilot to see if they prevent people from loitering on the retaining wall and soliciting our customers.
• We appreciate the community feedback and will be assessing their effectiveness over the next two weeks.
• If this is a viable solution, we will be painting the blocks to better blend into the environment.
• At the end of the day, we want to be a good community partner but also want to ensure our customers can freely and safely enter and exit our stores and feel comfortable shopping with us.

Warm Regards

[corporatejay]

Originally Posted by Sliver

I think if one of the panhandlers walked a mile in my shoes they'd have empathy for me and would quit harassing me for handouts so they can go get high and not work all day. Raising two kids, working all day, running a business - that's hard. FFS it's 7am on a Saturday morning and I'm getting ready to head in for some work that needs doing while these guys are snoozing off their hangovers.

A panhandler or bum working to turn their life around? I have a ton of respect for, which is why I donate money monthly to a Calgary mental health charity. That's addressing the right problem in the correct way versus enabling panhandling by naively pretending these are acceptable problems we should ignore.

A guy smoking crack and harassing my wife for a dollar as she's trying to load groceries into her trunk after a ten-hour day that followed four other ten-hour days? Yeah, eff that guy.

I understand the big picture of how mental health, addiction, cycles of family violence, etc. can lead to a myriad of problems of which one or more affects many of these people. That doesn't mean I find it acceptable for these people to loiter in front of a private business deterring customers and negatively impacting people trying to earn a living.

I think that volunteering for a few days at the Kensington Safeway would change your view point or at least give you some empathy for the business owner.

Brashness of this post aside, Silver is right. Enabling panhandlers does nothing to help the problem, in fact I believe most advocates and organization believe that it's a terrible idea as it only further enables their addictions.

[squiggs96]

Originally Posted by Sliver

I think if one of the panhandlers walked a mile in my shoes

Would they be able to ride on your scooter for the mile or would they actually have to walk?

[Coach]

Originally Posted by squiggs96

Would they be able to ride on your scooter for the mile or would they actually have to walk?