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Old 01-15-2018, 11:09 PM   #41
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I used to live in the area, moved away while the west lrt was still under construction. It always had the typical issues a neighborhood with its proximity to downtown would have. That being said whenever I head back to the area I do notice that some of these issues are more visible, and the statistics suggest to support this not being a coincidence. But I think that it is to be expected to see increases in things like crime after adding an lrt station to the neighborhood.

But then there’s this:
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Originally Posted by Kjesse View Post
Avoid the area completely. Its starting to become like the Vancouver's east side downtown. Completely sketchy.
I’m not going to tell you where you should or shouldn’t feel comfortable in public, but come on. Comparing it to east Hastings is such a hyperbole that it would make anyone who’s ever spent a significant amount of time in Vancouver’s downtown east side question whether you’ve ever been there. I can appreciate that you may not have seen anything too extreme passing through Hastings, but it really is an apples to oranges comparison. When people in the Westbrook area start keeping their vehicles unlocked to signal to car prowlers that there’s nothing of value inside their vehicle, maybe then we can start to compare the two. In the meantime I think we can find better solutions to the issues in the area than instructing others to “avoid the area completely”
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Old 01-15-2018, 11:25 PM   #42
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I’m not going to tell you where you should or shouldn’t feel comfortable in public, but come on.
Now you're in this thread? Is there no sanctuary for posters who want to avoid you?

I exaggerated. East Van is downright scary compared to Westbrook, I'll give you and the other posters that. However there is no doubt the area is getting worse.

But also, I/we no longer shop there when our 4 year old is with us. I will confess to walking into ebgames from time to time, but I never buy anything, I just want to see what I'm missing out on as I get old.
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Old 01-16-2018, 06:51 AM   #43
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Now you're in this thread? Is there no sanctuary for posters who want to avoid you?

I exaggerated. East Van is downright scary compared to Westbrook, I'll give you and the other posters that. However there is no doubt the area is getting worse.

But also, I/we no longer shop there when our 4 year old is with us. I will confess to walking into ebgames from time to time, but I never buy anything, I just want to see what I'm missing out on as I get old.
I think you need to dig into the crime statistics to see if it is getting worse for non-homeless people. Are assaults on non-homeless up?

If this crime is limited to complaints of drug use, and homeless on homeless crime than your safety is likely unchanged. You might feel less safe but the reality is you are unlikely to be less safe. Or at least not significantly more likely to be unsafe that would warrant a change in behaviour.

It's good for children to see homeless people and drug users from an early age to understand their choices have consequences and to see the affects of mental illness. It's a parenting opportunity not something to be sanitized from life.
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Old 01-16-2018, 08:03 AM   #44
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It's close to the Food Court though, which is superb!

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Old 01-16-2018, 08:37 AM   #45
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If anything, this thread reminds me about how much I miss Piazza =(
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Old 01-16-2018, 09:39 AM   #46
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Originally Posted by GGG View Post
It's good for children to see homeless people and drug users from an early age to understand their choices have consequences and to see the affects of mental illness. It's a parenting opportunity not something to be sanitized from life.
Do you have children?

I get what you are trying to say, I just think you’re underestimating the potential negative effects seeing certain darker aspects of society can have on a child. I don’t think Kjesse’s 4 year old is going to walk away from seeing a homeless person strung out on the street or a crack deal gone wrong thinking wow I better make better choices. They’re likely going to walk away terrified and feeling anxious whenever they see someone who looks homeless. It’s the same reason why parents have to carefully approach subjects like death, kids aren’t always able to properly process the information they’re given on certain matters. I’d agree that most teenagers could learn these lessons through experience as you’re suggesting, but the last thing you would want is for a young child to be exposed to a situation they can’t understand and that has the potential to make them anxious about it. Things like anxiety seem to stick with kids and cause them issues down the road.

Also I don’t think it’s sensible to send a message to children that homeless people are on the street as a result of the consequences of of their choices. Escaping domestic violence, abuse, having mental health and addiction issues or any other reason a person may be homeless aren’t always a choice. Ignoring these issues and teaching a child the blame is on the person and their choices is only going to end up with the kid growing up to be one of those people who sees a homeless person and obliviously asks themselves “why don’t they just go get a job?”
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Old 01-16-2018, 10:10 AM   #47
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Children that are sheltered from reality are the ones that get anxious when exposed to real life situations.
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Old 01-16-2018, 10:45 AM   #48
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You are all missing what truly matters: the 7-Eleven on 37th behind westbrook north of 17th almost always has Dr Pepper slurpees. (also the DQ north of there on Bow trail has the best DQ burgers in town, especially on 39/59c burger saturdays.)

Priorities.
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Old 01-16-2018, 11:21 AM   #49
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Children that are sheltered from reality are the ones that get anxious when exposed to real life situations.
There’s a difference between sheltering them from reality and exposing them to situations when they are ready. Just because terrorism exists doesn’t mean preschoolers should be shown videos of beheading’s on the internet. Obviously a child can see a homeless person almost anywhere in the city, I just don’t agree that it is better to go out of your way to unnecessarily expose your children to these issues before they are capable of mentally and emotionally processing your explanation of what is going on. Especially when your explanation of how people end up homeless is to blame their choices. Every parent has their own opinions on how to raise their children, this is an approach I simply wouldn’t take.
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Old 01-16-2018, 11:37 AM   #50
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Not in Calgary, but here is a 10 minute video of someone biking on a bike path in Orange County, California, right beside the Honda Centre and blocks away from Disneyland. A massive homeless camp:
https://www.facebook.com/WorldNewsDa...1786415859515/
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Old 01-16-2018, 11:39 AM   #51
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Drummer View Post
Not in Calgary, but here is a 10 minute video of someone biking on a bike path in Orange County, California, right beside the Honda Centre and blocks away from Disneyland. A massive homeless camp:
https://www.facebook.com/WorldNewsDa...1786415859515/
Similar to tent city in Vancouver. I’d say Westbrook is quite a ways off from becoming either of them.
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Old 01-16-2018, 11:42 AM   #52
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Little Lebanon is delicious.
Aside from the Signal Hill stairs and the fact my work commute took half as long from there as it does now, Little Lebanon is the thing I miss the most from living in that area. So good!!!
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Old 01-16-2018, 12:23 PM   #53
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Drummer View Post
Not in Calgary, but here is a 10 minute video of someone biking on a bike path in Orange County, California, right beside the Honda Centre and blocks away from Disneyland. A massive homeless camp:
https://www.facebook.com/WorldNewsDa...1786415859515/
So what are you getting at with this video? I'm confused about this whole thread in fact.

There seems to be a number of people here who are like "eww, a homeless person". It's like they're less human than those with housing.

If I'm misinterpreting your views then I apologize.
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Old 01-16-2018, 01:22 PM   #54
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This made me curious, so some quick numbers just surfing around for 5 minutes.

Criminal incidents in Calgary from 2012 to 2016 (4,790 to 5,561 or +16%). I'm not sure why the chart has decimal incidents but I assume it's just a graphing thing from cbc.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgar...nada-1.4218953

City of Calgary Police, Community Crime Statistics (I think these are reports by the public as opposed to actual criminal incidents? Not 100% sure):

http://www.calgary.ca/cps/Pages/Stat...l-reports.aspx

Anyhow, for areas that directly surround the mall and C-Train station there:

2012 to 2016 & 2012 to 2017 percentage increases

Rosscarrock: +72% and +78%
Shaganappi: +42% and +68%
Spruce Cliff: +82% and +78%
Killarney/Glengarry (includes areas a bit further out): +76% and +89%

versus

Total Calgary: +27% and +29%

The train station opened at the end of 2012. Correlation versus Causation of course but it appears that (reported) crime in the area has increased at a much faster pace in the surrounding areas for one reason or another since the opening of the station.

EDIT: added KG

Be interesting to see the stats around all the West LRT stations. Is Westbrook any better/worse than the others? Eg. sunalta, 45th St, 69th St.
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Old 01-16-2018, 01:29 PM   #55
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Little Lebanon is delicious.
That owner knows how to run a small business. Free baklava piece with every order. Super friendly. Good food.
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Old 01-16-2018, 01:32 PM   #56
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I must have a really romanticized view of Calgary. Before I moved here and was visiting, and now after 7+ years in town I can honestly say I've never felt unsafe or uneasy.
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Old 01-16-2018, 01:40 PM   #57
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There seems to be a number of people here who are like "eww, a homeless person". It's like they're less human than those with housing.
Well, they are dirtier (objectively) since they can't bathe or wash their clothes as often as somebody that lives steps away from a shower, running water with soap and a washing machine. It's unlikely they brush their teeth on the regular, clean their nails, etc. That's not saying they're less than human, but coupled with them begging for money and you'd have to be pretty naive to not understand why that would be off-putting to 99% of the population.
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Old 01-16-2018, 01:42 PM   #58
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Originally Posted by Peanut View Post
Be interesting to see the stats around all the West LRT stations. Is Westbrook any better/worse than the others? Eg. sunalta, 45th St, 69th St.
Curse you!

EDIT: As you get further west (going down vertically on this list), the area boundaries get larger and may not be representative of the area directly offsetting the stations themselves.

But for what it is worth:

Westgate: +23% and +17%
Glendale: +49% and +69%
Christie Park: +17% and +26%
Signal Hill: +47% and +51%
Aspen Woods: +71% and +85%
Springbank: +34 and +25%

Generally not as bad as Westbrook offsetting communities it seems.

EDIT of the EDIT: The stations all opened up at the same time I believe so there shouldn't be any time staggering issues.

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Old 01-16-2018, 01:43 PM   #59
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I must have a really romanticized view of Calgary. Before I moved here and was visiting, and now after 7+ years in town I can honestly say I've never felt unsafe or uneasy.
People probably just have different levels of sensitivity to their environment. I don't like inner city neighbourhoods because they seem scuzzy to me. Always a few ne'er to wells stumbling around or begging for change. It doesn't make me feel unsafe, but it does rain on my parade a little. Maybe uneasy is a good word. Definitely takes me out of a happy state to one of "eww" pretty quick. It'd be nice to turn that off and enjoy these inner city areas that people talk so much about. I'm truly perplexed as to what the attraction is, but I have friends that live in them and would never move out.
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Old 01-16-2018, 01:50 PM   #60
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Well, they are dirtier (objectively) since they can't bathe or wash their clothes as often as somebody that lives steps away from a shower, running water with soap and a washing machine. It's unlikely they brush their teeth on the regular, clean their nails, etc. That's not saying they're less than human, but coupled with them begging for money and you'd have to be pretty naive to not understand why that would be off-putting to 99% of the population.
Forgive me if my sympathies lie with the people living with those issues as opposed to those who may have to witness those issues occasionally.
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