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TransLink: Election promises empty. 14
Looking Back: Pitt Meadows’ past . 11
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Mayoralty debate: Part 2
fin
After Sally Ann, hopefuls move to business crowd By Phil M elnyc h u k pmelnychuk@mapleridgnews.com
Growing Albion flats could hurt Maple Ridge’s struggling downtown while it’s also costing the city time and money working out a land swap with a mall developer, says mayoralty candidate Nicole Read. “I don’t understand why we’re not putting that same time and resources into Read the town centre to make sure we get that moving.” An inventory of downtown space could attract retailers and encourage locations where people can enjoy outdoor space. See Election 5
Colleen Flanagan/THE NEWS
Poppies selling fast
Gail Springer, left, and Diane Cougar, say poppies are flying out the door this year in Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows. Cougar has already made two trips to Vancouver to pick up 20,000 more poppies. See page 21 for details of this year’s Remembrance Day services.
Downtown cop calls up 59 percent Reflects number of street people, but there’s nowhere for them to go: BIA By Nei l Corbe tt ncorbett@mapleridgenews.com
Calls for police to remove people not wanted around Maple Ridge’s downtown have risen 59 per cent over last year, according to statistics from Ridge Meadows RCMP.
While there may not be any increase in the numbers of homeless or street people, there is less tolerance for the problems they create. “People are fed up,” said Ineke Boekhorst, executive-director of the Downtown Maple Ridge Business Improvement Association. She noted that calls to Westridge Security, which is contracted to patrol the downtown for BIA, are also on the rise. As a result, police are doing more patrols in the town centre, and are
less tolerant of people “A lot of the calls are drinking, using drugs, the same people, moved or being publicly intoxifrom one place to ancated. other.” One frustration is that Businesses are trying many of the people who to deal with the probpolice or security ask to lem. leave an area – just reapThe corner of 224th pear elsewhere. Street and Selkirk Av“The biggest problem, enue is a popular hangreally, is there’s no place Boekhorst out. Several businesses for them to go,” said Boekin the area have had winhorst. dows broken. Their customers can “They’ll find the same people, in be intimidated by street people. another place, a half an hour later.” One business owner said there
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can be as many as 10 people congregated on the steps of his business in the early morning. Generally, they don’t give him problems, but sometimes they can be difficult. Recently, he awakened a man sleeping nearby. The man vomited, and then swore at the store owner and wouldn’t move. The owner called police, but they weren’t able to respond to the call. “We want our downtown to look nice, open for business and clean,” said Boekhorst. See Downtown, 10
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