City report questions use of turnstiles for safety on Calgary Transit – Calgary | 24CA News
Transit security was as soon as once more entrance and centre at metropolis corridor Wednesday, as a metropolis committee debated extra safety personnel and the feasibility of turnstiles on Calgary’s CTrain line.
The debate comes the day after an in a single day stabbing on the Marlborough LRT station within the metropolis’s northeast, which left one individual in life-threatening situation.
“We do need to have some sort of solutions out there today, tomorrow, and the next coming months,” Ward 1 Coun. Sonya Sharp informed reporters.
The metropolis’s Infrastructure and Planning Committee heard the findings of a brand new metropolis report which explored the feasibility of a ‘closed transit system,’ with turnstiles or fare gates put in on the entire metropolis’s LRT platforms.
The 96-page report, titled ‘Assessing a Closed System as Part of The City of Calgary Transit Safety Strategy,’ decided a totally closed system wouldn’t be possible in Calgary, and wouldn’t alter security on transit.
“There is no correlation between the provision of fare gates and increased transit safety on existing systems with fare gates,” the report stated.
“Other transit agencies with fare gates experienced increased safety related incidents throughout the pandemic and increased complexity with intersecting societal considerations impacting public transit.”
The report discovered there can be challenges with integrating turnstiles on the free fare stations alongside seventh Avenue within the metropolis’s downtown core, and advisable in opposition to town taking that strategy.
The research additionally explored the feasibility of {a partially} closed system, with no turnstiles on platforms within the free zone.
While the research discovered {a partially} closed system to be doable, it stated the transfer would require substantial modifications to most present stations at an estimated value of round $284 million.
The report additionally advisable in opposition to the thought of {a partially} closed system.
“You’d have to change the design and accesses to different stations,” Leading Mobility Consulting principal and the report’s writer David Cooper stated.
“Sunnyside Station, there’s nine different ways to get into that station, so it would be a complete reimagination of that space.”
Instead, metropolis administration advisable a 3rd choice which might see extra employees employed resembling peace officers, company safety, devoted police useful resource and extra group outreach groups, together with infrastructure enhancements centered on security.
The advice known as for $3.4 million in one-time funding for the improved staffing and $5.3 million for security and infrastructure enhancements from town’s fiscal stability reserve, with anticipation for one more $6.7 million in further base funding within the metropolis’s November funds talks.
Ward 2 Coun. Jennifer Wyness expressed considerations with the report into the closed system, and questioned the advice of including extra safety employees following latest bulletins of elevated staffing on town’s transit system.
“I’m unimpressed because Calgarians are not safe on our transit system,” she stated. “Someone was stabbed today while we sit here and get a report that essentially says keep doing what we’re doing. It’s not working.”
Ward 13 Coun. Dan McLean, who initially proposed the thought of a closed system, stated he disagreed with the report’s findings.
“Just having more safety ambassadors and law enforcement, I don’t think is going to be the solution,” he stated. “I’d advocate for… a partially closed system. We could then track the data of our riders, we can increase our services most likely, track criminal behaviour and increase revenue.”
Ward 3 Coun. Jasmine Mian stated she accepts the report’s findings and trusts the experience recommending in opposition to a closed or partially closed system to enhance security.
“We can spend hundreds of millions, potentially billions of dollars, closing a system but we’re not really sure if that would work or solve anything,” Mian stated.
“That is not financially responsible.”
Calgary Transit director Sharon Fleming stated metropolis officers felt it might be prudent to speculate these funds into security personnel and a plan “that we know is working today.”
“We have different rules around egress and ability to be accessible that make the modern fare gates challenging from a safety perspective; they don’t add safety,” Fleming stated.
“We wanted to invest our money in a way that we knew would provide that sense of safety for Calgarians.”
All 4 of the administration’s suggestions had been authorised by committee on Wednesday, however would require a remaining approval by metropolis council as a complete.
Wyness voted in opposition to the suggestions for funding extra employees and infrastructure enhancements. McLean and Ward 10 Coun. Andre Chabot additionally voted in opposition to the funds for brand new employees.
Later this 12 months, Calgary Transit is predicted to ship a transit security technique in partnership with the Calgary Police Service that outlines outlining the roles, duties, and sources required for an “integrated customer and safety service delivery model.”
McLean stated he would look into drafting a discover of movement to direct metropolis administration to discover the implementation of {a partially} closed system on town’s LRT line, with the potential for a pilot undertaking.
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