Dear Editor:
Re: Mayor is out of touch, and Mayor is right on SkyTrain, Letters to the Editor, Burnaby NOW, July 2.
The first letter, “Mayor is out of touch,” is in regard to washrooms at SkyTrain stations. Public washrooms in our neighbourhood have a history of being problematic as they have been used by IV drug users and sex-trade workers. Discussion about washrooms at SkyTrain stations has caused folks in our community to be particularly concerned about a washroom at Royal Oak station being a potential site for not only drug use and sex-trade workers to clean up but also theft from/crime affecting innocent passengers using such a washroom at a station that sometimes has few people and seldom has SkyTrain attendants in the area. I know Mayor Corrigan to have made every effort to become aware of the realities of activity at SkyTrain stations and to stand up for and optimize efforts and practices for the safety of Burnaby residents and visitors throughout our city, including safety on transit.
The second letter, “Mayor is right on SkyTrain,” supports our mayor’s disagreement on the proposed SkyTrain expansion. This letter ends with the following paragraph:
“Incidentally, when the gates are installed, surely there will be less requirement for police fare checkers to monitor passengers. Can we therefore expect a reduction in these staff members?”
Police cannot ask an individual for ID without cause to do so, therefore someone not having a paid fare is a means by which police are able to request identification and therefore identify people who, for example, have outstanding warrants or conditions that do not allow them on SkyTrain. Thus fare checking also serves a greater benefit that contributes to a safer transit experience.
I would invite those unfamiliar with the realities of activity and policing on and around our transit system to visit the Metro Vancouver Transit Police website (www.transitpolice.bc.ca) and also to subscribe to their newsletter.
In addition to better understanding criminal activity – such as bus driver assaults – and safety tips, the website identifies the distance, number of vehicles and physical locations Transit Police cover while working to ensure optimal transit safety – 134 kilometres of rail, bus service covering 1,800 square kilometres (New Westminster Police cover 15 square kilometres) on 200 different routes and 1,400 buses per day, 57 SkyTrain stations plus a number of bus exchanges and SeaBus. The Evergreen Line will add 11 kilometres and six more stations.
Transit police answered over 18,000 calls for service in 2013. Even with fare gates, the four priorities of the Transit Police will not change. They are: 1) Sexual offending 2) Frontline worker assault – bus operator assault 3) Dealing with people experiencing mental illness or addiction issues and 4) Special events.
Even with the gates, the work of Transit Police and these four priorities will transcend fare gates as Transit Police remain committed to public safety through their community police model, and that includes the function of fare checking.
Diane Gillis,
President, Kingsway Imperial Neighbourhood Association, co-chair, Transit Police Chief’s Community Council
