Calgary closing LRT stations to public to curb unhoused sleepers
CBC
The City of Calgary said Sunday that it will be closing some CTrain stations to the public as nearly 200 people nightly took refuge during an extended cold period.
The last couple of weeks have been brutally cold in the Calgary area. Some days temperatures dipped to the –30s, and extreme cold warnings were frequently issued by Environment Canada.
The city said about 170 people per night have been seeking out CTrain stations this past week for shelter. Beginning Monday, some CTrain stations — including Southland, Heritage and Anderson — will be shuttered to the public between 10 p.m. and start of service the following day.
The city says it will be working with multi-agency outreach staff to bring those who may have been sheltering in CTrain stations transportation to shelters or other community resources, as the stations are not designed to be used as housing. They are not heated and do not have washrooms.
Chaz Smith, founder of street outreach team Be the Change YYC, says this is not the first time the stations have been closed. In April 2020, Calgary Transit shut some of the same stations at 6 p.m. due to what they called "social disorder." But this time Smith says, the city has taken a better approach.
"What is different is that there is going to be a coordinated approach with many different outreach teams so that we can hopefully direct people to the appropriate resources," he said.
But he says despite that option, many people can't or won't access shelters due to the pandemic, while others do not want to be separated from their partner or pet.
"Although some of those barriers still do exist, I recognize that the emergency shelters and the rest of the sector are actively talking about some of those barriers and how they can reduce them," Smith said.
"This is, of course, a complex situation. Experiencing homelessness is nothing that I would wish on anyone, the complexities that it brings … the struggles that individuals in these trauma responses face every day are just truly unprecedented, having to fight for food, warmth, shelter."
The city said cold temperatures have been difficult and dangerous for Calgarians experiencing homelessness. They said they will be working with the Calgary Homeless Foundation while Calgary Transit officers will visit CTrain stations.
"Calgarians' safety is our top priority," Calgary Mayor Jyoti Gondek said in an emailed statement.
"Calgarians who are unhoused and in positions of vulnerability need safe spaces for shelter, and all Calgarians need to feel safe on our transit system."
During a press conference Sunday, Matthew Nomura, vice-president of the Homeless Serving System of Care, said the organization is working to address barriers to shelter access, including standards around pets and access to outreach and transportation.
"There is a general sense of safety required across the system for all our travelling citizenry, so there will be greater attempts to have peace officers present," said Samuel Hope, manager of safety and security at Calgary Transit.