Residents express frustration with homelessness and drug use in Victoria Park
The Floral Clock in Victoria Park in Cobourg. Photo by Dan Jones, Northumberland 89.7 FM News, LJI
By: Dan Jones, Northumberland 89.7 FM News, Local Journalism Initiative.
Residents living on the east side of Victoria Park in Cobourg are concerned with how homelessness and drug use in the area is impacting their enjoyment. Catherine Gissing, addressed the Cobourg Police Services Board Meeting Tuesday, speaking on behalf of a group of citizens living on Church Street, reporting suspicious activity daily, including fighting drug use and drug dealing.
“Residents have regularly witnessed a range of troubling activities, including loud yelling, noise, swearing, music at various hours, extensive littering, vandalism of public property, drug use, drug dealing, public defecation, sex acts, fighting, and aggressive behaviour,” Gissing said.
Gissing said Cobourg’s Floral Clock appears to receive significant attention for homelessness and criminal activity, as it provides shelter, drug deals, defecation and sleeping, actions unknown to the public enjoying the clock. She recommended that police and bylaw discourage overnight use of Victoria Park, install night time lighting, similar to the lights at the cenotaph, nightly operated sprinklers and reducing the Park hours to close at 10 PM, instead of 11 PM, replace shrubs around the floral clock and blocking off the access door to the interior of the clock.
Police Chief Paul VandeGraaf in expressing gratitude for residents bringing forward concerns and suggestions on how to make the community safer, said Cobourg and many other communities are living in an era of displacement of a lack of suitable shelter and that these individuals are visible in public settings. Yet as part of Cobourg’s Safe Streets initiative, bylaw, auxiliary and police officers regularly patrol parks to ensure that people are using the parks for its intended purpose.
“We are living it unfortunately in our beautiful parks and in the downtown. That was the reason our members brought forward the Safe Streets initiative. As it stands right now, we’ve seen some success in allowing people to enjoy the parks as they were originally intended. We still see and we hear there is room for improvement,” explained VandeGraaf.
While Cobourg does have an emergency shelter and transitional housing, it does not have a warming or cooling drop-in hub for homeless people. Northumberland County has asked for potential space to be identified for a warming hub for the winter. That process is still ongoing.
