Benches were returned to the downtown transfer station Wednesday morning. (Alison Sandstrom/paNOW Staff)

By Alison Sandstrom

Riders welcome move

City of P.A. returns benches to bus transfer station

Apr 14, 2021 | 5:00 PM

Two months after they were removed, benches at the Prince Albert’s bus transfer station have been reinstalled following a unanimous vote by council.

Riders at the station on Wednesday afternoon told paNOW they were happy to have them back, although they empathized with the city’s decision to pull them after a driver was assaulted at the station in February.

West Flat resident Jennifer Hanson explained she missed the benches while they were gone. The single mother takes the bus every other day and “nine times out of 10” she has a child with her.

“It took away just to have the peace to sit still for a moment,” Hanson said. “To catch a breather.”

While she was “saddened” to see the benches removed, learning why troubled her even more.

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“More than once I’ve caught the bus and there are people that are nodding off, you don’t know what they’re on or if they’re going to wake up,” she said. “The bus drivers have to deal with that too and it shouldn’t be their responsibility.”

Hanson expressed the need for better supports for the homeless people who tend to congregate at the station.

“They need more resources,” she said.

Another commuter, Milton Felix, echoed her comments. He explained he agreed with the city’s decision to pull the benches, but it was “kind of sad” riders, especially elderly ones, were negatively impacted.

He suggested the city should install a CCTV camera at the station.

“This place has got to be protected,” he said.

Benches were removed from the station in February in an attempt to prevent people from congregating at the location. (Alison Sandstrom/paNOW Staff)

Council decision

The return of the benches followed a unanimous vote by council on Monday night.

Coun. Tony Head, who made the motion to put them back, told paNOW he believed their removal was “a knee-jerk reaction” that never should have happened in the first place.

He said city administration is discussing steps that can be taken to ensure safety at the station. Going forward, police presence at the location should be increased as needed, but the benches should stay in place, he continued.

“I think it’s more important that we provide safety, rather than limit people’s comfort and accessibility,” Head said.

A spokesperson for Prince Albert Police Service said 132 general patrols called “neighbourhood strengthening checks” have been conducted at the transfer station to date this year, although they couldn’t immediately provide a breakdown by month or say how that compared to previous years.

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alison.sandstrom@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @alisandstrom