(Alison Sandstrom/paNOW Staff)

By Glenn Hicks

back alleys

Back alley public survey and petition to be discussed today

Apr 20, 2020 | 11:35 AM

The city of Prince Albert’s contentious Alley Bylaw is up for discussion again at a council meeting later today.

The curfew between midnight and 6 a.m. is being proposed as a way of combatting crime and would give police the powers to stop and search anyone deemed suspicious.

Council will hear results of a survey showing most respondents said they would not be negatively impacted by a ban on access to the alleys. The city’s politicians are also set to discuss exemptions to the curfew.

They will also receive a presentation from P.A. legal aid lawyer Estelle Hjertaas following an online petition calling for the curfew to be stopped. A copy of the petition previously sent to council features 125 signatures, over 80 of them from P.A. residents. However, as of today, the number of signatories on the online survey had reached 183.

On Feb.17 the city sent out a survey to all properties adjacent to alleys. By the March 6 deadline for responses they heard 68 per cent of residents used the alleys for garbage/recycling disposal, 61 per cent for vehicle parking, and 27 per cent for pedestrian access.

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Most respondents, 73 per cent, indicated the ban would not negatively impact their use of the alley.

A third question regarding if there should be exemptions to the curfew such as for resident or emergency access, business owners and visitors, found 52 per cent in favour and 48 per cent opposed.

The city’s planners acknowledge some pedestrians use the alleys as a short cut or because it’s a safer route than using nearby streets that don’t have sidewalks. For those reasons they’re recommending the curfew is restricted to midnight to 6 a.m.

Meanwhile, council will also learn more about the outcome of the online petition launched in early March. The document, on charge.org, calls for the city to stop the bylaw on Charter of Rights grounds, saying it would affect “people of colour”, lower income people who may not have vehicles, and increase the potential for such people being in conflict with police officers.

It also questions the large costs involved in putting up signs in alleys advising the public about the curfew.

As always, paNOW will cover the council meeting and debate.

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panews@jpbg.ca

On Twitter:@princealbertnow