Marika Styba was serving customers in her flower shop when a man was gunned down in a park just across the street in broad daylight. She rushed out to Connaught Park to view the aftermath of a man being shot in the lower abdomen just before 4 p.m. on June 3. Police say the victim and perpetrator were known to each other.
“There were kids around, it was horrifying — it’s not what you want in a neighbourhood park,” said Styba, who has run nearby Peaseblossom Flowers for 20 years.
For some residents and businesses in Connaught, the shooting was a culmination of concerns over what they see as increasing crime, drug use and desperation among vulnerable populations in the area. On Tuesday evening, about 15 people including police officers gathered at St. Stephen’s Anglican Church, which shares the block with Connaught Park, to voice those concerns.
Community Voices Frustration
Styba was one of those who attended, where she said frustrations about growing social disruption in the area were aired. “This has been going on for literally three years … we’ve engaged every level of government but it’s just escalated,” she said. “Unhoused people aren’t the problem. It’s an element of addiction and drugs combined with mental health issues.”
She said the park at 11th Street and 14th Avenue S.W. was a hub of social disorder about 15 years ago but collective efforts had made it a desirable gathering place that meshed well with nearby businesses. That all changed, she said, with the advent of bike lanes on nearby roadways that reduced traffic but invited problems to return.
“People doing drugs don’t want to be seen so it’s kind of more entrenched now, it’s left (undesirables) uncontested,” said Styba, who lives nearby in Bankview. “We’ve put a lot of ownership into that park, we’ve done a lot of work to make that space successful, now it’s full of the homeless, drug dealers and drug users.” She said dismantling part of the bike lane on 11th Street S.W. might improve the situation.
Community Meeting Seeks Solutions
Those concerns already galvanized local stakeholders to meet to discuss these issues two weeks ago, she said, adding the recent shooting was another red line breached. Rev. Nicole Janelle, who hosted Tuesday’s meeting, echoed those concerns. “We’ve seen an increased number of homeless congregating and often drug use is out in the open in the park and streets,” said Janelle, rector of St. Stephen’s Church which shares the block with Connaught Park.
But she said the meeting highlighted the need to strike a balance between neighbourhood safety and consideration for the less fortunate. “We were recognizing the systemic nature of these issues and the need for community engagement, for safety and healing and to protect the dignity of the vulnerable,” said Janelle.
