More peace officers and outreach workers, partnership with Bent Arrow key elements of Edmonton's transit safety plan

Edmonton city council's plan to make LRTs and buses safer will see it partner with police and an Indigenous community agency on new strategies, and hire more peace officers and outreach workers to address the needs of people using transit stations.

The $3.9-million plan, approved Thursday, comes at a time when more riders are expected to take public transit as COVID-19 public health orders abate and when perception of public safety is lower than previous years.

According to city administration, perceptions of safety in Edmonton public transit fell from a record of 83 per cent in 2015 to 78 per cent in 2021. In 2021, between five and 12 per cent of riders felt unsafe.

"I usually just take an Uber at night. I don't take the bus anymore at night because I had trauma," one woman told CTV News Edmonton, noting she has been followed home.

"There has been multiple times where questionable people have gotten on the bus and I'm a little uneasy," a male bus rider commented. "So I couldn't imagine how a woman would feel in that kind of situation."

Others have voiced concerns, too. Advocates want better wrap-around supports for marginalized and vulnerable people using transit centres, such as harm-reduction services, culturally appropriate shelter services, and permanent supportive housing.

And the business community has reported an increase in crime and a lower perception of safety with less downtown foot traffic during the pandemic.

The Transit Safety Plan aims to address all that by piloting a three-year partnership between the city, Edmonton Police Service and the Bent Arrow Traditional Healing Society. The three will collaborate on expanding the Community Outreach Transit Team (COTT), created in 2021, and build on other work that was done that year.

A joint safety operations team will be created under one command system made up of police, transit peace officers, community standards peace officers, Edmonton Fire Rescue Services, and outreach workers.

Most of the $3.9 million allocated to the initiative will be spent on salaries: A project director will be hired at a salary of $185,000 per year. Three more peace officers and outreach workers will be hired at a total annual cost of $830,000, as well as two more transit peace officers for foot patrol at a total annual cost of $250,000.

"It's not a perfect plan. It's a good plan," Mayor Amarjeet Sohi commented.

The sentiment was echoed by the president of the transit union, who supports the plan but told CTV News Edmonton it doesn't do enough.

Steve Bradshaw with ATU Local 569 believes transit peace officers should be given more authority to deal with safety issues.

"Police officers won't be there all the time," he said.

"When the police officer leaves, those authorities leave with him or her."

He doubts transit ridership will recover fully if the system isn't made safer.

Ridership is currently at about 60 per cent of pre-pandemic levels.

The city, police, and Bent Arrow have committed to evaluating their progress throughout the three years.

Roughly a third of the money will come from the city's COVID-19 funds, another third from its Financial Stabilization Reserve, and another third from Edmonton Police Services funds.

With files from CTV News Edmonton's Joe Scarpelli