Penticton council discussing locked gates for 200 block breezeway

Photo: Casey Richardson

After the 200 block breezeway was redone with new public art murals, Penticton city council is now looking into installing decorative and secure gates in the walkway that can be closed overnight.

The breezeway connects Main Street to Ellis Street parking areas in Penticton’s downtown.

Staff will be presenting a report to council on Tuesday, with details on the procurement and installation of the gates.

In the city staff’s report, it is acknowledged that while the breezeway provides an important connection to Main Street and is an interesting design feature, the "loitering and vandalism have been a constant nuisance in the breezeway – including, graffiti, persons congregating and sleeping in the breezeway, panhandling, litter, drug use and other undesirable activity."

The report adds that most of the unwanted activity and damage occurs during hours when the majority of commercial businesses are closed (nighttime/early morning hours).

This initiative was brought forward by the City’s Safety and Security Advisory Committee at their Oct. 19, 2020 meeting.

The cost to install gates is estimated at $20,000 for full design, custom manufacture and installation — funds that are not included in the 2021 Capital budget, so a budget amendment would be required.

Further costs would also come from the daily opening and closing duties, which is estimated at $9,000 per year and will either be included in Public Works or Bylaw Services’ work plan. This would be determined by which organization is best suited to take on the responsibility and may include a contract security company.

However, some savings could incur from cleaning and enforcement efforts in the breezeway.

“While this will deal with the immediate issues of overnight loitering in the breezeway itself, it will ultimately relocate the issue into other areas of the downtown and possibly the 300 block Main Street breezeway or a higher profile location like the Gyro Bandshell,” the reports reads.

And having the gates closed will require any person parking or residing on Ellis Street to have to walk to the end of the block to access Main Street, which the report states as a "minor inconvenience/ inaccessibility."

Council will hear the full proposal from staff on Tuesday.