Riding the LRT is a safer passenger experience than a few years ago in Edmonton, however a report released Thursday that’s heading to a city council committee next week said more design improvements for stations are needed.
The report uses the term “CPTED,” which stands for Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design. New stations already are designed to that safety standard. However, Stadium and Coliseum LRT stations are in need of a redesign.
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City Councillor Tony Caterina has long complained about the lighting and other safety features in those northside stations, and has pushed for upgrades to be considered in the next four-year capital budget cycle.
The report said city staff have done site visits for all 18 LRT stations and have found improvements needed include: increased lighting in the west parking lots at Clareview and Belvedere stations; additional and improved camera surveillance; and a review of staffing assignments to ensure proactive monitoring and opportunities to increase response times.
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Police data, from January 1, 2015 to June 14 of this year, on violence and disorder calls specific to LRT beats was reviewed.
“The data provided indicates that 2,277 calls were received and classified as crime or disorder either on trains or in LRT stations,” the report said.
The types of calls ranged from minor to serious. They include assault, disputes, disturbances, harassment, mental health complaints, mischief, robbery and some violations of provincial acts such as trespassing and liquor offences.
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“Violent crime on Edmonton’s LRT had dropped by more than half since 2015, once a pilot project was introduced that partnered Municipal Peace Officers with Edmonton Police Service,” the report said.
“Statistics from the Edmonton Police Service show 114 reports of violent crimes at transit centres and LRT platforms across the city in 2016, compared with 270 violent crimes reported in 2015.”
That works out to roughly three calls per 100,000 of 24.6 million transit trips per year.
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A full-time beat team — consisting of nine police officers — was assigned in 2016. Fourteen transit peace officers are also assigned, and the report said they are increasing communication between the two agencies by attending each other’s meetings and strategizing on emerging issues.
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The report lists the security disorder rate per 100,000 boardings as 9.6 in 2017 — the last year they have complete statistics. The goal is to reduce that number in 2019 to 6.5.
A customer satisfaction survey quoted in the report said 78 per cent of users felt satisfied with their personal safety while waiting at an LRT station. The 2019 goal is to improve that to 80 percent.
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