Peggy Walt has lived on Edward Street in Halifax’s south end for nearly 30 years. During that time, she says the partying has only gotten worse.
“As the older generation dies off, the children of the families have been selling their properties,” said Peggy Walt, “and more and more of them become rental units.
“We have many single family homes, older people, retired people, and lots of students.”
And it’s the students whom Walt is growing frustrated.
On Saturday, her door camera captured video of dozens students mingling on her street with open liquor in hand, celebrating their return to classes. At one point, a Mounted Halifax Regional Police officer could be seen passing by, only to receive cheers from the students.
“It gets really scary when you see 40, 50, 60 people congregated, probably intoxicated, who just think that’s fine, to just party wherever,” said Walt.
“It’s like every fall we think, ‘Why do we have to go through this?'”
Halifax Regional Police say they responded to two separate noise complaints in the south-end area on Saturday and issued two tickets for illegal possession of alcohol.
Police did not confirm whether the tickets were handed out on Edward Street.
“We know the students are back, we would encourage everyone to be good citizens and kind to their neighbours,” said Halifax Regional Police spokesperson Const. John MacLeod. “We hope that’s what we will see from both the permanent residents and students that return to the city.”
Dalhousie University declined an interview, but said in a statement they “continue to work with our students to understand our obligations to take care of ourselves, each other, and the broader community through proactive, educational, safety-focused programming and enforcement, as necessary.”
“We make considerable efforts to proactively monitor and communicate the potential risks involving unsafe student behaviour both on and off campus, and through regular check-ins with Halifax Regional Police,” said Dalhousie spokesperson Janet Bryson. “When the risk of an unsanctioned party is presented, Dalhousie taps into an integrated response team designated to help address and mitigate the potential impacts.”
Bryson also said they’ve initiated “a new collaborative process to address the complex issue of street parties and high-risk party culture by engaging directly with students, community members, and other partners.”
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But Walt says she was never consulted, only receiving information about “high-risk party culture” an hour before the street part began.
“We filled out surveys, we asked to participate and then we heard nothing more,” said Walt. “Apparently they did have the meeting, not with neighbours, and now they have a report.”
Walt is calling on the university to be more proactive in their approach when it comes to enforcing unsanctioned parties involving their students.
“We’re just your neighbours. Just have respect and things will go well.”
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