BANFF – Escorted walks are being pitched as a way to help Banff residents feel safer when walking at night.
Coun. Ted Christensen said he has been approached by members of the community who are advocating more public vigilance and safety on trails, noting he wants information on what would be needed to set up a citizens’ watch-type group or a SafeWalk program.
“There are concerns over vigilantism and how to control it, but I think it can be an effective program,” said Christensen, who sits on Banff’s police advisory committee.
“We’ve heard from various citizens about safety concerns… it’s an impossible problem to solve, but we need to do as much as we can to prevent anything untoward happening.”
The idea has been percolating in the community since one of six girls walking near the Muskrat Street pedestrian bridge on Oct. 31, 2021 was sexually assaulted by a masked man in a Halloween costume.
Long-time Banff resident Mark Marino, who is a relative of one of the girls in the group, said he likes the idea of some form of SafeWalk-type program.
He pointed to a 2021 resident survey on Banff RCMP priorities and communications, which clearly identified nighttime safety for women, including those walking home late at night from work, and a lack of street lighting in some areas as issues of concern.
Marino, who did his own patrols of the pedestrian bridge area for a time, said he also believes it would be prudent for the Town of Banff to re-think the hiring of a new full-time bylaw officer for primarily parking enforcement to be dedicated to night patrols instead.
“The new position would better serve Banff residents to have bylaw patrol at night,” he said.
“We could build off that with volunteers and some training from bylaw.”
SafeWalk programs have been widely implemented at universities and colleges across the country, including at the University of Calgary, Mount Royal University, Bow Valley College and SAIT to ensure a strong sense of security on campus.
In Edmonton last summer, a SafeWalk trial connected people with volunteers in their neighbourhood to increase safety for people walking. Two community organizations in partnership with the City of Edmonton piloted the program from June to August.
Victoria has a SafeWalk service that is solely in downtown parkades, while Winnipeg has a more expansive program created by the downtown business group in 1995. In Lethbridge, a SafeWalk service provides escorted walks to and from any locations in the watch patrol zone.
Staff Sgt. Mike Buxton-Carr, the Banff RCMP detachment commander, said the formation of such groups are not driven by the RCMP.
But he said he could work with the community and Town of Banff and seek advice from the RCMP’s crime prevention experts in the province.
“We could maybe come back with some ideas and I could discuss with administration how this looks in other communities and how we can make it specific to address the concerns,” he said during a recent service review meeting.
Town of Banff officials said there would be a need for comprehensive research if Christensen was suggesting a municipally-operated program.
Alison Gerrits, the Town’s director of community services, said SafeWalk programs are quite popular on university campuses and usually tied to their security branches on a 24-7 basis.
She said she is also aware of smaller community volunteer-led programs specific to certain areas within communities, but she has yet to come across such a program specifically run by a municipality.
“It isn’t something that would be 100 per cent volunteer if the municipality was involved,” she said.
“There would have to be paid administrative time and investment in resources put towards something of this magnitude.”
Christensen was advised to let his constituents interested in such a program connect with the Town of Banff’s Family and Community Support Services (FCSS) department as a first step.
“Those folks deal with emerging social issues and then they can also help guide and provide advice to individuals who are interested in potentially starting something,” said Gerrits.
Gerrits also said FCSS could potentially help a group of volunteers look at the risks and the liabilities of getting a team of volunteers together.
“When you are putting volunteers in trust of other individuals’ safety, there is vetting that would need to occur on that front,” she said.
Meanwhile, there were many responses from residents in the 2021 resident survey on Banff RCMP priorities and communications. Some of the comments included:
“Walking home late at night from work – I’m a female and don’t feel safe.”
“As a female, my biggest safety concern is incidents when I’m walking around at night.”
“Walking home late at night after work and being nervous of bar patrons and them following me. This has happened many times.”
“Poor lighting once you aren’t in the centre of town makes for some unsettling walks home after late shifts. Not so much the people having a sneaky beer in the park, but the groups of ‘lads’ that harass and call out to strangers while they stumble home are kind of terrifying.”
“I generally feel safe in Banff, but there are times when I feel anxious if I am walking home after dark.”
“Group of non-residents congregating in public spaces and intimidating local females.”
“As a woman, I actually feel very safe in Banff even at night, however, I could use more patrolling late at night and at bar closing time.”
“Sense of safety while travelling on foot at night. I’m an adult male, so I experience less threat, but I know for many young women they don’t feel safe on Banff Ave or on side streets late at night.”
“The benches on the south end of the pedestrian bridge backing onto the YWCA are always full of men smoking, smoking weed, drinking alcohol, and generally behaving in a manner that makes me uncomfortable as an adult woman, and absolutely prevents me from allowing my 10- and 12-year-old children from accessing the bridge near there.”
