Consider the horror story that was Whalley’s 135A Street. Now, can you really blame the people of Cloverdale, or any community for that matter, for being afraid when BC Housing proposes to set up a supportive housing project in their town where “staff will provide a safe consumption space for residents only to ensure safety?”
In an effort to warrant setting up a spot where people can “consume” their illegal narcotics, the proponents of this 60-unit project proposed for the corner of 58th Avenue and 176A Street note that “drug use occurs in every part of every community in the Lower Mainland.”
So by that reasoning, why not at this proposed facility too, right?
Socrates would not be impressed.
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As of Thursday morning, more than 3,100 people signed a petition opposing the “ill-conceived and poorly thought-out location” which Fraser Health, BC Housing and the City of Surrey are collaborating on.
We’d be surprised if the decision-makers live in that vicinity.
Surrey Councillor Tom Gill, the mayoral candidate for Surrey First, declared in a press release Thursday that it’s the “wrong place” for the project and said “it’s clear that this proposal has to go back to the drawing board.”
There must be an election in the air.
Councillor Vera LeFranc added “finding a better location makes sense.”
We’d be surprised if that’s on her corner, or Gill’s.
The reality is, had city hall not allowed the 135A Street strip to morph into the human tragedy it became, people might be more inclined to give these kinds of projects more consideration than the fear and loathing facing them now.
— Now-Leader
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