Dear Editor,
Langley, The Place to Be… or
Not if you are living in the residential area west of Langley Mall and south of 56th Avenue! The downtown core has become the favorite ‘Place to Be’ for drug addicts, prostitutes, drunks and looters.
During the day, you can see a lot of them lurking on public benches, one of them located on Michaud and 202nd Street in the heart of many residential properties. You can see them selling drugs on the sidewalks, creating a hazard for drivers and pedestrians along with the children playing in Linwood Park nearby.
At night, it’s a circus! The drunks yell and fight, the prostitutes yell back at them, the drug dealers sell their goods, the drug addicts shoot themselves with needles, and the looters break into cars.
Meanwhile, the residents of hundreds of condos and apartments are kept awake by the persistent noise coming from the streets, sidewalks, alleys and parking lots. Drugs addicts sleep in a covered parking lot across Tim Horton’s adjacent to 203rd Street. In the morning, people are afraid to go to their cars and youngsters are scared to go to school due to the presence of the menacing vagrants. During the day, the managers of the buildings in this residential area are picking up all the needles, excrement and garbage left on private parking lot property.
Recently, the community garden located on Michaud Crescent was vandalized early in the morning by two drug addicts who were randomly pulling vegetables from the plots and discarding them on the ground. Furthermore, one of the apartment dwellers, who parked in her outdoor lot, awoke in the morning and found that her car window had been smashed and her personal belongings stolen.
Residents of this downtown area have spent substantial amounts of money to buy their condos and rent their apartments.
Many of these residents are paying high property taxes and expect to live in peace and safety in their community. As stated on Langley City’s website, “the role of local government is to oversee the delivery of local services, facilities, safety and infrastructure of the community.”
On behalf of the neighbourhood residents, I urge the mayor and City council to take a close look at this unfortunate and dangerous situation and take some proactive steps to protect the people who live in this part of downtown Langley. Ironically, this crime-infested area of downtown Langley is only a couple of blocks from City hall. Many of us remember that one of the top priorities of the recently elected Langley mayor was to deal with crime and homelessness – it’s time to put words into action.
With kind regards… a very disconcerted and traumatized Langley citizen.
N. Dargere, Langley City
