Saskatoon residents raise concerns over pedestrian tunnel
A tunnel connecting Saskatoon's Fairhaven community to the Meadowgreen neighbourhood is raising concerns.
The tunnel is in close proximity to Saskatoon Tribal Council Wellness Centre.
“I’m seeing a very large increase in people I don’t know in my space, and some other people have expressed that exact same experience,” said Meadowgreen resident Ryan Giesinger.
Giesinger specified by his area, he meant his yard.
On Thursday the Meadowgreen Community Association held a meeting to discuss possible solutions to the increase in foot traffic. The association says since the Wellness Center was brought to Fairhaven foot traffic has increased significantly.
“We want to see how we can take care of this group and where they are walking around and take care of the safety of the people living in the community,” said Meadowgreen Community Association Sultan Alisadhe. “We want to have a safe community for everyone.”
Alisadhe and the Association are calling on the city and province to do more to help the residents' situation. The main concern for Alisadhe is that people pass through the tunnel for school and work and to use public transportation.
“The safety of homelessness around the tunnel, people are just using injections and drugs, and people are sleeping in the tunnel, and some people just do not feel comfortable crossing the tunnel after certain hours,” he said.
On Thursday the association met to come up with solutions to the tunnel and the increased foot traffic coming in. People suggested closing the tunnel permanently or during certain hours, monitoring it over video.
“Right now there are random people, late night, wee hours of the morning, so that’s the main concern,” said Alisadhe. “Right now it brings lots of traffic that we don’t know who it is.”
A member from the Saskatoon Fire Department and Saskatoon Police Service were both in attendance at the meeting.
“What’s happening in this community is being replicated in other areas of the city, and the concerns regarding homelessness and poverty are something that needs to be addressed by our community,” said Saskatoon Police Service Inspector Tonya Gretsey with the community engagement division.
CTV News did reach out to the Saskatoon Tribal Council for a comment but was told Chief Mark Arcand is away during this time.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
OPP responds to apparent video of officer supporting anti-Trudeau government protestors
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) says it's investigating an interaction between a uniformed officer and anti-Trudeau government protestors after a video circulated on social media.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Loud boom in Hamilton caused by propane tank, police say
A loud explosion was heard across Hamilton on Friday after a propane tank was accidentally destroyed and detonated at a local scrap metal yard, police say.