Parents at Vancouver's Crosstown Elementary renew call for better safety measures
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A Vancouver parent is renewing calls for better safety measures at an elementary school located near the Downtown Eastside, after a series of concerning incidents involving people carrying knives, drug use, and passed-out individuals near the schoolyard.
Rebecca McNeil, whose eight-year-old daughter attends Crosstown Elementary, said the problems are long-standing but have intensified.
"This year it's actually been a lot more visible," McNeil told CBC's On The Coast. "There was a really scary incident in the fall where we saw someone on the playground sort of stalking back and forth with a knife right as schools were being let out."
WATCH | Vancouver parent alarmed over public safety incidents at Crosstown Elementary:
Vancouver parent alarmed over public safety incidents at Crosstown Elementary
18 days ago
Duration 7:10
Rebecca McNeil, whose eight-year-old child attends Crosstown Elementary School near Vancouver's Chinatown, says there have been multiple reports of incapacitated people, drug paraphernalia and people carrying knives near the school. She's asking for a better safety plan for the children, including fencing off the schoolyard.
The school sits next to Andy Livingstone Park, and there is no fence separating the two spaces.
The Vancouver Police Department (VPD) said it has responded to 42 calls for service in the park so far this year.
"That's a fairly high number, but the majority of those calls for service are low-level crimes," said VPD spokesperson Sgt. Steve Addison. "We respond to drug use in the park, suspicious people, other criminal activity."
Addison said that while police are taking steps to address criminal activity in the area, broader issues like homelessness and mental health are outside of the scope of law enforcement.
"No parent should have to walk their child to school or fear that their child is going to come across a situation where they feel unsafe," he said.
McNeil said parents have repeatedly asked for a fence to separate the school from the park and she is frustrated by the lack of progress.
"Every other school in the city that I know of has a fence," she said.
In a statement to CBC News, the šxʷwəq̓ʷəθət Crosstown Elementary Parents Advisory Council (PAC) confirmed that safety concerns are widely shared within the school community and have been raised repeatedly with public officials.
The PAC said members have met with city councillors and other representatives to share their recommendations.
It went on to say measures such as increased signage, appropriate fencing, and additional support for staff during recess could help reduce children's exposure to unsafe or inappropriate situations.
The group outlined repeated incidents of open drug use, off-leash dogs, coyote sightings, and the presence of human feces and drug paraphernalia on school grounds.
The PAC also noted that children have fallen into a nearby pond and that the school has gone into lockdown multiple times due to external threats.
"A deceased body wasn't even completely tented off in the park before school hours last month — children saw it on their walk to school," the statement read.
The Vancouver School Board issued a statement saying the safety and well-being of students, families and staff is a top priority, and that they are working closely with other agencies to maintain a welcoming and supportive learning environment.
McNeil said that's not enough.
"There's more than one thing that needs to be done, including better protocols around communication for parents so we can navigate these things with our children," she said. "Seeing open drug use, needles, even deceased bodies…that's a bit much."
In 2019, parents voiced similar concerns after a stabbing near the school, which is located at 55 Expo Boulevard.
The Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation oversees the adjacent Andy Livingstone Park.
Park Board commissioner Tom Digby said fellow commissioner Scott Jensen had put in a request for the fence two years ago.
"The board works with [City of Vancouver] engineering and they did confirm two years ago that they had an intention to put the fence in there," Digby said.
"I'm very surprised that I'm even sitting here today because we were given some assurances...from staff that this fence was being actively installed."
In a statement to CBC News, the park board confirmed discussions with the Vancouver School Board are ongoing and they would share more information when available.
Digby suggested that recent safety issues at Andy Livingstone Park may be linked to a police initiative targeting street-level crime downtown.
"There's more action downtown," he said, referring to the VPD's Task Force Barrage aimed at addressing violent crime in the Downtown Eastside. "And that means that the unsheltered community is going to be moving [out of that area] in a wider and wider spread."
WATCH | Police respond to safety concerns at Vancouver's Crosstown Elementary:
Police respond to safety concerns at Vancouver's Crosstown Elementary
17 days ago
Duration 9:27
On Tuesday, a parent of an eight-year-old child at Crosstown Elementary School near Vancouver's Chinatown, told CBC's On The Coast there have been multiple reports of incapacitated people, drug paraphernalia and people carrying knives near the school. Sgt. Steve Addison with the Vancouver Police Department says police have stepped up enforcement in the area, but there is a need to address the root causes of public disorder.
Addison said the VPD has increased enforcement to deal with criminal activity in surrounding neighbourhoods.
"We have a dedicated task force and we're working diligently in the Crosstown neighbourhood with businesses and residents to deal with some of the fallout that happens from the Downtown Eastside."
McNeil said her daughter has had panic attacks and that children often lack the context to understand what they're witnessing.
"I wish there was more willingness from the school board and the park board," she said.
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