Third year of project sees heightened compliance
For the third year in a row, a number of organizations in Guelph banded together to put a stop to hooliganism in Downtown Guelph, as well as several residential neighbourhoods throughout the city. Project Safe Semester is a collaborative effort between the City of Guelph, Guelph Transit, Guelph Police Service, the University of Guelph, and the Downtown Guelph Business Association, among others.
The annual project, which ran from August 29 through to September 28 this year, involves measures put in place in the city’s Downtown core in order to curb reckless behaviour and dissuade drunken revellers from breaking the law, as well as increased law enforcement in neighbourhoods where students reside.
…banded together to put a stop to hooliganism in Downtown Guelph…
The City of Guelph proposed the downtown portion of the project three years ago in order to create a safe and enjoyable environment for downtown patrons, including the influx of students at the start of the school year.
Project Safe Semester saw sections of Macdonell and Wyndham Streets closed on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights from 11:00 p.m. to 4:00 a.m., with both police and EMS present within the closed section of road. There was also an accessible portable washroom and taxi stand placed in the vicinity of Guelph Central Station. New this year was the towing and impounding of cars that were parked in the closed sections after 11 p.m. – at the owner’s expense.
In addition to the measures put in place downtown, Guelph Police and By-Law Enforcement increased presence in the surrounding community. Police Services claim that this year, they were taking a pro-active approach towards educating students about their responsibility to be respectful and contributing neighbours. While it remains unclear what educative measures were implemented, the police stated that there has been an overall decrease in infractions over the course of the past three years.
According to official statements, this decrease can be attributed to education, targeted enforcement by police and by-law officers, and community calls to police for service, particularly in the Old University and South End neighbourhoods.
The most notable decreases in infractions over the five week project implementation period are in the liquor license and public urination categories. There was a total of 96 liquor license infractions this year, which includes having open liquor out of residence, compared to 447 in 2013 and 591 in 2012. Public urination charges were down to 26 this year, compared with 84 in 2013 and 141 in 2012.
The number of noise complaints has also decreased slightly from year to year, while the number of impaired driving charges has remained relatively unchanged. The number of public intoxication arrests made this year is up slightly from last, but still remains markedly lower than those made in 2012.
Members of the team in charge of Project Safe Semester will meet in the near future to evaluate the results of this year’s project and strategize for its implementation next year.
While students do love to party, it is true that they must respect the Guelph community at large. That being said, the lower levels of infractions in the current year can be taken as a good sign; evidence of the fact that students have the potential to peacefully live in the same neighbourhoods as permanent Guelph residents. These lower infraction levels are proof that with work and understanding on the part of all the members of the Guelph community, neighbours can live in harmony and avoid conflict.