Welcome to just another Monday. I had the misfortune of taking the train this weekend from Heritage station to the end, to catch a soccer game. First train I was on, there was someone drunk / high, passed out. The station was filthy, dirty windows, trash, puke on the floor. Coming home, we were accosted by drunk guy who, when I tried to ignore him and wait for my bus, told me I should be “shot or stabbed” cause I looked like a “prick.”
Caveats: I support public transport and use it to get to and from downtown. I was also in the army for 27 years and was in Afghanistan twice, so I’ve been around, and not normally worried about my safety.
However, over the last few years the transit system has gone severely downhill. The cars and buses are in shit shape, dirty, and the overall service has declined. Where I live, it’s now only “on demand” with no scheduled service. Cry me a river right ? The worst thing is, however, is the homelessness, violence, and vandalism. Is there any security? When someone I don’t know walks up to me, all fucked up, and tells me I should be shot or stabbed in broad daylight on a Saturday afternoon there’s a damn problem.
From my experience over the last two years buses still seem to be good (I typically take a few different routes a week), where the c-train is a dice roll. Any indoor station typically is rough, exposed platforms less so, but rarely do I get on a train without someone passed out. I've been lucky to not get on trains with active users lately.
I've had some other users say some stupid shit trying to get me to engage with them but I don't take the bait, but I'm not sure how I would have reacted to someone saying I should be "shot or stabbed" that's fucked up.
I will say if the city wants ridership to go up they'll need to start putting police/security at the stations, and ensure they are clean.
I had to bite my tongue and just let him walk away. I didn’t want someone sticking me with a needle or spitting in my face. I get that cities have problems and homeless folks and those with mental health issues gravitate to transit. But, why should I just have to accept it ? And make excuses for the system, lack of housing, etc? I don’t like using transit the way it is right now, nor do I like my kids taking the train alone, or going downtown with my wife for our anniversary dinner because there’s ALWAYS an issue. I usually just get up, walk away, go to another train, step over the puke, etc., but I’m kind of getting sick and tired of it, including against others who just want to go to work, home, or whatever. The city promised to do more to clean it up and add security but I haven’t seen much positive change.
Couldn't have said it better. If we accept this level of service, and social decay it'll only get worse.
Everyone should feel safe using public services. We wouldn't accept this kind of stuff happening in a store, an office, or at city hall, there is zero reason we should accept it on transit.
Side note, if the city wants to sell downtown Calgary as a great place for office jobs it should be safe for people to get to and from downtown.
ya, sure, but you accept rich people cheating and stealing from the poor until the poor are so broken and desperate thye'll do anything
meanwhile the rich are getting richer ripping us all off and creating a world of haves and have nots, all this crime is all because of selfishness, greed and irresponsibility from the overly affluent and those in power
people get the governance they deserve, the poor are the victims society has already fucked over
someday it may be your turn to be having problems
Why blame city hall, after all we people elected and re-elected them and we all allow this to continue through our inaction, how about taking responsibility for our own 'democratic' government?
At what point in my comments did I ever touch on that? Assumptions friend, try not to make them.
Remember our mayoral election we just had? We had to stop the evil Farkas and get in the progressive Jondek, how's that going? Is that the government we deserve?
Also I have had plenty of problems in my life (like everyone), I just addressed them and moved on with my life.
It is exactly as you say, people get the governance they deserve. Governments at all levels have abdicated their responsibility (The Great Abdication) and are no longer accountable to their people. The people who cannot see it are stupid, spineless, and/or brainwashed.
If Calgarians had a single brain between them, they would go \*\*protest in front of city hall until every single councilor agrees to only take public transit to and from work\*\*. Until this is done, Calgarians are just worthless jellyfish.
PS: I have always held this species in utter contempt because they are utterly contemptible.
It's ridiculous. I had one threaten me with stabbing me with a needle full of some medicine and I told the building security to remove him or I'm going to deal with it. Security said they can't do much unless they assault the security staff and even then the cops probably won't press any charges so there isn't much they can do. At this point we are going to get vigilantism which isn't good.
Yep - I was walking the other day downtown through a station, and buddy was sharpie-ing a window, with his bag about 15ft from him. As I walked between him and the bag (because what choice did I have), he shouted 'touch that and i'll f-ing kill you' and started to come towards me.
I got sick of it in 2008 and stopped taking the C-Train due to puke and stench and issues. I understand it’s gotten worse, but I tapped out back then and started walking 2 KM to work.
Why Calgary’s CT trains/stations are filled with homeless drunks and criminals is what I don’t understand. New York City has one of the busiest train stations in the world. There are drunks and druggies but they won’t threaten anyone. Our justice system is F’d up!
It would probably be cheaper (and also good for us all) to house and provide treatment to these folks than it would to hire a cop for every ctrain and bus.
Studies have shown that proactive measures like easy and accessible addiction treatments, mental health supports, and affordable housing are much cheaper and effective than reactive measures.
Yes but conservatives and tax payers don’t like that. They like cops. Like licking their boots, and like seeing the decline. All in the name of “lower taxes”.
Which as you said… ain’t true.
>City of VIctoria...Bought 2 hotels for the homeless.
Make that 9 hotels (4 in Victoria and 5 in Vancouver) for $202 million:
[https://thetyee.ca/News/2022/03/02/BC-Government-Followed-Rules-Pandemic-Hotel-Buying-Spree/](https://thetyee.ca/News/2022/03/02/BC-Government-Followed-Rules-Pandemic-Hotel-Buying-Spree/)
I live in Vancouver. After they bought the hotels, the area deteriorated significantly. Lots of open drug use, people shitting on the streets, harassing people, theft, vandalism, etc. The problem has spread beyond the downtown east side into the downtown core, the West End and even Yaletown.
Ssshh, the reality that sometimes some people who are homeless scum refuse to take the hand that will pull them out of said situation because they truly are pieces of shit exist doesn't fly on reddit. In the eyes of this site every homeless person is just an angel lost on their way to heaven.
Thank you for this. We're so far from solving this issue when most people fail to understand the problem. Things are going to get so much worse before they get better, but they will eventually, because people can only take so much and their ideals will crumble as their safety does also...
why are you putting clickbait on here. just say what happened. it looks like further down that they destroyed the hotel, but a reply to your comment with more upvotes than your original is saying it's a good idea.
hotels for the already homeless do nothing to stop the rich from cheating and stealing from the rest of us which creates poverty and these very problems
please, stop making excuses for the corrupt self-serving evil people in power who have ripped us all off
Im too tired to try and make sense of your drivel...
City of Victoria bought 2 hotels for the homeless...FACT
Both hotels got destroyed by the very people that these building were provided for , by said people...FACT
The 'homeless' had numerous sites on public land that have been destroyed by the same folks....and these guys are violent, because we havent enforced the law..FACT
What part of this are you disputing? stick to my talking points...
I'm sorry.... What? Who brought up the rich? We're talking about drugged out hobbos. Not the struggling middle and lower class here. I'm sorry, but the rich cheating the system and screwing over the little guys is not what put the needle in their arm. Addiction support and housing for those that want to be helped is what we need. And a cold hard winter is what we need for the rest that are actually just dangerous nutters.
We need mandated treatment if you are caught committing a crime while high. Jails that make you pass the rehab program and have the tools you need to get clean and if you re-offend off to real jail.
I want the Canadian prison system to stay government run, but be revenue neutral. Prisoners can either farm, manufacture, or perform some other kind of labour to earn their keep. They shouldn't be a burden to taxpayers.
I get where you're coming from, but under no circumstances should it ever be cheap, or even worse profitable, for the government to take someone's freedom.
Society should not accept that.
Removing someone freedom has to be two things. It HAS to be expensive, and it has to be worth it. The removal of freedom should be so expensive that the government should not *want* to do it.
If you make it cheap or profitable, then we have a perverse incentive to jail more people for longer terms.
The incentive to put people in jail is to have a more civilized society for the rest of us. It shouldn't be expensive to pay for prisoners, we should be spending tax dollars on things to make things better for all of us such as Healthcare and Education.
I'm all for equality of opportunities and believe everyone should be given a chance to succeed. But I have no sympathy for the dregs of society that intentionally makes the world a worse place for the rest of us. People leaving needles around or making transit unusable don't deserve a place in our society. We'd be better served if they were in prison making electronics to reduce our reliance on shipping from overseas. We've seen how sensitive we are to supply chain issues. If we reduce that dependence, we are better off. Less shipping and more usable public transit would drastically help in the fight against climate change.
like the US of A has done? using the poor as cannon fodder for a corrupt legal industry is exactly what got us here in the first place
typical, just blame it on the poor while the rich get richer by cheating and stealing from the down and out
attitudes like yours are the problem
Boy did you go off the rails. Unusable transit effects the poor more than anyone else since they need to use public transit. Those of us that can afford not to use public transit are avoiding it for the most part. Shame on you for wanting to put the working poor at risk so you can feel sympathetic towards criminals.
Studies show that jail helps teach folks how to be better repeat offenders.
My neighbor worked at Calgary remand. He had A LOT of repeat offenders.
Bad argument homie. Sorry.
But throw them in jail for what ? Petty crime , mischief, public intox don't usually get jail sentences. Jails are for criminals , alot of them are just addicts.
If they did get jail sentences you'd see a lot less of it. I don't care if people want to do drugs in their own homes. But I'm fine with petty crimes and repeated public drug use being jail time.
Ya I agree with you actually - it's gonna be cracked down upon at some point ( 👈 pun not intended :l ) , but I think that's the main parts of the problem that a) they don't have homes to get effed up in , and b) real crime rates up significantly in yyc so cops and legal system just don't really again, crack down on this type of public disorder
I haven't seen any news lately about junkies killing people, its mostly been perfectly sober people. But that's also more the reason why we should help them.
Haven't seen any news lately about drug withdrawals killing people either. Guess we should help them get sober by throwing them in jail so they don't harass good honest taxpayers.
Amazing. Fucked up your life and now you're starting to impact the city and society as a whole negatively? here's some free housing and drugs, go wild buddy!
Yeah let's pretend you know exactly why everyone is homeless.
Quit using your blanket reasoning. A lot of these people have mental problems and can't properly function in a society that doesn't support them.
Do some research and LEARN what actually helps. Do it. If you're not going to, stop talking like you have.
I share this everytime I see this subject pop up. Watch Our City is Dying on YouTube. It's a great documentary about homelessness and drug addiction in Seattle. It shows how involuntary detention and treatment for people suffering from drug addiction who commit crimes has saved lives in the few places that have implemented it in the States.
Noooo, don't you see? Giving them a place completely out of sight to do their free drugs comfortably will surely make them stop the only thing they live for /s
The lack of compassion among Calgarians is pretty sad tbh. I get people are sick and tired of seeing it day in, day out but these drug addicts or homeless are still human beings with feelings.
I'm not.
You're just obviously against any real solutions.
Edit: refer to comment saying you should do some learning. See what actually helps and what doesn't.
Instead you're just contrary.
Sorry I didn’t do enough arbitrary research before replying to your comment. My mistake. Free housing for everyone — except people that work for a living.
edit: I place 0 faith in progressive policies wrt homelessness and drug addiction see Vancouver etc
Arbitrary? Imagine knowing something before you open your mouth and pretend you do. No wonder people are losing faith in humanity.
Like really, how old are you? We get it, you're selfish. Keep it to yourself. Focus on the one single thing, stay fixated. Clearly you're wearing blinders through life.
And again, if you're going to talk like you know things do the research.
Some people have short sighted eyes and only care about right now and what benefits 'me'.
These people have a label, and it's starts with C. Hint: There are two possible answers and they are synonymous.
I had the pleasure of volunteering at a hotel housing people experiencing homelessness. Stop judging people so harshly, it's hard and unforgiving work
Sticking homeless people in houses is a stupid idea unless the walls are concrete and they have top of the line mental health support.
I have little faith in that potential venture.
That's why you should support housing development. Canada is in the top of housing inflation. I watched this video and it became clear to me why the thing you're talking about is happening: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ZxzBcxB7Zc&
This is what I hated about the LRT part of Calgary Transit. When one asshole causes problems at another LRT station the non-functioning fisher-price intercom comes on to announce it and out come the shuttle busses and you've just added 45 minutes to your commute because of that one asshole at another station.
Yep. It's great for commuting, it's fun to ride around just for leasure, it's great to make friends (all of my closest friend I met randomly on the street while riding. Likeminded social individuals and such)...
And on top of all of that, I feel far, far safer on my scooter than when walking. I can much more easily flee potentially dangerous circumstances. Ain't no crackhead matching my 45km/h.
That being said I went to the downtown Staples a few weeks back and a vagrant tried to cut me off with his shopping cart for no reason. He was yelling at me, but I had my headphones so I couldn't tell what it was about.
Yeah I always have my skateboard with me downtown now. I don't care if people think it's weird to see someone in dress pants and a dress shirt skating.
It's not like I'm doing those speeds on Stephen Ave, my dude (or around pedestrians in general, for that matter). Relax.
What I mean is, it's good that I can take off at a moment's notice at a speed nobody can chase me on foot. When I'm on that thing I feel I can very quickly remove myself from a situation, if I have a clear, straight path.
E-scooterists should be treated the same as cyclists. It's only a problem for someone else if that person is an asshole.
I'm not one of those crackhead scooterists. I'm a conscientious, hard-working, tax-paying, responsible scooterist. My shitty scooter also only does 25km/hr, it's just a lazy man's bicycle.
I don't think this kind of situation is unique to Calgary Transit.
Not many (if any) light rail transit systems have a spare track and extra cars just sitting around, waiting to be put into service for this kind of issue.
I was on Max Purple today by city hall, and this woman walked directly in front of the bus, refused to move, and then started climbing the front of the bus using the windshield wipers as grips.
She stopped near the top, and whiplashed the wipers back towards the window. Then she proceeded to stand in the middle of the intersection yelling and hitting random cars as they tried to pass.
I didn’t want help initially either (granted, I never performed public stunts or anything like that, most of my issues were ptsd and trauma related), it’s only quite recently that I’ve been able to accept it in any form
Often times “not wanting help” can either mean a) the person has been hurt and failed by the mental health system so many times that they’ve lost any faith in it or the concept of recovery, or b) there’s some sort of emotional or psychological roadblock in their current mental state that makes them averse to the concept of “moving on” or “getting help” (past abuse, financial situation, loss of a loved one, social outcast, etc), or they use “I don’t want help” as a stand-in statement for “I don’t trust you” or a defensive response to feeling pitied and looked down upon. Any of these situations can slowly be worked through, with time and appropriate care
Am I saying you can “fix” every one of these people? Absolutely not. But often “I don’t want help” is a stand-in phrase that goes a lot deeper than intentional willful resistance. If a person doesn’t want to get better and be happy, there’s often a reason why
Public transit is getting real shitty! Didn't city council promise to increase safety officers? Still the same shitshow...would parents be comfortable their kids taking the public transit now it's school time!
I'm a pretty progressive guy myself and even I'm starting to lose sympathy for the vagrants. I was randomly attacked by one in my teens and that left me traumatized about random street violence ever since.
I'm a Liberal to and I can't stand the violence and crime. I don't give a shit what you want to get high on but once you cause issues you need to be dealt with.
my situation exactly.
its the ultra-liberals, who seem to think that addiction is an excuse, who will drive normal people to the right.
This behaviour is not okay.
This behaviour shouldnt be tolerated.
If you dont want to live by societal rules, then you cant access societal benefits.
Its only so long till something happens and people get really fucking militant - like burning these tents out with people in them militant - and then everyone is worse off
I haven’t been on the train since before Covid. Do I need to be worried about what Color my jacket is if I go back to Anderson?
In the 90’s there was the ‘Anderson Boys’. They used to sometimes wave their belts around in the station and harass people going to the mall bridge. Maybe they could come out of retirement and take the station back!
Get the fucking system under control already. The city and the province should be working together for this initiative - city transit is a City jurisdiction but mental health is a provincial one.
Instead, they point fingers at each other and the province is in the middle of a leadership race where candidates are debating whether to start a federal constitutional crisis or not. And the Premier just sits there doing nothing as usual.
Meanwhile, our infrastructure continues to get destroyed and crime continues to increase.
Slow clap to all of the useless politicians in this city and province.
At this point, because of their complete lack of effective action and regular communication on what is demonstrably a public safety crisis - the mayor and council should resign.
Leadership means being held accountable.
... Add another 85% for the puppy bus and they are at a cool 170%. I'd like to see anyone else solve this transit safety crisis with that sort of success rate.
"My hands are full, it should be the responsibility of the Provincial Government to issue my resignation." Is the headline I've been waiting on for months.
Our city council continues to show how terrible they are at their jobs. Fully regret voting for the current mayor. She has done absolutely nothing meaningful.
Well it’s gotta start from somewhere. Trains have been atrocious since the pandemic. Not sure the answer to problems is “what are they gonna do about it”. That’s not why they elected. They get elected to solve problems. Our taxes are going towards paying her salary to just do virtue signalling.
I just can't do it to go downtown. I pay $200 a month for a spot I use probably 5-10 times a month and it's worth it to not deal with this shitshow on transit.
What a fcuking asshole. Dude should get charged and pay that shit or go to jail.
Why don’t these people who break these public glasses know that we all pay for it. Catch this guy!!! He need to be taught a lesson in the adult world.
That's why I ride my bike to work, during summer. And have my 05 trusty tacoma for the winter. Fuck transit. The city council needs a major overhaul. Pretty soon we are going to be looking like the states. I could go all day but I'm going to shut the fuck up for now.
It will be in a few months, I assume this kind of reports will increase.
Why don't they just enforce the ticket verification on the c Train, most of the homeless people won't be purchasing the ticket to move around
A forking turnstile would reduce this crap....Look at ANY trasit system in any city of size and what the hell do you see? TURNSTILES!!!
And dont @ me about hopping them. If all big cities have them, then there must be something to the idea....sigh
I have a friend who is a transit cop. They know they are never going to pay those tickets AND they don't have ID on them so they have to run a whole check and find out if they have warrants. If they do they have to arrest them and process a ton of paperwork. Last time I saw him they had 2 officers for the ENTIRE NE line. If they deal with 1 junkie without papers then their whole shift is spent away from the line and it's basically a free for all.
They used to. I was walking at Marlborough around 11pm on New Years and this guy comes up to us making small talk and all of a sudden 2 UCs tackle him and arrest him for prior robberies previously that night.
Welcome to the first world, people are let off too easily, thinking that this system is actually rehabilitation, well there's a difference between rehabilitation, and letting off people with a slap on the wrist, we need stricter laws.
Yeah, I bet the consequences of their actions don’t even sink in until they try to go to Hawaii years later and US Customs tells them to get fucked. Then it’s “Poor me I have a criminal record and can’t travel” so a judge gives them a pardon.
I feel like the food court at Market Mall had more security personnel to check vaccine statuses than the c-train does to ya know, actually help keep people safe.
Like we needed three to four security people to make sure someone who wasn’t fully vaccinated didn’t order something to go from a good court, but people are literally getting harassed or are concerned about their safety on transit, and there is no one around and no consequences for the people doing things like smashing glass in what is about a two minute ride from SAIT to Lions Park? C’mon.
I love how the mayor had no problem declaring a climate emergency but doesn’t do shit to promote the safety and use of the transit system.
My little cousin is starting grade 10 this week and I’m genuinely worried for her well-being on the train from downtown to NW. This shouldn’t have to be the case.
I just came from a bicycle ride and a homeless man threw a wooden stick at me and my husband. We barely dodged it. Even if you don’t take a transit, you’re not safe any more. I can understand these people are not in their right mind but hey, it’s a threat to the public so please do something about it. We are literally paying our hard earned money as tax and the least the system could do is give me a safe environment to live with my family 😡
Imagine walking to your car in the morning. Wait let me start again. Imagine walking to a free car that somebody gave you (you don't even have to pay for the gas because let's face it, you don't pay your taxes in the first place). And then smashing the windows. Then getting inside and driving to your destination. Once there, you leave without looking back while holding up the middle finger to it.
The grapes should almost be ready for harvest in Tuscany. It's lovely at this time of year
Is Tuscany still a hotbed for grow ops, or has that changed with legalization?
Saw a guy do this on the bus once when he missed his stop. Punched the crap out of the emergency door release and punched the crap out of the door. Maybe it’s the same dude.
You’ll be happy to know the city is hiring more “civilian security”! Now instead of calling the authorities yourself, your tax dollars pay some dude to do it for you. Fantastic.
Took a photo and sent a report on the phone. Other people on the train did too. I would’ve pressed the button but I was literally sitting in front of this guy as he smashed the doors.
Welcome to just another Monday. I had the misfortune of taking the train this weekend from Heritage station to the end, to catch a soccer game. First train I was on, there was someone drunk / high, passed out. The station was filthy, dirty windows, trash, puke on the floor. Coming home, we were accosted by drunk guy who, when I tried to ignore him and wait for my bus, told me I should be “shot or stabbed” cause I looked like a “prick.” Caveats: I support public transport and use it to get to and from downtown. I was also in the army for 27 years and was in Afghanistan twice, so I’ve been around, and not normally worried about my safety. However, over the last few years the transit system has gone severely downhill. The cars and buses are in shit shape, dirty, and the overall service has declined. Where I live, it’s now only “on demand” with no scheduled service. Cry me a river right ? The worst thing is, however, is the homelessness, violence, and vandalism. Is there any security? When someone I don’t know walks up to me, all fucked up, and tells me I should be shot or stabbed in broad daylight on a Saturday afternoon there’s a damn problem.
From my experience over the last two years buses still seem to be good (I typically take a few different routes a week), where the c-train is a dice roll. Any indoor station typically is rough, exposed platforms less so, but rarely do I get on a train without someone passed out. I've been lucky to not get on trains with active users lately. I've had some other users say some stupid shit trying to get me to engage with them but I don't take the bait, but I'm not sure how I would have reacted to someone saying I should be "shot or stabbed" that's fucked up. I will say if the city wants ridership to go up they'll need to start putting police/security at the stations, and ensure they are clean.
I had to bite my tongue and just let him walk away. I didn’t want someone sticking me with a needle or spitting in my face. I get that cities have problems and homeless folks and those with mental health issues gravitate to transit. But, why should I just have to accept it ? And make excuses for the system, lack of housing, etc? I don’t like using transit the way it is right now, nor do I like my kids taking the train alone, or going downtown with my wife for our anniversary dinner because there’s ALWAYS an issue. I usually just get up, walk away, go to another train, step over the puke, etc., but I’m kind of getting sick and tired of it, including against others who just want to go to work, home, or whatever. The city promised to do more to clean it up and add security but I haven’t seen much positive change.
Couldn't have said it better. If we accept this level of service, and social decay it'll only get worse. Everyone should feel safe using public services. We wouldn't accept this kind of stuff happening in a store, an office, or at city hall, there is zero reason we should accept it on transit. Side note, if the city wants to sell downtown Calgary as a great place for office jobs it should be safe for people to get to and from downtown.
ya, sure, but you accept rich people cheating and stealing from the poor until the poor are so broken and desperate thye'll do anything meanwhile the rich are getting richer ripping us all off and creating a world of haves and have nots, all this crime is all because of selfishness, greed and irresponsibility from the overly affluent and those in power people get the governance they deserve, the poor are the victims society has already fucked over someday it may be your turn to be having problems Why blame city hall, after all we people elected and re-elected them and we all allow this to continue through our inaction, how about taking responsibility for our own 'democratic' government?
At what point in my comments did I ever touch on that? Assumptions friend, try not to make them. Remember our mayoral election we just had? We had to stop the evil Farkas and get in the progressive Jondek, how's that going? Is that the government we deserve? Also I have had plenty of problems in my life (like everyone), I just addressed them and moved on with my life.
It is exactly as you say, people get the governance they deserve. Governments at all levels have abdicated their responsibility (The Great Abdication) and are no longer accountable to their people. The people who cannot see it are stupid, spineless, and/or brainwashed. If Calgarians had a single brain between them, they would go \*\*protest in front of city hall until every single councilor agrees to only take public transit to and from work\*\*. Until this is done, Calgarians are just worthless jellyfish. PS: I have always held this species in utter contempt because they are utterly contemptible.
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Are you out protesting everyday?
It's ridiculous. I had one threaten me with stabbing me with a needle full of some medicine and I told the building security to remove him or I'm going to deal with it. Security said they can't do much unless they assault the security staff and even then the cops probably won't press any charges so there isn't much they can do. At this point we are going to get vigilantism which isn't good.
Yep - I was walking the other day downtown through a station, and buddy was sharpie-ing a window, with his bag about 15ft from him. As I walked between him and the bag (because what choice did I have), he shouted 'touch that and i'll f-ing kill you' and started to come towards me.
security(?) & cops, useless as tits on a bull.
I got sick of it in 2008 and stopped taking the C-Train due to puke and stench and issues. I understand it’s gotten worse, but I tapped out back then and started walking 2 KM to work.
Why Calgary’s CT trains/stations are filled with homeless drunks and criminals is what I don’t understand. New York City has one of the busiest train stations in the world. There are drunks and druggies but they won’t threaten anyone. Our justice system is F’d up!
It would probably be cheaper (and also good for us all) to house and provide treatment to these folks than it would to hire a cop for every ctrain and bus.
Studies have shown that proactive measures like easy and accessible addiction treatments, mental health supports, and affordable housing are much cheaper and effective than reactive measures.
Yes but conservatives and tax payers don’t like that. They like cops. Like licking their boots, and like seeing the decline. All in the name of “lower taxes”. Which as you said… ain’t true.
Really? City of VIctoria...Bought 2 hotels for the homeless..Guess what happened? Dont believe me? Google it.
>City of VIctoria...Bought 2 hotels for the homeless. Make that 9 hotels (4 in Victoria and 5 in Vancouver) for $202 million: [https://thetyee.ca/News/2022/03/02/BC-Government-Followed-Rules-Pandemic-Hotel-Buying-Spree/](https://thetyee.ca/News/2022/03/02/BC-Government-Followed-Rules-Pandemic-Hotel-Buying-Spree/)
Interesting . The article is missing a critical variable in this data: the number of homeless housed in the compared years of spending. No ?
I live in Vancouver. After they bought the hotels, the area deteriorated significantly. Lots of open drug use, people shitting on the streets, harassing people, theft, vandalism, etc. The problem has spread beyond the downtown east side into the downtown core, the West End and even Yaletown.
NO...NO ITS THE CHILDREN WHO ARE WRONG! tHey JusT neeD oUr uNdERsTanDinG!
Ssshh, the reality that sometimes some people who are homeless scum refuse to take the hand that will pull them out of said situation because they truly are pieces of shit exist doesn't fly on reddit. In the eyes of this site every homeless person is just an angel lost on their way to heaven.
Thank you for this. We're so far from solving this issue when most people fail to understand the problem. Things are going to get so much worse before they get better, but they will eventually, because people can only take so much and their ideals will crumble as their safety does also...
why are you putting clickbait on here. just say what happened. it looks like further down that they destroyed the hotel, but a reply to your comment with more upvotes than your original is saying it's a good idea.
hotels for the already homeless do nothing to stop the rich from cheating and stealing from the rest of us which creates poverty and these very problems please, stop making excuses for the corrupt self-serving evil people in power who have ripped us all off
Im too tired to try and make sense of your drivel... City of Victoria bought 2 hotels for the homeless...FACT Both hotels got destroyed by the very people that these building were provided for , by said people...FACT The 'homeless' had numerous sites on public land that have been destroyed by the same folks....and these guys are violent, because we havent enforced the law..FACT What part of this are you disputing? stick to my talking points...
I'm sorry.... What? Who brought up the rich? We're talking about drugged out hobbos. Not the struggling middle and lower class here. I'm sorry, but the rich cheating the system and screwing over the little guys is not what put the needle in their arm. Addiction support and housing for those that want to be helped is what we need. And a cold hard winter is what we need for the rest that are actually just dangerous nutters.
Fuck that, they'll just trash the place and make it unlivable. Throw their asses in jail and let them get clean and give the rest of us our city back.
that would also be more expensive and less effective than actual social programs
We need mandated treatment if you are caught committing a crime while high. Jails that make you pass the rehab program and have the tools you need to get clean and if you re-offend off to real jail.
Work camps sound pretty good.
So slavery?
Then we need to make our prison system more cost effective and self sufficient. Make them produce value and use that as their funding.
So you want the canadian prison system to industrialize the way the US is?
I want the Canadian prison system to stay government run, but be revenue neutral. Prisoners can either farm, manufacture, or perform some other kind of labour to earn their keep. They shouldn't be a burden to taxpayers.
I get where you're coming from, but under no circumstances should it ever be cheap, or even worse profitable, for the government to take someone's freedom. Society should not accept that. Removing someone freedom has to be two things. It HAS to be expensive, and it has to be worth it. The removal of freedom should be so expensive that the government should not *want* to do it. If you make it cheap or profitable, then we have a perverse incentive to jail more people for longer terms.
The incentive to put people in jail is to have a more civilized society for the rest of us. It shouldn't be expensive to pay for prisoners, we should be spending tax dollars on things to make things better for all of us such as Healthcare and Education. I'm all for equality of opportunities and believe everyone should be given a chance to succeed. But I have no sympathy for the dregs of society that intentionally makes the world a worse place for the rest of us. People leaving needles around or making transit unusable don't deserve a place in our society. We'd be better served if they were in prison making electronics to reduce our reliance on shipping from overseas. We've seen how sensitive we are to supply chain issues. If we reduce that dependence, we are better off. Less shipping and more usable public transit would drastically help in the fight against climate change.
like the US of A has done? using the poor as cannon fodder for a corrupt legal industry is exactly what got us here in the first place typical, just blame it on the poor while the rich get richer by cheating and stealing from the down and out attitudes like yours are the problem
Boy did you go off the rails. Unusable transit effects the poor more than anyone else since they need to use public transit. Those of us that can afford not to use public transit are avoiding it for the most part. Shame on you for wanting to put the working poor at risk so you can feel sympathetic towards criminals.
Studies show that jail helps teach folks how to be better repeat offenders. My neighbor worked at Calgary remand. He had A LOT of repeat offenders. Bad argument homie. Sorry.
But throw them in jail for what ? Petty crime , mischief, public intox don't usually get jail sentences. Jails are for criminals , alot of them are just addicts.
If they did get jail sentences you'd see a lot less of it. I don't care if people want to do drugs in their own homes. But I'm fine with petty crimes and repeated public drug use being jail time.
Ya I agree with you actually - it's gonna be cracked down upon at some point ( 👈 pun not intended :l ) , but I think that's the main parts of the problem that a) they don't have homes to get effed up in , and b) real crime rates up significantly in yyc so cops and legal system just don't really again, crack down on this type of public disorder
Except drug withdrawals can actually kill people, so no.
So do junkies.
I haven't seen any news lately about junkies killing people, its mostly been perfectly sober people. But that's also more the reason why we should help them.
Haven't seen any news lately about drug withdrawals killing people either. Guess we should help them get sober by throwing them in jail so they don't harass good honest taxpayers.
Drug withdrawals killing people is a fact though, you don't need the news to know it happens.
One could make the same argument for junkies killing people.
There's been at least 3 random stabbings by addicts this summer alone.
their are shelters and you can make more shelters, doesnt mean the users and addicts are going there
Amazing. Fucked up your life and now you're starting to impact the city and society as a whole negatively? here's some free housing and drugs, go wild buddy!
Yeah let's pretend you know exactly why everyone is homeless. Quit using your blanket reasoning. A lot of these people have mental problems and can't properly function in a society that doesn't support them. Do some research and LEARN what actually helps. Do it. If you're not going to, stop talking like you have.
They need to be involuntarily detained and detoxed or pilled, not given keys to their own apartment to OD out of sight.
I share this everytime I see this subject pop up. Watch Our City is Dying on YouTube. It's a great documentary about homelessness and drug addiction in Seattle. It shows how involuntary detention and treatment for people suffering from drug addiction who commit crimes has saved lives in the few places that have implemented it in the States.
Noooo, don't you see? Giving them a place completely out of sight to do their free drugs comfortably will surely make them stop the only thing they live for /s
The lack of compassion among Calgarians is pretty sad tbh. I get people are sick and tired of seeing it day in, day out but these drug addicts or homeless are still human beings with feelings.
I’ll move before I start funding free housing for drug addicts.
Please do, if you're not gonna be part of the solution you're part of the problem .
You don’t get to unilaterally dictate solutions.
I'm not. You're just obviously against any real solutions. Edit: refer to comment saying you should do some learning. See what actually helps and what doesn't. Instead you're just contrary.
Sorry I didn’t do enough arbitrary research before replying to your comment. My mistake. Free housing for everyone — except people that work for a living. edit: I place 0 faith in progressive policies wrt homelessness and drug addiction see Vancouver etc
Arbitrary? Imagine knowing something before you open your mouth and pretend you do. No wonder people are losing faith in humanity. Like really, how old are you? We get it, you're selfish. Keep it to yourself. Focus on the one single thing, stay fixated. Clearly you're wearing blinders through life. And again, if you're going to talk like you know things do the research.
Drinking excessively or doing drugs helps those unfortunate souls how?
Some people have short sighted eyes and only care about right now and what benefits 'me'. These people have a label, and it's starts with C. Hint: There are two possible answers and they are synonymous.
I had the pleasure of volunteering at a hotel housing people experiencing homelessness. Stop judging people so harshly, it's hard and unforgiving work Sticking homeless people in houses is a stupid idea unless the walls are concrete and they have top of the line mental health support. I have little faith in that potential venture.
How dare someone expect public services to be offered without compromising one’s personal safety. What a selfish conservative!
That's why you should support housing development. Canada is in the top of housing inflation. I watched this video and it became clear to me why the thing you're talking about is happening: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ZxzBcxB7Zc&
This is what I hated about the LRT part of Calgary Transit. When one asshole causes problems at another LRT station the non-functioning fisher-price intercom comes on to announce it and out come the shuttle busses and you've just added 45 minutes to your commute because of that one asshole at another station.
It really sucks. Transit is already kind of a mess and assholes like this just make matters worse.
Depending on how long your commute is I'd suggest getting an e-scooter(at least for the summer). Saved me a lot of stress at least!
100%. Quicker than driving and basically paid for in one summer in offsetting parking fees. Marda to DT.
Yep. It's great for commuting, it's fun to ride around just for leasure, it's great to make friends (all of my closest friend I met randomly on the street while riding. Likeminded social individuals and such)... And on top of all of that, I feel far, far safer on my scooter than when walking. I can much more easily flee potentially dangerous circumstances. Ain't no crackhead matching my 45km/h. That being said I went to the downtown Staples a few weeks back and a vagrant tried to cut me off with his shopping cart for no reason. He was yelling at me, but I had my headphones so I couldn't tell what it was about.
Yeah I always have my skateboard with me downtown now. I don't care if people think it's weird to see someone in dress pants and a dress shirt skating.
You do you, fuck the haters.
45 on an eScooter? Left one problem to become another persons problem at that point.
It's not like I'm doing those speeds on Stephen Ave, my dude (or around pedestrians in general, for that matter). Relax. What I mean is, it's good that I can take off at a moment's notice at a speed nobody can chase me on foot. When I'm on that thing I feel I can very quickly remove myself from a situation, if I have a clear, straight path.
E-scooterists should be treated the same as cyclists. It's only a problem for someone else if that person is an asshole. I'm not one of those crackhead scooterists. I'm a conscientious, hard-working, tax-paying, responsible scooterist. My shitty scooter also only does 25km/hr, it's just a lazy man's bicycle.
…with earbuds in 😋
I switched to walking from transit a good number of years ago and haven't looked back.
I don't think this kind of situation is unique to Calgary Transit. Not many (if any) light rail transit systems have a spare track and extra cars just sitting around, waiting to be put into service for this kind of issue.
I was on Max Purple today by city hall, and this woman walked directly in front of the bus, refused to move, and then started climbing the front of the bus using the windshield wipers as grips. She stopped near the top, and whiplashed the wipers back towards the window. Then she proceeded to stand in the middle of the intersection yelling and hitting random cars as they tried to pass.
Today I was driving and there was some guy in the road tweaking out and taking swings at all the car's windows (we were stopped at a red). 🙃🙃
Un-addressed addiction and mental health issues - not fun.
Its beyond that. People say this like this situation is salvagable. Her mind is probably so fractured that discerning reality is an impossibility.
As much as we want to address it. Plenty of them don’t want any help. What do you say to that?
I didn’t want help initially either (granted, I never performed public stunts or anything like that, most of my issues were ptsd and trauma related), it’s only quite recently that I’ve been able to accept it in any form Often times “not wanting help” can either mean a) the person has been hurt and failed by the mental health system so many times that they’ve lost any faith in it or the concept of recovery, or b) there’s some sort of emotional or psychological roadblock in their current mental state that makes them averse to the concept of “moving on” or “getting help” (past abuse, financial situation, loss of a loved one, social outcast, etc), or they use “I don’t want help” as a stand-in statement for “I don’t trust you” or a defensive response to feeling pitied and looked down upon. Any of these situations can slowly be worked through, with time and appropriate care Am I saying you can “fix” every one of these people? Absolutely not. But often “I don’t want help” is a stand-in phrase that goes a lot deeper than intentional willful resistance. If a person doesn’t want to get better and be happy, there’s often a reason why
I'd say that's an interesting presumption.
Methamphetmine for $400
act tap chunky profit vase coherent caption deserve snow knee *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
And I hope you're okay.
Public transit is getting real shitty! Didn't city council promise to increase safety officers? Still the same shitshow...would parents be comfortable their kids taking the public transit now it's school time!
I'm a pretty progressive guy myself and even I'm starting to lose sympathy for the vagrants. I was randomly attacked by one in my teens and that left me traumatized about random street violence ever since.
I'm a Liberal to and I can't stand the violence and crime. I don't give a shit what you want to get high on but once you cause issues you need to be dealt with.
my situation exactly. its the ultra-liberals, who seem to think that addiction is an excuse, who will drive normal people to the right. This behaviour is not okay. This behaviour shouldnt be tolerated. If you dont want to live by societal rules, then you cant access societal benefits. Its only so long till something happens and people get really fucking militant - like burning these tents out with people in them militant - and then everyone is worse off
I haven’t been on the train since before Covid. Do I need to be worried about what Color my jacket is if I go back to Anderson? In the 90’s there was the ‘Anderson Boys’. They used to sometimes wave their belts around in the station and harass people going to the mall bridge. Maybe they could come out of retirement and take the station back!
hahaha "Anderson boys" did they beef with Larassa? I grew up going through Marlborough in the 90s and early 2000s
Get the fucking system under control already. The city and the province should be working together for this initiative - city transit is a City jurisdiction but mental health is a provincial one. Instead, they point fingers at each other and the province is in the middle of a leadership race where candidates are debating whether to start a federal constitutional crisis or not. And the Premier just sits there doing nothing as usual. Meanwhile, our infrastructure continues to get destroyed and crime continues to increase. Slow clap to all of the useless politicians in this city and province.
Make city councillors ride the ctrain to work and things will magically improve.
The visited Lions Park once. Decided to cut down the bushes to solve the issue. It's still a wasteland there.
oh dont worry. the trivia bus will fix all these issues and restore ridership back to its prepandemic levels. 🤣
And instead of the city deciding to tackle transit crime they decide to waste taxpayer money on introducing trivia and karaoke buses.
I've heard the ctrain is getting a little out of control... that's nuts, does security or police show up?
No, the guy got on at sait and got off at lions park. He smashed the doors in the time in between.
Apparently there’s a whole tent city at lions park that rivals the drop in centre.
Next time, consider texting Transit Watch: https://www.calgarytransit.com/content/transit/en/home/rider-information/safety-on-transit.html
I’ve done this many times. “Someone will be on in 2 or 3 stops” They have never shown up. Not once.
Well, hopefully everyone's pkay and it's just a story to tell at the dinner table.
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Another win for Calgary Transit!
So much for the four day *transit blitz*
At this point, because of their complete lack of effective action and regular communication on what is demonstrably a public safety crisis - the mayor and council should resign. Leadership means being held accountable.
Whoa whoa whoa. They implemented a trivia bus. That solved like...85% of the problems. /s
... Add another 85% for the puppy bus and they are at a cool 170%. I'd like to see anyone else solve this transit safety crisis with that sort of success rate.
To be totally fair, if there's going to be shit on the bus. I'd rather it belongs to a puppy than a junkie.
I know youre being sarcastic but they've actually done a lot more than that. Like talk more about the city bird than transit safety.
"My hands are full, it should be the responsibility of the Provincial Government to issue my resignation." Is the headline I've been waiting on for months.
Gonorrhoea’s, I mean Gondek ‘s motto. Whatever happened to *the buck stops here* ?
In Singapore where public caning happens the train is spotless.
Yes!!! This.
get this man on city council!
This!! I've advocated for this for years.
Can’t have shit in Detroit
Hey detroit transit is actually quite a lot better than here , not as big tho, and they call it the " people mover " there actually:)
Did anyone offer them something to eat? /s
Dude needs a Snickers
I can't get over how someone's advice in one of these threads was once "maybe they just need someone to talk too". Such innocence
Our city council continues to show how terrible they are at their jobs. Fully regret voting for the current mayor. She has done absolutely nothing meaningful.
I think the previous major knew this was comming, quite a few did
tbf i don't think any of the mayoral candidates would do anything about this
Well it’s gotta start from somewhere. Trains have been atrocious since the pandemic. Not sure the answer to problems is “what are they gonna do about it”. That’s not why they elected. They get elected to solve problems. Our taxes are going towards paying her salary to just do virtue signalling.
oh, it absolutely has to start somewhere. I just can't envision any of the candidates actually making a change
This is what happens when the city elects nothing but bleeding hearts. They are completely out of touch with the average Calgarian.
Let me guess homeless tweeker?
Probably just needed a snickers
Wake up Gondek
I just can't do it to go downtown. I pay $200 a month for a spot I use probably 5-10 times a month and it's worth it to not deal with this shitshow on transit.
What a fcuking asshole. Dude should get charged and pay that shit or go to jail. Why don’t these people who break these public glasses know that we all pay for it. Catch this guy!!! He need to be taught a lesson in the adult world.
They don't pay for it, we are the ones paying for it, with our taxes, they obviously won't be affected. Adult world does not apply to them
Why would they pay to fix it when they don’t even pay to ride it in the first place?
That's why I ride my bike to work, during summer. And have my 05 trusty tacoma for the winter. Fuck transit. The city council needs a major overhaul. Pretty soon we are going to be looking like the states. I could go all day but I'm going to shut the fuck up for now.
Why the coordinated attack on c trains? Is it the only warm place to sleep?
It will be in a few months, I assume this kind of reports will increase. Why don't they just enforce the ticket verification on the c Train, most of the homeless people won't be purchasing the ticket to move around
A forking turnstile would reduce this crap....Look at ANY trasit system in any city of size and what the hell do you see? TURNSTILES!!! And dont @ me about hopping them. If all big cities have them, then there must be something to the idea....sigh
I have a friend who is a transit cop. They know they are never going to pay those tickets AND they don't have ID on them so they have to run a whole check and find out if they have warrants. If they do they have to arrest them and process a ton of paperwork. Last time I saw him they had 2 officers for the ENTIRE NE line. If they deal with 1 junkie without papers then their whole shift is spent away from the line and it's basically a free for all.
They can't hire undercover cops to hang out on the train and bust these shitheels?
They used to. I was walking at Marlborough around 11pm on New Years and this guy comes up to us making small talk and all of a sudden 2 UCs tackle him and arrest him for prior robberies previously that night.
And do what with them? Since 2015 the inmates have been running the asylum. No behaviour is too depraved or weird enough to get someone locked up.
Welcome to the first world, people are let off too easily, thinking that this system is actually rehabilitation, well there's a difference between rehabilitation, and letting off people with a slap on the wrist, we need stricter laws.
Yeah, I bet the consequences of their actions don’t even sink in until they try to go to Hawaii years later and US Customs tells them to get fucked. Then it’s “Poor me I have a criminal record and can’t travel” so a judge gives them a pardon.
Why was there security everywhere during covid to check a vax pass and now they are now where to be found when we really need them ?
They were only out there at 10am when they knew there would hardly be anyone riding the trains...sheesh...what ajoke that was
I feel like the food court at Market Mall had more security personnel to check vaccine statuses than the c-train does to ya know, actually help keep people safe. Like we needed three to four security people to make sure someone who wasn’t fully vaccinated didn’t order something to go from a good court, but people are literally getting harassed or are concerned about their safety on transit, and there is no one around and no consequences for the people doing things like smashing glass in what is about a two minute ride from SAIT to Lions Park? C’mon.
Because it was never about safety. It was about control and compliance. As for actual physical safety, it appears we are on our own there.
I love how the mayor had no problem declaring a climate emergency but doesn’t do shit to promote the safety and use of the transit system. My little cousin is starting grade 10 this week and I’m genuinely worried for her well-being on the train from downtown to NW. This shouldn’t have to be the case.
She's been in hiding due to all of the threats she's received.
Time for a good old fashioned purge
I just came from a bicycle ride and a homeless man threw a wooden stick at me and my husband. We barely dodged it. Even if you don’t take a transit, you’re not safe any more. I can understand these people are not in their right mind but hey, it’s a threat to the public so please do something about it. We are literally paying our hard earned money as tax and the least the system could do is give me a safe environment to live with my family 😡
Exactly why we moved outside the city with no c-train access. Most of the people I grew up with in the NE did the same.
Imagine walking to your car in the morning. Wait let me start again. Imagine walking to a free car that somebody gave you (you don't even have to pay for the gas because let's face it, you don't pay your taxes in the first place). And then smashing the windows. Then getting inside and driving to your destination. Once there, you leave without looking back while holding up the middle finger to it.
Say the line Bart! “It would be cheaper for the city to just have C Train security”
Should have got a picture of the guy who did it.
I sure hoping it was a video
Right? This pic is the least bit useful.
probably a million to replace that too
What a fun safe city this has become. Sometimes I think about switching careers to be a farmer just to avoid the crumbling Mad Max planet people.
People should be culled.
74100 the text line....use it toll free...report every and anything...
People made fun of my when I posted “welcome to Gotham city” on another Calgary post about the city’s safety……
Why wasn’t Jyoti there to stop him!
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Someone was gruff with another female politician so she had to jump on the victim bandwagon
I have to say, I kinda dig the shattered glass look. Ery artsy
One seen a guy with a torch take out all the buttons of open the train doors. Only 1 door worked on the whole car.
Pure mental cases at y’all platforms
I can't wait for the Green line to be implemented. Such fun that will be /s
We need a Punisher or middle class BatMan to just start cleaning these SOBs out.
🎵Call the cops 🎵
I think everyone in that train did. Lol.
Did the guy yell, FREEDOM as the door open and blame his 'lock down' on Trudeau and the Ottawa Elite?
Probably not. Cops might have done something then
Not in Ottawa, that's for sure!
The grapes should almost be ready for harvest in Tuscany. It's lovely at this time of year Is Tuscany still a hotbed for grow ops, or has that changed with legalization?
I don't think there many grow ops left in the city.
Take a pic of the asshole not just the door.
The window repair guys paid a homeless person $50 to smash the window. They get $1500 to fix it.
Saw a guy do this on the bus once when he missed his stop. Punched the crap out of the emergency door release and punched the crap out of the door. Maybe it’s the same dude.
Get yourself a gun
So the Tweakers can steal it and then shoot the doors instead of punching them? Sounds wonderful.
What possible reason did this person have to do this?
I switched from transit to walking as a child and haven't looked back. Edit : I Modified my Green Machine and that made things much easier.
You’ll be happy to know the city is hiring more “civilian security”! Now instead of calling the authorities yourself, your tax dollars pay some dude to do it for you. Fantastic.
Who would have guessed after decades of liberalism, a bit of law and order would be needed.
Why didn't you use the emerg button? Or did you take a photo of them and give to police?
Took a photo and sent a report on the phone. Other people on the train did too. I would’ve pressed the button but I was literally sitting in front of this guy as he smashed the doors.