PREPARING FOR 'CRIME TRAIN' RESEARCH SHEDS LIGHT ON RAPID TRANSIT AND CRIME
PREVENTION

New research has shed light on how to prevent crime from taking root
in an area before SkyTrain arrives.

A Transit Police study looked at a month of incidents within 250
metres of sites of the future Canada Line stations in Richmond.

It found six per cent of crime incidents in Richmond happened in that
zone-even though rapid transit has not yet arrived -while four per
cent of crime in Surrey happens within 250 metres of that city's
existing four SkyTrain stations.

Further analysis is planned to see what can be done to reduce crime
along the future line in Richmond or prevent it from increasing after
the Canada Line opens late next year.

One idea is for the city to use zoning and business licensing to bar
certain types of operations from setting up shop near future stations,
including cheque-cashing services, adult video stores, pawn brokers
and some fast food outlets.

The report also suggests Richmond carefully consider the impacts of
letting services for the drug addicted locate along the corridor.

An improved streetscape design on No. 3 road is planned to attract
more people, using lighting, cycling infrastrucgture, street
furniture, artwork and other amenities to establish a "tone" for the
area that may lead to a better sense of security.

Similar "transit village" concepts are being explored for Surrey
Central, Edmonds and Broadway that may lay the groundwork for
expansion to more stations.

Research also suggests the Richmond crime hotspot isn't the only area
in the region where high crime rates pre-dated the arrival of SkyTrain.

The report says the drug trade has thrived at the Broadway/Commercial
area, Columbia Street in New Westminster and Whalley in Surrey for
decades before the Expo Line was built.

It also notes a 250-metre radius around some stations includes
significant numbers of methadone clinics, needle exchanges and similar
services.

The addiction services, the dealing, graffiti, litter, and low-end
businesses that are attracted send unsavoury signals to the public and
heighten apprehension, it said.

Findings show 12 per cent of crime in Burnaby and Vancouver happens
within 250 metres of local SkyTrain stations, and four per cent of
crime in the case of Surrey.

Drug crime is the most prevalent within those zones.