Noises off: elected officials up in arms over lambasted civic plan
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 24/06/2020 (1548 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
Winnipeg city council members are questioning why they had no say on noise deterrents designed to discourage people from gathering at three local bridges, which some have deemed an inhumane attempt to keep away homeless people.
The public works department said the devices were not meant to specifically target the homeless population, but were tested through a pilot project that aimed to keep all citizens away after fires previously damaged the structures.
Following the criticism, the sound-emitting devices were turned off around 10 a.m. Thursday, but remained in place.
The decision came after a video featuring the sound was posted on Twitter, sparking an onslaught of online criticism. The video captured a series of high-pitched beeps at the Maryland Bridge.
Hi @SherriLRollins – are you aware of the speakers set up to play irritating noises on the south side of the Maryland bridge? They seem to be there to deter the homeless camps nearby. This is so cruel and pointless – where are these people supposed to go? pic.twitter.com/s57GYph4mt
— Alex Buchner (@AlexBuchner) June 23, 2020
Critics allege the shrill noises offer a “cruel” and “inhumane” way to deter homeless people from setting up camps in the impacted areas.
Mayor Brian Bowman said he agrees with that complaint, and supports the decision to stop using the devices.
“It deeply troubled me when I learned (about) it… Part of the concern that I have is the stigmatization that does exist for those members of our community that are affected by homelessness and what it communicates to the broader community,” said Bowman.
Coun. Sherri Rollins, chairwoman of the protection and community services committee, echoed those concerns.
“The repeated forced resettlement of people is just not a solution… Everyone deserves safety and security, including those who don’t have a mailing address,” said Rollins (Fort Rouge-East Fort Garry).
Meanwhile, another councillor stressed elected officials should have had the option to vote on the controversial practice.
“It wasn’t brought to council first. Apparently, no elected official was privy to this information; I find that hard to believe,” said Coun. Kevin Klein (Charleswood-Tuxedo-Westwood).
Jim Berezowsky, Winnipeg public works director, said he approved the pilot project devices, which were installed in early April. One $1,750 sound-emitting device was installed at Esplanade Riel, as well as the Midtown and Maryland bridges.
The project was aimed at better protecting those sites, after all were damaged in separate fires last fall, he said.
The Fermor Avenue pedestrian underpass has had a similar sound device in place for seven years, Berezowsky said.
A fourth pilot project location was planned at the Osborne Bridge but its installation was not completed.
Fires can badly damage such infrastructure, said Berezowsky, noting a 2017 blaze caused a bridge to collapse in Atlanta.
“There is great safety concerns involved with a fire, and a fire going out of control and then further impacting the community,” he said.
The plan did produce some safety benefits, he said.
"Since those sound-emitting devices were installed, we’ve had no fires under our bridges and we’ve had nobody with a life safety issue in the river. So, we’re pretty proud of that fact."
The pilot project didn’t require extra funding, so it also didn’t require council approval, he added.
The city didn’t publicly announce the pilot project to ensure citizen feedback came naturally instead of a news release calling extra attention to the devices, Berezowsky said.
“You want to gain that true feedback,” he said.
Deterrents unappreciated and possibly dangerous
wfpsummary:Noise deterrents are successful in repelling homeless people but they are “messed up”, says a woman who has fled the annoying sounds.
Interviewed on Thursday in a small encampment behind Circle of Life Thunderbird House, Thea Pahpasay said the noise that is purposely irritating has forced her to leave spaces, particularly around downtown.:wfpsummary
Noise deterrents are successful in repelling homeless people but they are “messed up”, says a woman who has fled the annoying sounds.
Interviewed on Thursday in a small encampment behind Circle of Life Thunderbird House, Thea Pahpasay said the noise that is purposely irritating has forced her to leave spaces, particularly around downtown.
“I was sitting there, I was going to have a beer — this was at eleven — and all of a sudden it started… a loud, annoying noise,” she said.
“And I was like, ‘Well, I can’t stay here,’ and I left.”
Pahpasay said the sound was unbearable, and it was “messed up” to subject people to it against their will.
A tweet from the city Tuesday stated that noisemakers had been installed around the city to discourage gatherings in spaces where encampments are often set up. Just a day later, public outcry resulted in the city announcing it would disable the deterrents.
Pahpasay said the noise deterrents could endanger people experiencing homelessness.
“What if that person’s yelling for help, but you can’t hear that person? Are they going to send help?
“They have no place to go, they have no place. Why bother them?”
The city should focus more strongly on supports for those who are homeless, rather than temporary deterrents, Pahpasay said.
“I think they should do more planning on housing, especially in the wintertime if it’s like that, have a routine check on people underneath the bridges, if that’s happening, instead of the noise.”
Her view was echoed by an advocate who said productive support for those dealing with homelessness is better focussed on upholding basic human rights.
Kris Clemens, who is the manager of communications for End Homelessness Winnipeg, an organization established in 2015 to address the root causes of homelessness, said these kinds of deterrents are not uncommon in North America, but also called the decision made by the city “very, very bizarre.”
The group was tipped off about the installation of noisemakers not by the city, but by a journalist calling to inquire about them in late April, Clemens said. The group was “a little concerned about this news,” and the advocacy group was not consulted by the city on the decision at all, she said.
“It was a bit of a surprise to learn that, eight weeks later, these devices are active in numerous locations around the city, and they had gone ahead even though some concerns were raised at a much earlier time,” she said.
The “public relations kerfuffle” by the city could be easily avoided if they collaborated with people with lived experience before implementing measures that would affect them, Clemens said.
“The reality is, people will often access places under bridges because it’s dry and sheltered from the elements, and we have an extreme climate in Winnipeg,” she said.
She recognized that living in these spaces can be dangerous, and she understood the city looking to mitigate risks involved with staying in such spaces, but harms should be considered in a holistic way and the productive response would focus on adequate housing as a human right.
“People… are choosing to sleep outside or in tents because the other options available to them in terms of emergency shelter and low-income housing feel less safe or less comfortable for them,” she said.
“People are choosing between a range of options, all of which are unsafe and uncomfortable, and we need to be able to offer people a basic level of shelter, accommodation and housing that can uphold their human right to have shelter.”
— Malak Abas
Bowman said he, too, is concerned by the fire and safety issues, but believes council and the public service can jointly determine a better way to reduce such risk.
“I appreciate the concerns about safety of the residents. I appreciate the concerns about the integrity of infrastructure… We can work with them to find (safety alternatives) that are not as troubling or offensive to Winnipeggers,” he said.
While multiple council members said they learned of the matter following online complaints, Coun. Matt Allard (St. Boniface) noted on social media he heard one of the noise makers a few weeks ago and called 311 to ask about it.
Allard was in meetings Thursday and could not be reached for an interview. In an email, Allard noted he was concerned about the practice.
“I felt very disturbed by it and have been thinking and talking about the larger topic since, and what policy response it deserved,” he wrote.
joyanne.pursaga@freepress.mb.ca
Twitter: @joyanne_pursaga
Joyanne Pursaga
Reporter
Born and raised in Winnipeg, Joyanne loves to tell the stories of this city, especially when politics is involved. Joyanne became the city hall reporter for the Winnipeg Free Press in early 2020.
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