The City of Vancouver has conducted a large-scale cleaning operation at CRAB Park, a temporary sheltering site, due to unsafe living conditions. The cleaned-up area of the park has been resurfaced with fresh gravel and has 27 demarcated sheltering sites. A new temporary location at the park was designated for people staying in the closed area during the cleanup. Sandra Singh, a deputy manager for the City of Vancouver, stated that the process of getting people to move back into the cleaned area has been slow, with only 12 out of 27 registered people ready to relocate back in by the end of Friday.
If some of the registered individuals do not return to the designated area, the City of Vancouver will be removing demarcated sheltering sites and shrinking the area to return it to park use for the whole community. Round-the-clock sheltering has been permitted in a northern portion of the park by a special order since the city lost a legal battle to remove homeless people living there in 2022. The city had deemed the designated area unsafe, with propane tanks, human waste, rats, and illegal built structures. People living there were ordered to move to a temporary space while the city conducted the cleanup, removing over 90,000 kilograms of debris and material, as well as propane tanks and generators.
BC Housing has provided new tents and canopies for individuals, as well as communal areas in the designated sheltering site. The city has specified that only those who were registered in the area as of February 26 will be allowed to return, and the site will be made smaller as individuals find housing and leave. The city also stated that if conditions in the area deteriorate to the point of non-compliance with the Parks Control By-law or pose a public safety or health concern, it may withdraw the order permitting round-the-clock sheltering. The cleaning process, despite some delays due to weather and individuals needing additional time to relocate, went smoothly according to the city’s release.
Overall, the City of Vancouver has welcomed individuals who were using CRAB Park for shelter back into a cleaned-up area designated specifically for sheltering. The city has put in significant effort to address the unsafe living conditions and nuisance factors present in the park, including the removal of debris, propane tanks, generators, and illegal structures. While the process of getting people to move back into the designated area has been slow, the city is committed to shrinking the sheltering space over time as individuals find housing. BC Housing has provided necessary infrastructure for the sheltering site, and only registered individuals as of a certain date will be allowed to return. Ultimately, the goal is to ensure that the park can be returned for use by the entire community while also addressing the needs of those requiring temporary shelter.
