City crews were installing a cable fence near The Mustard Seed on Tuesday.(rdnewsNOW/Josh Hall)

By Sheldon Spackman

park enhancements underway

Increasing safety behind improvements near The Mustard Seed

May 29, 2019 | 11:58 AM

Steps are being taken to address concerns raised by Riverside Meadows residents over needle debris, rough sleeper camps and other activities near The Mustard Seed.

City crews began work on Tuesday on installing new cable fencing around the parking lot at The Mustard Seed’s home on 54 Avenue. Trail enhancements, improved lighting and security are also on the way over the coming weeks.

The changes are part of $15,000 in upgrades approved under the 2018 Capital Budget.

“There are some upgrades that are planned on the City lands in order to respond to some of the safety concerns that have been named in that area,” says Mayor Tara Veer.

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Byron Bradley, Managing Director-Central Alberta at the Mustard Seed, says they’ve been working with the City on these changes since moving into the community nearly three years ago.

“An assessment was done and there were some changes made a few years back and some other recommendations that were made during that CPTED (Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design),” recalls Bradley. “One of them was to have more improvements to the public property adjacent to the Mustard Seed. So they started-off today putting a post and cable fence along the rear of our parking lot which is great as we do have vehicles sometimes that will illegally pull into the green space which affects the grass and has worn down a lot of the grass over the years there.”

Bradley says anything that improves the livability or increases safety in the area will have their support.

“The fence is going to stop vehicles from driving into the green space, which does happen from time to time,” admits Bradley. “Definitely part of it is to help the environment so the environment gets respected and often when you make improvements to landscaping and you can help improve environment, often citizens will respect the surroundings more as well. There have been some challenges for a long, long time in that space.”

Bradley anticipates nearby trail enhancements to also increase bike and foot traffic in the area.

“It will make the green space more accessible to the community,” he explains. “The City is also adding some lighting to the area as well which again, just improves safety, especially at night time with the shelter and people that may loiter and congregate around the property. It’s just good to have things under light and things out in the open.”

While The City is working to address concerns, Veer says the ultimate solution lies in the hands of the province.

“We need to ask the new provincial government to renew the commitment that was made in terms of expanding shelter in Red Deer. We absolutely need new shelter infrastructure in Red Deer to get to the root of the problem,” she suggests.

“These are important safety and security measures to take in response to the concerns residents in Riverside Meadows have. Having said that, they are one piece of a very big puzzle and while we hope that this will help, we know that there are other efforts that we continue to do to support our community – number one being our advocacy focus to ensure that the shelter project proceeds.”

Other areas of Red Deer that have had similar upgrades include City Hall Park and Glendale Skate Park. This includes, but is not limited to, improved lighting, video surveillance, physical barriers, and other physical interventions.

Bradley says future changes planned for The Mustard Seed include a new east-side entrance and the installation of a new wellness centre.

“We would have volunteer doctors and nurses, occupational therapists and psychologists supporting people,” adds Bradley. “We’re just in the early stages of figuring out some of the costs and planning and we hope to start renovations on that in the summer. It would be available to anyone in the community.”

Any health professionals interested in volunteering at the Mustard Seed’s future Wellness Centre, are encouraged to contact the Mustard Seed at 403-347-1844.