Below is a statement from Mayor Gregor Robertson:

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Today’s closing of the Kitsilano Coast Guard station is a sad day for Vancouver, and this decision leaves our city and its harbour with significant unresolved safety concerns. It is tremendously disappointing that the Federal Government has chosen not to listen to a broad consensus of marine safety experts who consistently expressed their concerns about the clear dangers posed by this closure.

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Our thoughts and support today are first and foremost with the families of the 67 missing and murdered women from Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside who lost their loved ones under extremely tragic circumstances.

We recognize the long and difficult road for the families, who will remember these women as daughters, sisters, and mothers. We also recognize the particular impact on our urban Aboriginal communities, given the significant proportion of Aboriginal women represented among the victims and those who remain missing.

The report released today by the Missing Women Commission of Inquiry is extensive and will take some time to fully review all of its recommendations. It is my hope that Inquiry recommendations are focussed on real and lasting change — systemic changes that need to happen to keep young girls and women safe, and prevent this tragedy from happening in the future — and that implementation of recommendations are timely. 

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All Vancouver families and residents count on the knowledge that in their time of need, emergency services will be in a position to urgently respond and assist.

Today’s details on improved fire response times demonstrate what many Vancouver residents have seen first-hand: Vancouver Fire & Rescue Services (VF&RS) are providing our citizens with exceptionally efficient and effective emergency services and pre-hospital care.

From 2009 – 2012, VF&RS improved response times to fire calls by 44 seconds, with average response times now being 7:00 minutes. Response times to medical emergencies have also been reduced by 20 seconds, with average response to a medical emergency being 6:00 minutes.

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Aim is to reduce preventable road collisions, injuries and fatalities

The City of Vancouver today launched People are Fragile, a new safety awareness program to raise the profile of some common yet inconsiderate, risky and illegal behaviours that can cause serious harm to pedestrians, cyclists and motorists.

The program is designed to raise awareness about road safety and ultimately prevent collisions, injuries and fatalities for all road users. The program, which uses outdoor advertising, sidewalk writing, social media and other tactics, addresses three key behaviours in and around intersections that put people at risk:

pedestrians jaywalking;
cyclists running stop signs; and,
motorists failing to yield to pedestrians in both marked and unmarked crosswalks.

The City intends to continuously improve the safety of Vancouver’s streets, particularly around intersections where the majority of conflicts occur between pedestrians, cyclists and vehicles.

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A new report coming to the Vancouver Police Board shows significant drops in crime compared to 2010 as well as over a five-year period – a sign that the Vancouver Police Department’s crime strategy is working, says Mayor Gregor Robertson.
The report shows that since 2007, there has been a 29% drop in property crime, a 12% drop in violent crime, and a 52 second drop in response times, among others. There were also year-over-year decreases for property and violent crime between 2010 and 2011 in Vancouver.

“The VPD’s strategic plan is clearly paying off, and we are making significant progress towards achieving the goal of becoming the safest major city in Canada,” says Mayor Robertson. “Our work in reducing street homelessness by 82% has also helped deliver drops in crime, particularly downtown.

“I want to recognize the leadership of Chief Jim Chu and the men and women of the VPD, as well as our community policing centres and all of the volunteers who are making our neighbourhoods safer every day.”

With the goals of decreasing property crime by 20% and violent crime by 10% from 2008-2012, the VPD has already surpassed both of these targets. The report can be viewed here.

Mayor Gregor Robertson today praised the Vancouver Police Department for their work in making Vancouver a safer city to live in, with the release of the 2009 VPD Annual Report showing reductions in several crime categories.

“The VPD have done an exceptional job in making Vancouver a safer city to live in,” said Mayor Robertson. “Chief Chu and the men and women of the VPD have helped prevent crimes from happening, brought criminals to justice, and in the process have enhanced Vancouver’s reputation as one of the safest cities to live in.”

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