How Safe Do You Feel In Edmonton?
There has been a lot of talk in the past year about how unsafe Edmonton has become. This talk is not as common as it was a few months ago, but it still lingers. Hell, there is a (satirical) Facebook group called Stabmonton (you must have a Facebook account to view it).
While I find it pretty funny, apparently the mayor does not. Humour aside, the existence of such a group does highlight the fact that there have been more violent crimes in Edmonton than usual, this year.
What got me thinking about safety concerns in Edmonton wasn’t Stabmonton, though. I was out walking tonight, and realized that I felt completely safe and comfortable walking around downtown, and Oliver, even in areas with few or no streetlights.
Frankly, I can’t remember a time that I didn’t feel safe walking the streets of Edmonton. I’ll admit that there are neighbourhoods that I’d rather avoid after dark–Downtown East and East Chinatown come to mind–but I’ve been in both of those neighbourhoods after dark, and not had more trouble than being yelled at by a drunk who could hardly walk straight, let alone do me any real harm.
I wondered if I am alone in my feelings. Do most Edmontonians feel endangered when they walk the streets of our city? Do you feel unsafe in Edmonton?
I realize that certain demographics will likely have very different perceptions of safety than others, but I’m hoping to get a general sense of how the average Edmontonian feels about safety in the city, mostly in regard to street violence. My question, then, is this: how safe do you feel in Edmonton?
I feel perfectly safe wandering around downtown and even the east side of downtown at night, alone. The only thing that ever happens is that I get hassled for beer money and cigarettes. Heck when I lived in Mill Creek I used to walk back from Downtown, across the low level bridge, and past all the homeless settlements of the valley. Frequently alone at night. If anything it was peaceful.
I think Whyte ave is probably the only place where I’ve felt like I was going to get stabbed, by surly drunks who were threatening to stab me. I personally think its the drunken violence of Whyte that has upped the stats and tarnished the image of the rest of town as well.
allan
16 Aug 07 at 12:40 pm
After living in LA and Paris Edmonton is a piece of cake. I feel very safe here….maybe a bit too much…
Rosemary
17 Aug 07 at 10:42 am