Strathcona Community Safety Service
New Service Provider Effective September 1
The Strathcona BIA is pleased to announce it has contracted Paladin Security for its mobile patrol services effective September 1.
The Strathcona Community Safety Service is available seven days a week, except statutory holidays, from 8am to 4pm. To contact the patrol, please call 604.789.4143.
Available Assistance Includes:
- Wellness checks
- Community Engagement
- Safety Education
- Community Program Information
- Needle Disposal
- Debris Reporting
*For emergencies requiring police, fire or ambulance, please contact 911
Program Approach
The program is built around a community-based model of safety and revolves around three core areas:
Customer Service – approachable, interactive, and compassionate patrollers who respond quickly to your needs. Patrollers on duty will have non-violent crisis intervention and mental illness training, and minimum one person on shift will have First Aid and Naloxone training.
Relationship Building – with neighbourhood businesses, organizations, and residents. Patrollers will work to establish collaborative relationships with service providers and agencies who provide peer-led and place-based services and resources.
Education – promote awareness of how area businesses and residents can enhance their own safety.
For more information please contact the SBIA office at 604.258.2727
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SBIA Renewal
Successful Renewal
The Strathcona BIA Renewal process has concluded. On March 8, 2017 City Council approved the renewal term of seven years through 2024 and the funding cap.
During the various consultation sessions members identified many key priorities such as beautification initiatives and public perception of the area, as well as wanting to see continued investment in safety, property maintenance and cleaning programs.
Now that the process has wrapped up we can look ahead and begin evaluating and implementing additional programs such as:
- Beautification projects that could include public art pieces like installations, sculptures, murals, upgraded lighting etc.
- Pilot program to address and support members with debris on private property including hazardous material.
- Sustainable transportation advocacy plan that incorporates parking, movement of goods and people and curbside uses.
- Implementation of a Community Policing Centre on East Hastings.
- Strengthen our advocacy work at various government levels.
Thank you to all our members for your ongoing support, especially those who take the time to submit feedback and attend working sessions. Your feedback is what shapes the programming.
We look forward to working with, and on your behalf to build a thriving mixed-use, inclusive, and resilient local economy.
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Holiday Social 2016
Photo credit: Kellan Higgins
The Holiday Social at Pat’s Pub in December was a huge success. Around 100 SBIA members and partners came out to enjoy some holiday cheer. Attendees enjoyed the wonderful atmosphere created by Pat’s Pub, great beer from onsite Hastings Mill Brewing Company, yummy bites from Railtown Catering, and of course the great company of SBIA members and partners. It is safe to say we had the best prizes of any holiday party in town, generously donated by SBIA members. The grand prize quiz tradition was back with a very difficult set of questions this year. Trumps Fine foods continued their lucky prize winning streak from previous years and did a sweep of the two grand prizes. Savoury Chef was the SBIA member winner of the Recycle In Strathcona gift certificate, and are excited to take advantage of some free recycling services. Thank you to all of our members and partners that came out to the holiday social this year, what an enjoyable time as always!
We would like to thank our vendors for the event Leona?s Florist, Pat’s Pub and Railtown Catering.
And a special thanks to the following members for providing door prizes for the event:
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SBIA Open Letter to Vancouver Coastal Health and City Council – Supervised Injection Sites Consultation Process
The SBIA has penned an open letter to Vancouver Coastal Health and City Council regarding recent public consultations spearheaded by Vancouver Coastal Health with respect to the two new supervised injection sites in our community. A copy of the letter is below or click HERE to view our op-ed published in the Vancouver Sun.
Proposed locations for the sites are:
- The new DTES Mental Health and Substance Use Drop-In-Centre at 528 Powell
- The Heatley Integrated Health Centre at 330 Heatley
An open letter to Vancouver City Council and Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH)
On September 21st, Vancouver Coastal Health’s Chief Medical Health Officer announced the location of two new proposed supervised injection sites for the Downtown Eastside (DTES), both of which are slated to open in early 2017 in Strathcona. As the representative body of 450 businesses, the Strathcona Business Improvement Association (SBIA) welcomes the opportunity for meaningful consultation on this important matter, because what our community comprising 9,000 residents and 7,000 employees has been afforded to-date borders on shameful.
With three open houses scheduled in the middle of the work day, during the middle of the week, we gather that “official” consultation on this matter is now considered complete. This raises concern for us, not to mention the broader question as to whether this is the type of process Vancouverites can expect from Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH) when proposing supervised injection sites in other neighbourhoods.
In a hurry to prepare applications in response to a grave increase in overdose deaths throughout the city, VCH raced through the required process. Only a handful of the business owners and residents we work with were aware of the VCH-led open houses or had an opportunity to attend the sessions and provide input. The session I attended had less than twelve participants present.
The SBIA supports supervised injection sites and recognizes the need for these facilities, but they represent just one pillar of an overarching strategy. What is not clear at this juncture is what additional resources will be provided to support these new sites and ensure the safety of those who will use and work in them, as well as Strathcona residents, customers, and business owners who live, work and play in the community where these sites will soon operate.
As the city?s oldest neighbourhood, Strathcona has deep roots in the business community of modern Vancouver, serving as a gateway to the city for those arriving by road, sea and rail since the mid 1800?s. A “starter neighbourhood” historically, Strathcona remains a vibrant mix of industrial businesses and single family homes despite a noticeable lack of traditional amenities such as grocery stores, parks, neighbourhood pharmacies and walk-in health clinics, express transit service, sports fields, public pools or ice rinks, a community police centre, or even a post office.
Members of the SBIA are proud to be part of the DTES. However, ongoing public health issues like overdose related deaths in the area have prompted the need for renewed and meaningful dialogue with Vancouver?s policy makers on our urgent resourcing needs. Rubber stamping policies that address one issue, albeit a critical one, will not solve the broader problems communities will encounter, and could easily create new ones.
Strathcona business owners already cite safety as a primary concern due to an increase in homelessness, open substance use, and often, misinformation about the issues at hand. Currently, the Vancouver Police Department?s DTES BEAT Patrol ends at Gore Street, the border of Strathcona, but there were no indications at the VCH open houses that additional resources will be directed to the help the VPD extend their patrol into Strathcona, which experiences the same issues that are prevalent a few blocks away.
Supervised injection sites cannot exist in a silo, removed from the broader community fabric, especially amongst the mix of businesses and homes bordering the two new sites. In order to truly move the dial on issues that affect all Vancouver neighbourhoods, we need to work together – government, business, residents and advocates – to develop holistic approaches that address the health challenges we currently face. This begins with up-front, open and collaborative stakeholder engagement to ensure the community understands the importance and impact of supervised injection sites, and continues with a multipronged approach to both harm reduction and safety.
The Strathcona Business Improvement Association welcomes the opportunity to host a working session with members of Vancouver City Council, Vancouver Coastal Health and any business owner, resident, or stakeholder that wishes to build a better city.
We hope you will be in touch.
Sincerely,
Joji Kumagai
Executive Director
Strathcona Business Improvement Association
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Community Benches
As part of the 2016 Hastings Urban Tree Nursery expansion, three beautiful new benches have been added to the Strathcona streetscape. You’ll find them at 649 E Hastings Street, 901 E Hastings Street, and 477 Powell Street. Haeccity Architecture, a small architecture firm located in Strathcona, approached SBIA with a customizable bench design and generously offered to donate the design and their services for the HUTN.
Community Design Workshop
Community members designing benches at the Haeccity workshop
Early design stages of a bench with a communal table
On February 18th, SBIA and Haeccity held a Bench Design Workshop open to all SBIA members and the public. Sixteen people attended and collaboratively customized the Haeccity bench design to suit the desires of the businesses at each location. The finalized bench designs were sent out for multiple quotes for fabrication of the steel and wood portions. SBIA members returned the most favourable quotes and Quest Metal Works and MakerLabs were selected to manufacture the steel chassis and the wood slats, respectively.
Manufacturing and Installation
Staff member at Quest Metal Works welding metal pieces
Team from Maker Labs installing the bench outside of Liquids and Solids
Haeccity donated reclaimed fir beams they had salvaged from the previous MakerLabs location in Mount Pleasant when it was demolished in 2015. The benches were installed in August and September 2016 by MakerLabs. Check out these awesome benches around the neighbourhood and let us know if you have a favourite design!
Completed?Benches
Bench outside of Liquids and Solids, 901 E Hastings Street
Bench outside of Homestead Junction, 649 E Hastings Street
Bench outside of the Uncommon Cafe, 477 Powell Street
Do you think your business is a good candidate for a HUTN tree planter or bench outside your storefront? Contact the SBIA sustainability coordinator, johanna@strathconabia.com, to find out more about participating in the HUTN 2017 expansion.
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AGM and Renewal
We are pleased to announce that at the 2016 Annual General Meeting held on September 28, 2016 at the Pink Pearl Restaurant, members unanimously voted in support of the renewal term of 7 years, the cap of $7.449M and the 17/18 budget. The Board of Directors expresses its thanks and gratitude to the many members for their time and input for face-to-face meetings, survey participation, open house attendance and conversations over the phone to help set the mandate and budget for the next seven years.
The final step of the renewal process will be a letter from the City of Vancouver in late 2016 to officially inform SBIA members of the BIA’s renewal application. Then the renewal application will go to Council in spring 2017 for approval.
At the AGM, we said farewell to two outstanding directors, Toby Barazzuol and Colin Stansfield. Toby served on the Board for over ten years, including three years as the Chair, and was instrumental in spearheading the SBIA’s sustainability work and community-building efforts. This work has allowed the SBIA to represent the interests of its members in a much broader spectrum of community dialogues and to raise hundreds of thousands of dollars in external funding to deliver innovative projects. Colin served on the Board for four years and was instrumental in redefining the work of the Community Relations Committee by initiating the Policy & Positions document and advocacy strategic direction and was a key resource to the bring local news back to the Board table. Thank you Toby and Colin for your many years of service to the Strathcona BIA.
Board of Directors 2016-2017
Appointed by acclamation, we welcomed two new directors, Darryl Ray and Anu Kainth, to fill the vacant seats left by Toby and Colin. Darryl Ray is the Partner and General Manager of the Butler Did It Catering and Anu Kainth is a property manager for buildings in the Railway area. Re-elected to the Board were Emma Carscadden (Carscadden Stokes McDonald Architects), Tammy Tsang (My Loud Speaker Marketing), Rick Havlak (Homestead Junction) and Jason Gilron (Pacific Restaurant Supply) while Peter Joe (Sunrise Soya Foods), Wayne Nelsen (Patricia Hotel), Amanda Dalla Zanna (Savoury Chef) and Braden Parker (Low Tide Properties) will be serving their second year of the two year term.
The AGM concluded with keynote remarks from David Lewis, Team Lead for the Integrated Graffiti Management Program for the City of Vancouver.
Read MoreSBIA Renewal
The Strathcona Business Improvement Association (SBIA) is a not-for-profit organization founded in 2000. We serve more than 850 business and commercial properties within our catchment area and provide advocacy, marketing, property maintenance, safety and sustainability services to our members. Funding is provided through a BIA levy, mandated by a City of Vancouver bylaw that is required to be renewed at the end of each renewal term. The current seven-year renewal term expires in March 2017, and your BIA Board of Directors, a volunteer group comprised of property and business owners from the area is seeking a renewal agreement for a new seven-year term, to run from April 2017 until March 2024. Renewal was a major initiative by the Board of Directors in late 2015 and 2016 and the SBIA engaged members in a number of outreach initiatives to get feedback and seek approval for another seven year term. These initiatives included:
- Development of Proposed Directions for 2017 to 2024: Renewal, which highlights key activities and achievements from 2010 to 2017 and proposed strategic objectives for 2017 to 2024
- Two surveys of members to solicit feedback on past achievements, future direction and budget
- Open House on June 28
- Door to door outreach and in-person meetings with property and business owners
- At the 2016 AGM, there will be a vote on the renewal term of seven years, the budget cap over this period and the 17/18 budget.
For more information on BIAs, visit the City of Vancouver’s BIA page. If you have any questions, please contact the SBIA office at 604.258.2727 or info@strathconabia.com
Read MoreHoliday Social 2015 Recap
On December 9th, SBIA members and friends reflected on and celebrated the year at Pat’s Pub. The social continues to grow with over 90 people attending this year. Guests enjoyed fabulous food & drinks and wonderful door prizes provided by members and vendors.
We would like to thank our vendors for the event Floral & Hardy Edible Plants, Leona’s Florist, Pat’s Pub and Savoury Chef.
A special thanks to the following members for providing door prizes for the Social:
604 Records
Boardroom Ecoapparel
Ken Diamond
Postmark Brewing
Railtown Cafe
Recycling Alternative
Savoury Chef
Securiguard
Sunrise Markets
Sunrise Soya Foods
Yew Woodshop
Yolks
On behalf of all the staff and directors of the SBIA, thank you for your support and we look forward to continue working on your behalf!
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Meet Recycling Alternative and Shift!
We are pleased to announce Recycling Alternative and Shift are joining forces to provide SBIA members with a comprehensive organics and recycling collections service at competitive and exclusive rates. The exclusive rates will be based on number of businesses joining the program, the number of streams collected from your business, and bin sharing opportunities between neighbouring businesses.
The new Preferred Organics & Recycling Collections Service Provider program will help the SBIA reach the following goals:
- reduce the amount of landfill waste being produced in Strathcona,
- increase diversion of recoverable materials,
- coordinate service to decrease trucks and emissions produced in the area,
- reduce laneway clutter and litter,
- reduce vehicle congestion, and
- provide a unique and valuable service to all SBIA members.
Recycling Alternative
Considered a leader and innovator in the sector with a social purpose-driven model, Recycling Alternative has garnered a reputation in the local community for bringing fresh perspectives to recycling models such as the Food Scraps Drop Spots, Vancouver Biodiesel Co-operative and the greenHUB though our many community partnerships and collaborations.
Over our years in business, RA has also forged operational innovations to create efficiencies, reduce carbon impact and tailor programs to suit our clients? needs. In 2009 we pioneered, and custom manufactured our first of its kind ?zero waste? truck, designed specifically to manage multiple stream collections and community curbside models with this single pass vehicle. Most recently we have begun introducing on-site composting technology to reduce on-site volumes of food waste by up to 80% and address issues such as odour, pests and contamination.
Today, Recycling Alternative operates in Vancouver and Calgary, servicing hundreds of sites with collection flexibility ranging from daily, weekly, bi-weekly, and monthly to on-call. We specialise in working closely with our customers to design recycling programs, tailored to their needs and material volumes.
We are thrilled to be working in partnership with Shift and SBIA to establish a unique, district model recycling program, built on best practices for reduction and recovery, coupled with a sustainable community focused approach and excellent customer service.
Together, we believe the collaboration of Shift, SBIA, and RA for community collection will stand out as an example to other districts and neighbourhoods seeking sustainable alternatives to traditional waste collection models.
Shift Delivery
Shift Delivery is an innovative company tackling the challenges of urban logistics, congestion and pollution in Vancouver. With their unique electric-assist cargo tricycles, Shift out competes truck deliveries in many ways: efficiency, sustainability, safety, and flexibility. Through dedication to excellence and an empowering ownership model, Shift’s aim is to be a champion in sustainable business, and to positively impact our community, now and into the future.
Recycling Alternative and Shift Collections Services Include:
- Organics
- Mixed Containers (glass, metal, plastics)
- Paper
- Soft Plastic
- Cardboard
Comprehensive Recycling and Zero Waste Options ? On-call collection:
- Styrofoam (clean packaging grade)
- Electronic Waste
- Batteries
- Light Bulbs
- Pallets and Woodwaste Pallets
- Plastic strapping
- Metal waste (non containers)
The SBIA?s Commercial Recycling and Compost Program will end on October 30th. If you choose to work with Recycling Alternative and Shift, regularly scheduled pick-ups will begin the week of November 2nd.
If you have questions regarding the new Preferred Organics & Recycling Collections Service Provider, please contact Julia Berry, SBIA Sustainability Coordinator, at julia@strathconabia.com or by phone at (604)258-2727.
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