Supplies are seen on a table at an outdoor supervised drug consumption site in the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver on May 27, 2021. The Canadian Press/Darryl Dyck
The B.C. city of Nanaimo is proposing to build a fence around its city hall parking lot to protect staff from violence and disorder associated with “congregations” of people who frequent a supervised drug consumption site located next to the city’s parking lot.
City staff have proposed a 1.83-metre-high fence, which will cost an estimated $412,000 to install, due to concerns from employees about “intimidation and harassment.” Staff say the risk is higher for those working early or late, citing damage to staff vehicles, fires near the city hall building, including in doorways, as well as human waste and an overall deterioration of the area.
