Downtown Kingston workers feel safe, survey shows

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KINGSTON — As a new community standards bylaw comes into effect, a survey of downtown workers shows a majority of them have no safety concerns in the city centre.

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The survey, conducted during the winter by a trio of local activists, showed that two-thirds of respondents feel safe or very safe on the downtown streets and in workplaces.

“We did the survey to get a better understanding of the daily realities and opinions of people who work downtown,” said Tara Kainer, who along with Kathleen O’Hara and Vicki Schmolka polled 113 downtown workers.

“There’s concern that the new bylaw will make things more difficult for people who have no money and cannot afford to pay a fine. It’s clear that people who work downtown feel compassion for people who have no home to go to,” Kainer added.

The bylaw was passed by city council in late 2023 as a response to safety concerns from the downtown business community.

Critics of the bylaw argued it unfairly targeted the homeless.

“As a survey volunteer, I was shocked to find that most workers I interviewed hadn’t heard of the new bylaw, and yet it was promoted in their name,” O’Hara said. “Most considered it unfair and unworkable. A few said they wished they’d been consulted before the bylaw was approved by council.”

In preparation for the new bylaw coming into force, city staff have been “undertaking training and preparing public education materials as directed by council,” a city spokesperson said.