Downtown safety proposal heads to Sault city council

Sault Ste. Marie -

A proposal aimed at making the Sault's downtown core a safer place will be going before city council Monday.

Increased police and nightly security patrols are just some of what's included in the proposed pilot program.

Sault Ste. Marie is also considering using a team of paid and volunteer "ambassadors," who would act as liaisons between businesses, Sault police, and mental health services, on top of helping to make downtown a friendlier place.

"There's issues with all downtown's, not only in Ontario, but across Canada, too," said Salvatore Marchese, executive director of the Sault Ste. Marie Downtown Association. "So looking at what other people have done to work on these issues and then how we can implement that here, it's exciting."

Marchese said the association is optimistic about the pilot, which is modelled after programs developed in other Ontario municipalities, including North Bay.

"In terms of the ambassadors, we've been looking into best practices and trying to see how that might apply here in the Sault," he said.

The proposal comes after what's been a rough year for businesses in the downtown core. Not only from the pandemic, but also, dealing with crime.

Julie Kerhanovich, owner of The Other Guys, she said her store recently had an attempted break in.

"We're all feeling hopeless," she said. "It's sad, we need help here and I like that they're trying."

Kerhanovich said she likes the ambassadors as a means to address mental health and addictions issues downtown, but said she's really hoping to see security ramped up at night.

"I think it's a good Idea to have people on the street here," she said. "I think there's a definite need to have both the ambassadors and security."

Should the plan be approved, a report from the city said the estimated budget for the projected would cost around $192,000.