Upwards of 30 people sheltering under the Bastion St. Bridge and adjacent parkade had their belongings removed on the morning of Wednesday, Jan 5. (City of Nanaimo)

By NanaimoNewsNOW Staff

homeless dispaced

Homeless encampment dismantled in downtown Nanaimo parkade

Jan 6, 2022 | 5:35 AM

NANAIMO — Following what the City of Nanaimo called repeated warnings and public complaints, a downtown homeless encampment was taken down.

In a detailed statement to NanaimoNewsNOW, the City’s manager of bylaw services Dave LaBerge said their sanitation crews cleaned up under the Bastion St. bridge and adjacent City-owned parkade on the morning of Wednesday, Jan. 5 where upwards of 30 people had been sheltering.

LaBerge said the encampment started small late last year, then grew following the New Years long weekend, resulting in people occupying parking stalls and completely obstructing pedestrian stairwells.

The City stated three levels of the Bastion Street Parkade were recently occupied by the homeless community. (City of Nanaimo)

Bastion Street Parkade customers reported daily incidents of being threatened, obstructed and intimidated, Laberge said.

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“The parkade facility was littered with garbage, graffiti and human waste. A number of parking ticket-dispensing kiosks had been pried and damaged, with power cords and electrical junction boxes opened and severed to access power supplies, which resulted in these units being taken out of service,” LaBerge stated, who noted area business operators expressed safety concerns for their staff and clients.

People had been found sheltering on three levels of the parkade, he said.

LaBerge noted enforcement officers directed people sheltering in the parkade on Sunday, Jan. 2 to collect their belongings and leave.

He said the warning was repeated on Tuesday, Jan. 4, a day before enforcement officials moved in.

Several items, including propane tanks, shopping carts and a large amount of discarded needles were removed.

Dismantling a homeless encampment on Terminal Ave. proceeded without incident, the City stated. (City of Nanaimo)

LaBerge noted most of the people sheltering in the parkade were known from previous encampments, including nearby Italian Square Park and Pioneer Square Park.

Both parks remain gated off following homeless encampments taking over the respective sites last year.

Most recently an encampment on private property on Nicol St. was closed down in early November.

Non-profit agency RiseBridge Project, took aim at the City’s actions on their Facebook page, claiming the enforcement was conducted without warning.

“It is not being done in a trauma informed way. It has resulted in several thousands of donations being thrown in the trash by our city, again.

“We don’t have rentals in this town. Our 2 small shelters are full or inaccessible to many,” the post read.

RiseBridge said valuable items such as tarps, tents and sleeping bags and other belongings were removed just prior to more snowfall.

“At the very least, we could of (sic) had 24 hours notice to inform the 30+ individuals and make arrangements to keep most of their items safe.”

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