Local Politics General Of murals, cameras and stop signs: Council Meeting set for Tuesday
Of murals, cameras and stop signs: Council Meeting set for Tuesday
Among the several items on the agenda of the Williams Lake City Council for its Tuesday, December 18 meeting, there are two in particular that local residents may want to weigh in on.
One item is the erection of a 4-way stop sign at the intersection of Second Avenue North and Cameron Street. The intersection has been the scene of 6 accidents this year, and at least 1 pedestrian had to be transported by ambulance for treatment. The issue was recently brought to the Council by local business owner Bill Davidson, who frequently hears the squealing of tires and has expressed concern for the safety of pedestrians. A school and a playground are on diagonal corners bordering the intersection and a youth center is located about a half block away.
The city’s previous solution to an equally bad thoroughfare just one block away was to put up a $4,500 speed reader sign that tells drivers how fast they’re going. While the speed reader signs are known to have some effect on drivers’ speeds, there is no real enforcement associated with such signs. They rely on the good nature of individual drivers to slow down, and are also quite a bit more expensive than simply putting up stop signs.
The other agenda item is the Williams Lake Central Business Improvement Area Association’s (WLCBIA) application for funding to install motion sensor security lights with built in cameras in the back alleys and laneways in the downtown area in order to improve safety and security. In addition to the lights and the cameras, the proposal also includes the funding of murals to be painted on building facades and walls.
According to the Council Agenda, the Downtown Williams Lake BIA put forward the Alley Art Project with the intent of encouraging “more frequent use of the back alleys and lesser used parts of our downtown. As we add more and more of these murals in the coming years it would be an asset to have these motion sensor lights in the alleys to give people an added sense of security.”
Some in the community think the WLCCBIA notion that wall murals are going to combat crime in the downtown core is "ridiculous". In fact, however, murals and other public art have proven to be valuable tools in cutting crime and urban blight in cities across North America.
According to the National Crime Prevention Council (see NCPC.org), San Francisco’s notoriously dangerous “Tenderloin” district has benefitted from the addition of murals and street art that depict the characteristics of the neighborhood. “The installation of the murals has helped to deter crime. There is a noticeable reduction in the amount of loitering, public intoxication and other nuisance activities in and around the location of the murals.” The same is true in San Diego, California and the city of Hayward where local artists and organizations are commissioned to paint murals in their neighborhoods and compensated for their time and talent. The reasons for these success are the murals “help establish a stronger identity and create a sense of place. The murals portray a purposeful message and represent the voice of the neighborhood.” See westerncity.com/Western-City/March-2012/Hayward-Uses-Murals-to-Fight-Blight/ and artistsnetwork.com/articles/inspiration-creativity/cooperative-painting-through-the-youth-violence-reduction-partnership-and-the-mural-arts-program for further info.
According to partners for Livable Communities, "If done right, public art creates a sense of commonality for a community. It creates pride and ownership of the neighborhood, cohesion of purpose, and a starting point to join together to address larger issues, [creating] shared public space and experience."
See: http://livable.org/livability-live/474-public-art-more-than-just-a-picture-on-the-wall-a-vehicle-for-crime-prevention
In "Broken Windows: The police and neighborhood safety", James Q. Wilson and George L. Kelling explain that one “broken window,” or mark of blight, leads only to more deterioration of both city infrastructure and social activity; or, that once there is one “window” broken, there can be ‘no harm’ to break another. The deterioration of the built environment, then, leads also to deterioration in social activity, or real crime and violence; thus, when one feels fear walking in an area with vacant buildings or broken windows, those elements become symbols for danger.”
Wilson and Kelling further state that “Window-breaking does not necessarily occur on a large scale because some areas are inhabited by determined window-breakers, whereas others are populated by window-lovers; rather, one unrepaired broken window is a signal that no one cares, and so breaking more windows costs nothing.”
In the same way, public works of art and murals demonstrate that someone cares. According to www.graffitihurts.org, “Community paintbrush murals are rarely defaced by graffiti and instill a sense of pride among those who live nearby.”
Still, in an era of limited financial resources, will the benefits of such murals outweigh the costs of creating the murals and maintaining them?
Additionally, there are appears to be a completely separate agenda item regarding a 'Celebrating Diversity Mural Project', which raises the possible question why not combine the two projects and save everybody money while accomplishing both goals?
And regarding the proposed addition of motion activated surveillance cameras, the WLCBIA purchased cameras for the downtown core several years ago. The cameras were installed, but as of last March, the system was not yet fully operational. One might ask, in a town the size of Williams Lake, why such an elaborate security system is needed in the first place? In a time of ever-growing government intrusiveness under the guise of 'safety', how do law-abiding citizens feel about even more surveillance into their comings and goings?
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