More police and events part of city's Our Dwtn strategy

Making downtown Victoria cleaner and safer benefits our entire region.

Last week, the City of Victoria announced the Our Dwtn revitalization program to attract people back to downtown. The city has allocated $1 million for the plan, which includes a Feet on the Street program utilizing VicPD foot patrols and city bylaw officers to provide a more visible presence. The intent is to help people feel safer.

The program also includes a mix of cultural and retail programs to enhance the experience of being downtown.

In June, the city and the Downtown Victoria Business Association are hosting a Scrub-Up event to refresh the area ahead of the busy summer season.

Chamber op-ed calls for regional approach to Greater Victoria's collective downtown
 
By the Greater Victoria Chamber of Commerce in collaboration with the BC Restaurant and Foodservices Association, Downtown Victoria Business Association, and the Urban Development Institute – Capital Region.

There has been a lot of talk lately about downtown Victoria.
 
Some of the talk is positive. Greater Victoria often ranks highly in lists of desirable places to live, work and visit. Our region has a sterling reputation — especially to people who aren’t from here.
 
But it would seem many of us believe our own bad publicity. Have we taken on an inferiority complex?
 
Crime and violence are real but not rampant as some would have us believe. And at the root of these issues are housing and mental illness.

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Read the entire Op-Ed