City work crews on Wednesday extended blue metal fencing around Pandora Avenue as part of efforts to curb encampments.
Mayor Marianne Alto says this all part of the ongoing, multiphase safety plan for the area. "You're seeing the next phase of the plan for Pandora. You will have seen, a few weeks ago, fencing going up on the south side of Pandora on each end - the east end and the west end. That continues to gradually move towards the middle. Now, we have fencing up on the north side pretty much the length of the whole block."
Alto says this latest extension of the fencing is happening in conjunction with the expansion of shelter beds.
"BC Housing continues to reassure us that there are additional shelter spaces now available. You'll remember they made an announcement to that effect some weeks ago of the 72 new spaces. So, with those assurances, we are now gradually relocated those folks who are un-housed into some of those spaces," says Alto.
She says more fencing will eventually go up in the future as the safety plan continues to roll out. The blocked off areas will be left alone to recover naturally before environmental reclamation and landscaping begins.