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In a motion put forward through Coun. Bob Hawkins at the Community & Protective Services Committee meeting, it was asked that city administration research and report back to the committee on the cost to add back-alley lighting to high crime areas, and to find alternative methods to finance the initiative.

“If there are any special programs that the government may come out with, the provincial and federal governments would be the two to go to,” Murray said.

If no alternative method can be found, then the proposal will be forwarded to future budget deliberations.

Residents may also play a role in helping bring back-alley lights to their own neighbourhoods.

“One of the things we talked about is the idea of not having mandatory motion lighting for residents, but a tax exemption if you put lighting on the back of your garage,” Murray said.

Another key component of Murray’s proposal is that administration report back after one year to determine if the initiative is effective.

“We want to start this as a pilot project where we identify three back alleys,” Murray said. “One year from now, let’s see if the opportunistic crime has gone down. Do a comparable and see if it is effective or not.”

In Calgary and Edmonton, ENMAX and EPCOR installs lighting on existing utility poles, with the residential lots backing the alley paying the cost of installation. In 1998, Chicago began an initiative to install lights in alleys throughout the city and monitor the results. While substance abuse in alleys saw a 51 per cent increase, crimes such as trespassing, weapons violations or prostitution saw decreases or very small increases.

Murray stated that one concern is the shifting of crime to other areas, but that will also be something looked at with the pilot project.

“I think whenever you are looking at crime prevention and environmental design, that is something you look at in the equation,” Murray said. “Is it going to disperse the crime severely, or are we dispersing it at a rate that allows us to keep up with it? That would be part of the equation that we look at.”

cbaird@postmedia.com

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