The City of Vancouver says its fire department reports a “marked improvement” in safety and sidewalk accessibility along a Downtown Eastside street where a large tent encampment was recently removed.
The city has issued a statement updating its actions related to the dismantling of the Hastings Street encampment on April 5 and 6, and continued sweeps of the area in the following days to ensure campers did not return.
It says Vancouver Fire and Rescue received 27 fewer overdose-related calls during the week of the sweep than during the final week of March, and 82 fewer than it received between March 20-26.
The update also says police have recorded no stabbings or serious assaults in the encampment area since April 5, and there are indications that street-level assaults are declining….