I like the rain

Yesterday, it rained a wee bit, and I remembered why I like rain here. It washes away the pee off the downtown streets, replacing the air with that clean smell from all our plants, flowers and trees that make the city pretty. The plants get a snack and get green again, that's nice. Most of all, though, is how it makes all the beggars scramble and disappear. The streets look normal. Nobody lying around in garbage hanging around every store entrance harassing people. The streets are normal, the way it used to be. Davie Street used to be a pleasure, and somehow city hall and the VPD have ignored the conditions of the streets. They put up all these cafe spaces and built a park on a side street and the neighbourhood is like Hastings, with crazy homeless everywhere. I think the city is doing this on purpose to drive out the residents as a favor to landlords do they can raise rents as everyone flees. You sure don't see that mess in the richer neighborhoods like Yaletown, Coal Harbour or Alberni Street; they'd never allow it. But when it rains, all that mess vanishes, and it feels like a nice place again. I miss the sun, but the rain sure offers a tempting trade-off.

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Your post starts off OK

Jun 24, 2019 at 9:12am

mentioning the rain (I love it too) but then quickly devolves into an ignorant rant (beggars?? really?)
I agree that Davie St. has taken a horrible downward turn but all neighbourhoods are being affected.

Such compassion!

Jun 24, 2019 at 2:53pm

Just be glad it isn't you begging on the streets, twatwaffle.

Twatwaffle?!?

Jun 24, 2019 at 4:07pm

Ha, ha, ha.....

I dislike tourists

Jun 24, 2019 at 6:38pm

too bad that’s not as easily solved by rain too. You kinda sound like a tourist yourself as you’ve only mentioned Downtown so I assume you don’t venture far from your glass towers, I mean hotel or vacation home here in Vancouver. Hopefully nature will find away to coax all these tourists and former Torontoians to finally return home. I’d try compassion but as you haven’t used, why should I? I suggest you venture towards Main & Carrall on a nice sunny day like today then return on a rainy day if you’re still here. I wonder what you’ll find?

Johnson titor

Jun 26, 2019 at 5:46pm

I concur with the original poster, the amount of beggars is significantly reduced when the rains come.

@I dislike

Jun 28, 2019 at 5:26am

I'd find needles and squalor. Hard pass.

This resident (not "tourist") likes clean and beautiful. We need more of that. Not every resident finds charm in the crappy parts of town. That's why God made architects, civic planners and landscapers, and I'll stick to the nice parts, thank you.

12 9Rating: +3

Main & Carrall

Jun 28, 2019 at 7:23am

... do not intersect.

Thank you VPD

Jun 28, 2019 at 1:16pm

Comments like “the VPD aren’t doing anything about it” when it comes to the homeless/panhandler issues in Vancouver make my blood boil. The fuck do you want the police to do about it? Ship them away? Shoot them? They are still human beings. And unfortunately more times than not, homelessness and mental health issues go hand in hand.

I am a police call taker. The police are asked to remove unwanted people from buildings, sidewalks, in front of business entrances almost constantly. And they go. It’s an unfortunate but necessary use of police resources. And they tell the person to move along. But guess what? They just move to a different sidewalk or return the next day.

You have no idea how much the police are doing to protect you daily. You realize you live in a major city right? Believe me, barely anything hits the news.

Please shut up.

@Thank you VPD

Jun 29, 2019 at 7:56am

There is a bylaw on the books stating you cannot harass people for money i.e. begging, panhandling within several meters from a bus stop, and aggressive panhandling is illegal. Stealing is illegal, and supposed to be a punishable offense. These sponges on society do all of the above and it's getting worse because they see there are no consequences for their behavior.
You're a call taker, not an actual officer on the beat, so you know dick squat about the law. Your job is to forward complaints to actual law enforcement officers, not interpret the law.
I expect these officers who get paid courtesy of the tax dollars that come from my hard work every day to use the tools before them to clean up our streets. I know their job is hard and they get disrespected a lot, but they should do the job we citizens...and business owners...expect.
So, yes, I expect them to be just as "efficient " in all neighborhoods as they are in more polished parts of town, and so should you. That is reasonable and because the difference in enforcement is so glaringly obvious, it shouldn't be excused. The problem was handled in the year leading up to the Olympics and in the years after, so we know it's possible.
Those "human beings" lost the right of compassion when they chose to impose entitlement to behave badly as a right. They chose drugs, they chose not to use existing resources to get back on track, they chose to steal. I know from experience and close interaction. Some want to get out and they do, but many others are happy to float and we make it too easy. Who pays? We do. Our quality of life suffers. Our merchants have to raise prices to cover theft loss and to hire extra security. Our streets get filthy, and littered with drug paraphernalia.
So f*ck off, I will not shut up because I'm right, and my expectations are waaaaaaay reasonable. These people lying around high expecting us to fund their habit need to go, and I expect my tax dollars to facilitate safer and cleaner streets in the process.

I just find

Jun 29, 2019 at 9:17am

The rain rehydrates the dehydrated pee in the streets...unless it rains for days

10 9Rating: +1

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