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SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
Some customers are chased away from downtown Yellowknife by crowds of the city's drunk and downtrodden while others who do shop downtown are stuck circling blocks in search of an available parking spot.

Jonah Cutler, an employee at the Yellowknife Book Cellar, stands in front of the store's limited parking spaces. The high-demand spots are frequently taken by patrons to neighbouring businesses, depriving the book shop of spaces for its customers. - Lyndsay Herman/NNSL photo Grants for downtown building improvements Centre Square Mall ($5,000): Exterior painting and updating, refurbished awnings, and new signage. Coast Fraser Tower ($5,000): New cladding, painted columns and new balcony picket railings Quilted Raven ($6,000): Exterior improvements and construction to match the adjacent Adam Dental Clinic Roman Empire Building ($12,500): Extensive exterior renovations, including local stone masonry work as a Northern signature piece Yellowknife Association for Community Living ($5,500): Automated front door Williams Engineering ($1,000): Adding a bench and two planters Yellowknife Motors ($5,000): New paint and signage Source: City of Yellowknife

The frustrating situation has many Yellowknife businesses and shoppers throwing up white flags and flocking uptown in search of fewer hassles.

"We had a Harley shop (in Centre Square Mall) and nobody would park their bikes downtown because they would go in and shop for a bit and they'd come out and people would be sitting on their bikes, that kind of thing," said Chris Brown, floor manager of what was Harley's Trails End Boutique. "It's a lack of respect."

The boutique is one of the most recent shops to leave Centre Square Mall in favour of space in Kam Lake, where the boutique's parent company, Trails End Harley-Davidson, the most-Northern dealership, is located in a building with Polar Tech Recreation. The downtown shop closed in July and Brown says they haven't looked back since.

"Our customers wouldn't shop (at the downtown location)," said Brown. "It's less walk-in traffic (in Kam Lake) but our customers are coming out here now whereas they wouldn't before."

Rosanna Strong, the owner of Strong Interpretation, said she believes a vibrant city will be the result of a balanced combination of residents and businesses located downtown, as well as restaurants and other entertainment-based facilities that would be open after offices shut down at 5 p.m.

"The key is to create a dynamic downtown, to create a place for business and for people to live down here," she said. "People need a reason to be downtown, whether it's to live, to work, to socialize or recreate."

Strong said she has noticed the city's streetscaping and beautification projects making a difference but would like to see more green space to create a "more welcoming" downtown atmosphere.

Linda Graydon, a Yellowknife resident, said additions such as murals and other forms of public art would help to connect people with the city and each other.

Customer parking is on the wish-list of many downtown businesses and it's currently the subject of numerous initiatives before the City of Yellowknife's SmartGrowth Implementation Committee.

Jo-Ann Cooper, owner of Borealis Kennels and Pet Specialities, runs a kennel in Kam Lake and a pet store downtown. She said many customers say they would shop at the downtown store more often if only they could find somewhere to park.

"I have nothing against having the offices downtown but everybody who is in those office buildings are the ones who are at those parking meters," she said. "When you have your customer or you have your tourist that's in town, where are they supposed to park?"

A city-administered parking survey closes this month and will inform the SmartGrowth Implementation Committee on what aspects of parking are an issue for Yellowknifers and what solutions would be the most effective.

The survey explores the feasibility of such solutions as a 'park and ride' initiative and ways to promote carpooling. Mayor Gord Van Tighem said a recently-completed telephone survey identified parking space convenience, a spot within 50 metres of the driver's destination, as a top priority for Yellowknifers.

To the dismay of many downtown retailers, the parallel sidewalks in front of Centre Square Mall and the Canada Post office are frequently crowded with loiterers who are drunk, high, and suffering from untreated mental illness.

"All of those conditions combine to manifest themselves in the behaviours we see downtown, including the loitering, the intoxication in public, the (urinating and defecating) in the streets and that sort of thing," said RCMP Sgt. Brad Kaeding.

Samantha Dale, an employee in Centre Square Mall, said she doesn't feel safe when she's locking up at night and has heard mall customers say they find using the mall's front entrance intimidating.

While shop owners frequently report issues to the police, approximately 10 to 20 times per day, few are willing to testify in court, said Kaeding. As a result, many of the charges will not result in court-ordered treatment or counselling for those arrested.

The draw to downtown, he said, is the proximity of a liquor store, bars, food and the public, which create opportunities for panhandling or theft.

"We are fully of the understanding that arresting someone and throwing them in jail for eight hours does not solve anybody's problems," said Kaeding. "All it does is allow people to think that something is being done but in reality ... with their addiction issues, with their homelessness issues, their education issues, mental health issues, none of those things are being addressed."

Kaeding said the only options at the disposal of the RCMP are putting people jail or charging them.

Ray Gentile, a Yellowknifer who lives a few blocks off of Franklin Avenue, said he thinks facilities such as the Yellowknife Day Shelter are on the right track, but hopes the city or other levels of government will bring in more education, employment and addictions counselling programs to help with the problem.

In the meantime, some shop owners suggest a loitering bylaw to make the downtown area a less desirable place for loiterers and the homeless.

The issues of downtown parking, loitering and transforming the area into a people-friendly place are expected to be discussed by candidates seeking municipal office in the Oct. 15 election.

In an attempt to boost the visual and atmospheric appeal of downtown, the Facade and Site Improvement grant helps businesses pay for external renovations and repairs that meet requirements laid out by the committee. The grants for these downtown businesses, among others, were approved at the SmartGrowth Implementation Committee's meeting in April.

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