Peterborough Transit station security upgrades approved
Peterborough Police may soon open a small station in an unused commercial space in the downtown bus terminal as part of a larger effort to increase security.
City councillors approved the plan Monday night as part of a series of new safety upgrades for the main bus terminal and adjoining Simcoe Street parking garage.
A new city staff report states that the new safety upgrades are needed due to a recent rash of reported crimes.
Over the last year, states the report, there have been two reports of sexual assaults in the stairwells at the adjoining Simcoe Street parking garage, which
have no security cameras.
The garage has also had 25 car break-ins between April and June, and Peterborough Police are called to the area about 13 times a month.
Now councillors have approved a plan to renovate the former restaurant in the bus terminal so it can serve as a minipolice station.
The former restaurant space has sat empty since the terminal was renovated in 2016; no tenants have come forward.
For the empty restaurant space to serve as a police office, it will need renovations such as accessible washrooms for staff, frosted windows, security updates and a phone connection to police dispatch. All of this is expected to cost $50,000.
There are also other security upgrades planned for the parking garage: a second full-time security guard, for instance, at a cost for a year of $62,000, as well as security cameras in the stairwells for $42,000, panic alarms on all parking levels for $12,000 and new LED lighting, from a $150,000 fund the city already has.
The preliminary approval came with no discussion from councillors Monday night. The plan needs a final vote at a city council meeting Oct. 1.
NOTE: See more city council meeting coverage at www.thepeterboroughexaminer.com.