Crime on ‘The Strip’ scaring clients away
For the decade that Isaac Kofi Takyi and his wife have owned a small African grocery and restaurant in Whalley, crime and safety have been issues.
In spite of the bars on Taste of Africa’s storefront and their alarm system, they have experienced four break-ins over the years. Trash, drug activity, fighting and people loitering in the lot next to their business have driven customers away.
“We are not scared — we are not afraid of anything — but for our customers, they say they are scared. In the night they don’t want to come, or if they come, they just pick it up and go right away,” said Takyi.
According to a Downtown Surrey Business Improvement Association survey released Wednesday, Takyi is among many business owners who feel no safer than they did last year.
The survey was based on 192 responses, with 61 per cent of respondents reporting no change in how safe they felt in the area.
Twenty-three per cent felt less safe, a noticeable increase from 2017, while just 15 per cent felt safer.
Business owners reported feeling less safe in the evening and night, particularly in the area of 135A Street.
The businesses ranked their biggest problems, putting trash at the top of the list, followed by discarded needles, loitering, drug dealing and related activities, and illegal dumping.
Almost 89 per cent of businesses reported they had been victimized in some way.
However, less than 33 per cent reported those crimes to police, believing that police were too busy or the crime wasn’t serious enough.
According to the survey, the most commonly reported crime was threats, followed by vandalism or graffiti, retail theft, fraud, theft from auto, break-and-enter and assault.
Business association CEO Elizabeth Model said the survey was conducted as tents that lined both sides of 135A Street, also known as The Strip, were being cleared out and the approximately 170 residents moved to temporary housing.
“I’m not surprised at all that the numbers are more or less the same as last year, but having said that, it will be interesting to see what next year’s 2019 (survey) will look like,” Model said.
Since the temporary modular housing opened on three sites in late June, Model has heard mixed responses about area safety from member businesses.
“Some are very, very pleased with the results. Obviously the people who are on 135A and the immediate surrounding area are ecstatic that the camps have been removed and they’re in housing where they’re getting help,” she said.
“Having said that, some businesses are being impacted even more because they’re directly across or in the area of the shelter, so it’s a balancing act.”
Taste of Africa is one of the businesses that has seen things get worse, because one of the temporary modular unit sites is just across King George Boulevard.
Takyi said people from the shelters gather near his shop starting at about 6 p.m.
“People who come and eat here, when they see that, they don’t want to come. They get scared. That has been a big blow to our business,” he said.
Dan the Man’s Autobody Repair has been in the same location on 106th Avenue, across from 135A Street, for 30 years.
Manager Mike Lowney, whose parents own the business, said the shop is broken into once or twice a year by people who steal equipment and auto parts.
The most recent incident occurred a couple of weeks ago.
Since the tents were taken away, Lowney said, safety has improved in the area, though there are still people loitering in the streets and milling about.
“We were never worried about it because we were used to it, but our customers don’t like it. They don’t feel safe,” he said.