Diane Petryna says crime on the city’s south side is out of control, and that she’s tired of washing puke, blood and other bodily fluids off the side of her store.
Petryna, owner of Take a Hike, had kept her store on Victoria Avenue for 14 years. But the amount of crime she’s faced in those years has placed a toll on her and she said she has had enough. The south-side business owner has already announced she plans to move into the Bay and Algoma Street area, but kept the reasons for the move to herself.
Until now.
"The last two years have been devastating to my business here," Petryna said. "We have seen a huge change to this neighbourhood. Running a business shouldn’t have to mean that you come to work to crime scenes."
Petryna said there are a lot of good reasons to stay in the city’s south downtown core. Structurally the buildings in the south are better for her business than what she’s moving into, she said. But a retailer needs safety and parking to run a business, which is something the south core doesn’t have.
"You shouldn’t have to come to work to hose the blood off the side of your store from stabbings from the night before," she said. "We watch during the day time, hundreds of drug deals going down. It is just not the way a vibrant downtown works."
Petryna said she will be moving by the end of the month.
Coun.-elect for the McIntyre Ward Paul Pugh said he first approached Petryna during his campaigning in July and was surprised to learn how frequent the crime problem had become.
Pugh said he believes needs to be more initiatives to help the area including an increase police presence in the area and dealing with the social issues.
"I was sadly impressed by her story," Pugh said. "There is no one quick solution. I think on the immediate level there needs to be more community policing. But that isn’t a cure all. We need to prevent the problem instead of trying to deal with it as a criminal problem."
With Petryna’s departure from the south core, Pugh said there wasn’t a lot to stop other business following Petryna’s example.
"We have to make that area of town more inviting and welcoming," he said.
Petryna, owner of Take a Hike, had kept her store on Victoria Avenue for 14 years. But the amount of crime she’s faced in those years has placed a toll on her and she said she has had enough. The south-side business owner has already announced she plans to move into the Bay and Algoma Street area, but kept the reasons for the move to herself.
Until now.
"The last two years have been devastating to my business here," Petryna said. "We have seen a huge change to this neighbourhood. Running a business shouldn’t have to mean that you come to work to crime scenes."
Petryna said there are a lot of good reasons to stay in the city’s south downtown core. Structurally the buildings in the south are better for her business than what she’s moving into, she said. But a retailer needs safety and parking to run a business, which is something the south core doesn’t have.
"You shouldn’t have to come to work to hose the blood off the side of your store from stabbings from the night before," she said. "We watch during the day time, hundreds of drug deals going down. It is just not the way a vibrant downtown works."
Petryna said she will be moving by the end of the month.
Coun.-elect for the McIntyre Ward Paul Pugh said he first approached Petryna during his campaigning in July and was surprised to learn how frequent the crime problem had become.
Pugh said he believes needs to be more initiatives to help the area including an increase police presence in the area and dealing with the social issues.
"I was sadly impressed by her story," Pugh said. "There is no one quick solution. I think on the immediate level there needs to be more community policing. But that isn’t a cure all. We need to prevent the problem instead of trying to deal with it as a criminal problem."
With Petryna’s departure from the south core, Pugh said there wasn’t a lot to stop other business following Petryna’s example.
"We have to make that area of town more inviting and welcoming," he said.
