Riders petition for more security at SkyTrain stations
Source: CBC News
Posted: 05/19/08 10:12PM
Filed Under: Canada
Hundreds of SkyTrain riders signed a petition on Monday calling on TransLink to increase patrols, beef up security cameras and improve lighting at stations.
The petition, circulated at the Nanaimo station in East Vancouver, aims to pressure the Metro Vancouver transit authority to better ensure the safety of its users, Vancouver-Kingsway MLA Adrian Dix said.
"We want people to take [the] SkyTrain. We want people to take public transit, especially in a time when we're dealing with significant environmental issues," Dix said.
"When you ask people to take transit, you have an obligation to do everything you can to make sure they're safe."
Sheshleen Datt, 18, was beaten, threatened with a knife and robbed by six other girls inside the Nanaimo station at around 9 p.m. on April 29.
Videotape that might have helped police lay charges against the assailants was lost. The security cameras use VHS tape that records over itself every two hours, and that's how the evidence was lost, TransLink said.
Datt said on Monday she wants to take the SkyTrain but still worries about her safety.
"People rely on transit for everyday life. We all need to feel safe," Datt said.
TransLink introduced a program last May to encourage passengers to carry pink whistles that were handed out free so that they can alert security in case their safety is threatened.
But Dix said the program is "hardly enough to deal with the situation the people on SkyTrain are facing."
"I just hope that we got enough signatures on this petition to have security all the time," Datt said.
Sheshleen Datt, 18, says she still takes the SkyTrain but wants to feel safe after being beaten and robbed inside the Nanaimo station in East Vancouver on April 29.(CBC)
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