City to address Burrow Coffee LRT safety concerns

The owner of Burrow Coffee in the Central Station LRT is optimistic the city will address his safety concerns after meeting with officials behind closed doors Thursday.

Nate Box said he will have to close the coffee kiosk, which opened to great fanfare nine months ago, if the city didn't address safety issues faced by his staff and customers.

He said the city has committed to making a number of changes. He will meet with city officials in a week and again in30 days.

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"We need to have actionables, and Burrow is holding the city accountable for that," Boxsaid. "When or if this doesn't get resolved, I have no choice but to give up on this project."

Box said his staff have to deal with aggressive panhandling, threats, altercations, and vandalism. He said transit peace officers aren't always available to respond.

Dave McReynolds, acting general branch manager for Edmonton Transit, said the city plans to take action.

"[Box] had some valid concerns that we need to work on. There were some missteps, I admit, that we're going to work on and correct."

McReynolds said the city will step up patrols in Central Station. In the long term, transit may ask for more peace officers.

The city will move the busking area to another part of the concourse. Box said busking sometimes turns into aggressive panhandling. Burrow will also keep a logbook of all the incidents staff encounter each day.

The challenges were revealed quite vividly when the media was interviewing Chuck Van Deel Piepers, the acting director of safety and security for Edmonton Transit, in Central Station.

An intoxicated homeless man came up behind Van Deel Piepers, put his arm around him and asked for change. Box watched the encounter while standing nearby.

"It couldn't have happened at a better moment," Box told reporters moments later.

"Because it's a time where people who make decisions are actually on the ground and actually faced with some of the realities that my team faces on a routine day."

Box said Mayor Don Iveson is quite concerned with the situation at Burrow and arranged the meeting with city staff.