Kingston to close part of Belle Park, begin cleanup at encampment

The City of Kingston plans toblock access to part of Belle Park for an "undetermined period" in order to clean upan encampment near the city's Integrated Care Hub (ICH).

It comes two weeks after aseries of violent attacks in the arealeft two men dead and a woman in hospital with life-threatening injuries. The ICH has beenclosed since the incident and the site hasremainedfenced off.

Residents of the encampment canretrieve their personal belongings until Thursday, according to a media release from the city.

It states the closure will begin Friday and officials will use it to "undertake a cleanup and remediation of the area, which is the site of a rodent infestation and soil contamination that presents significant personal health risks to people in the area."

The K&P Trail next to Belle Park will also be shut down and won't be accessible topedestrians orcyclists.

Overnightban ruled unconstitutional

Officials have made several attempts to clear the encampment andeven soughta court order, which was denied in November.

Justice Ian Carter ruledthe city's ban on overnight shelteringwas unconstitutional. In hisdecision, the judge includedan exception to Kingston'sparksbylaw allowing people who are homeless to erect shelters in parks from one hour before sunset until one hour after sunrise.

When the city tried to enforce a daytime ban on sheltering at Belle Park in April, police, bylaw officers and city work crews were met with protesters who used banners and logs to block them.

On Wednesday,the city cited the same bylaw that was at the centre of the court case, insistingit grantsofficials the authority to close a section of Belle Park and "prohibits all access to and use of the park, including recreational activities and sheltering overnight."

The ICH and supervised consumption site it houses will remain closed while the organizations that run them "finalize plans to provide safety for all when they reopen," according to the release.

It adds those groups have asked the city to keep the fence up and provide security in the meantime.

'A catastrophic event in our community'

A local community volunteer and advocate for those living in the park, Pamela Gray, told CBC's All In ADay that the encampment closure has displaced 45 to 50 people, and the ICH closure has affected many more.

The city said it's offering encampment residents off-site storage for their belongings, and will continue to try toconnect people with indoor shelter and daytime services.

It notes Kingston's emergency shelter system "continues to have capacity," but officials recognize people may continue to shelter in other areas of Belle Parkor other city parks.

Gray said the city had a "fair and well thought-out" process for alerting people about the closure due to the contamination and infestation, but there was no such plan when the park first closed.

"Peoplewere basically just dispersed into the community with nowhere to go," Gray said. "No tents, no sleeping bags, nothing. They were just sleeping on the ground at different places."

Gray said 531 people in Kingston currently have no home, but the closure of ICH, which can house about 70, left just 182 shelter spaces.

"This was a catastrophic event in our community," she said."People are dropping everywhere."

Mayor Bryan Paterson told All In ADayhe wants to permanently close the encampment and ICH to make wayfor "safer" means of delivering shelter social services.

9:00Kingston closing part of Belle Park for encampment cleanup

The city plans to block access to part of Belle Park where people are sheltering near its Integrated Care Hub. We speak with a community volunteer who's concerned about the impact that will have.