Park rangers will patrol Vancouver park after complaints of needles

The city and park board are placing two park rangers in Vancouver's Andy Livingstone Park after neighbours complained of frequently finding needles and drug paraphernalia.

The park is next door to the new Crosstown Elementary School and close to the Downtown Eastside. Some nearby residents say the area is frequently strewn with needles and other trash, making it dangerous for children.

Andy Livingstone Park is a very active park, according to Howard Normann, director of park operations.

"We have a bit of an issue with discarded needles in the park. There's a big homelessness issue as well and with the fentanyl crisis that's happening right now, we are challenged with keeping our patrons and visitors safe. So we've had to up our resources and spend more money, making sure Andy is clean and safe to attend."

Normann said the park will remain open to all. The rangers will be on hand to help keep the park clean and can call for assistance if needed.

The two park rangers will be on duty from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m., seven days a week.

'Everyone's butting heads'

Walter Hausch has been a city park attendant, spending part of his time supervising Andy Livingstone Park, for 17 years. 

Hausch says that some months, he picks up more than 600 needles — nearly 900 was his record — but the biggest change isn't the number of needles in the park, but the growing neighbourhood that surrounds it. 

"When I started here, there were no buildings. There was a lot of heroin down here, and it was a pretty rough park. Year over year, the buildings have gone up, and what I'll call regular taxpayers are coming in and using the park," he said.

"Now with the school coming in, it's been nice, but with it brings its own challenges, because everyone's butting heads."

While members of the Crosstown Residents Association applauded the move, they said it's not a cure by itself.

"It's a positive of course ... but the rangers don't have a lot of authority. We've seen situations where people are still shooting up in the middle of the day, and all the rangers can ask them to do is go somewhere else," said Lorena Chatwell. 

"Most of the drug activity happens at the park at night time, so what it means is in the morning they're going to do a big cleanup, but as parents we're concerned about the level of contamination left for kids." 

"It's good that they are addressing it, but it's unfortunate that it's reactive and not proactive," said Tricia Dong, who took the photos of Andy Livingstone that brought the issue wider attention. 

Hausch says the issue is not particularly new. 

"It just has more eyes, and more different groups trying to use this area. The users were already here a long time ago," he said.

"Other people are trying to use this space, and you can run into clashes there. I don't think it's any worse than before. We were always picking up lots and lots of needles. Now it's more vocal."