Ward 5 Councillor Marc Grant agrees with town staff that the trouble caused by youth in Ward 5, and the rest of Oakville is a problem that needs a solution.
[Editor: Feedback from the public has been divided on this issue. Be sure to read the comments in our recent article titled Vandalism and rowdy behavior across Oakville]
“We were all kids once, and you know what happens when you’re bored,” Grant said.
“All I can speak from is my experiences. We have a number of homes near schoolyards and parks. These parks become the kinds of places where kids like to congregate and have their bush parties,” Grant said.
“And when they have a bush party, they go running down the street screaming and smashing things.”
“My take is that there is a large amount of youth in Oakville are finding less to do, so they amuse themselves in other ways,” he said.
They have been finding things to do – which Grant mentioned would be stealing garden gnomes or tossing a birdhouse through a car window.
Wide spread problem?
According to Halton Regional Police Services, the number of mischief calls in 2009 were down verus 2008 and versus 2007.
In a recent Poll conducted by Oakville.com we asked respondents “Have vandalism/rowdiness in your neighbourhood?”. More than 80% of the responses were “NO”. View the Poll results
Solution?
Town staff has recommended a strategy to reduce the rowdy behavior seen across Oakville, which includes the hiring of a Community Development Officer, security lights, and cameras in places that are considered hot spots for this behavior.
The plan will cost the town upwards of $170,000, and won’t be up for discussion until November – according to Grant.
“I really feel we need to get everything in place sooner rather than later because were running out of things for kids to do in Oakville. We need to work on making it better,” he said.
“Our parks and recreation department has been working very hard to make sure we have the facilities for youth to be active in. Hopefully we can attract new businesses so we can get more entertaining venues to work out their energy in Oakville.“
What Oakville youth are saying
Alex Hollinsworth, a 19 year old who has lived in Oakville for the past five years is aware of the trouble that the youth have been causing in her town.
She feels there really is nothing for youth to do in Oakville, and there is nothing catering to their interests such as music venues or shops to spend time in.
“It’s not just Oakville,” Hollinsworth said.
“The kids in Oakville are really frustrated because it’s labeled as an older, wealthier town. Everybody thinks we’re rich. Everybody thinks we get everything that we want, but I don’t even know many kids that are more than well off,” she said.
Geoff Burke a 19 year old who has been living in Oakville for the last year agrees that the youth are causing trouble because of the lack age appropriate entertainment.
“Kids around here, they get drunk,” Burke said.
“It would definitely be because there is nothing to do in Oakville, unless you have money. Kids are easily entertained by that stuff.”
“Make things more accessible,” he said. “The transit system is really bad. It’s a pain to get up and down town, which is where the there is stuff to do.”
Any time soon?
Residents are going to have to live with the situation for now, as the strategy presented by staff will not be implemented this summer.
“Right now at the start of summer it seems to be bad,” Councillor Marc Grant said. “I wouldn’t say its worse or better, it’s just active again. Maybe it has something to do with the heat.”
What’s your opinion? Please Comment below and vote in our Latest Poll at http://www.oakville.com
Tags: marc grant, rowdy behavior, vandalism
About the author: Michael Burton
Michael is journalist with experience in publishing, news writing and the magazine industry. He graduated from Sheridan College and is the former editor of TRAVIS magazine.
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I think that stepping up things like lighting and security will help manage the bad but I feel that it would make a bigger difference if we put some creative thinking and money into how to entertain these kids.
We can’t just shine a light on them and record them, what kind of message does that send out. Not only that but once you setup light and cameras they will move on to were there are no lights and cameras. I don’t have the answers but I am sure that we can do more. The town should set up a community group of like minded and creative people to work on the solution, not just throw up a fence.
Although the lighting and security aspects of the report seem to be getting the most press, the main initiative behind the Vandalism and Rowdiness report was to create a position for a community coordinator.
Part of the idea of hiring a community coordinator is to pull resources from local schools, community groups, churches and the police to find those creative solutions to engage the majority of respectful youth and curb the behaviour of the minority.
Every neighbourhood that is affected by rowdiness and vandalism feels it in different ways. Rather than have a blanket solution of lights, cameras and closing walkways, we want to tailor the situation to the particular neighbourhood and ensure that there’s also activities and resources for all kids to find better outlets for their energy.
Consider this: the balance of Council agreed to spend $50,000 to close one skate park — which Town Staff had originally identified as needed in its community and would have kept youth engaged — in a single location based on a handful of complaints whereas the $77,000 for a community coordinator could have prevented the reasons for that closure and would continue to help with proactive and preventative measurements across the Town.
That’s why I continue to call the Rowdiness and Vandalism plan an investment.
I work with and listen to too many great young people to disrespect them or make them feel as if they are a problem/afterthought in Oakville. But I also have to acknowledge that there’s a few bad apples who are causing trouble in our communities, making life difficult for our neighbours.
We don’t want a police state and, as we go forward, I’m looking towards a balanced approach where we can engage the many and discourage the few.
I think a HUGE problem within Oakville is the lack of stuff to do for the youth especially in the South & middle areas of Oakville. When I was younger Oakville had theatres, restaurants, great little coffee shops, etc. Then when Oakville started developing at rapid speed in the North end everything in the mid and below the QEW started to close down. I know new things have opened in the north, but a HUGE area of Oakville has been forgotten about. Where is the money to improve the sense of community south of the QEW and in the middle. Where are the theatres for youth, families, etc. to go to? Why has Oakville spent so much time, money and man power in developing North Oakville, but forgetting there are services, people and whole communities being forgotten about. Unfortunately, when you are young and bored and in a group mentality acting out and creating chaos seems like a fun solution, it isn’t right by any means and is actually very unfortunate. On the other hand perhaps if more money was used to create supervised youth centers and programs that the youth would want to go to and participate in these things would not happen. Stop developing and start reinvesting. My husband and I have moved out of Oakville recently and into Burlington and although we do not have any kids I feel Burlington is a better community for when we do, because they have developed programs, there are places for kids and youth to go and there is a lot more family oriented facilities and activities as well. I do think Burlington could also stand to invest in a few supervised youth centers, but at least for now there are other options.
Totally agree. There is not much going on in the southeast and middle parts. Nothing around whatsoever. So most of the kids especially starting in grade 9 think ‘drinking parties’ are the thing to do on the weekends and at times during the week if parents are not home. I noticed in Glen Abbey area when we had little league games, that there are always alot of youth playing pick up basketball till dark which is great to see. Dont know the solution except maybe parents encourage kids to volunteer when they are not able to get jobs and encourage some kind of ‘hobby’ that keeps them busy so when they do have downtime, they just want to chill because it is a novelty not because of boredom.
I live in Ward 5 and Marc Grant is our councillor. I respect Marc and appreciate his attitude, commitment and efforts to work toward solutions to this problem – which is not only in our Ward but throughout Oakville.
Marc Grant and Jeff Knoll were invited to speak at, and participate in, a special meeting of our School Council and local community back in January 2010 to address this very issue. Both councillors came very prepared to have a good discussion. It was obvious that they actually gave it lots of time and thought and presented some very creative ideas/solutions. Marc presented his proposal that he would take to Town Hall later in the year. We had a very good dialogue at our town hall-like meeting. It was also good to see that the local and regional councillors working together to find solutions to the problem.
I appreciate that Marc is always accessible to his community and is very good at inviting input/feedback/communication. He truly loves this town and wants to work towards making it a better place for us all to live in. In working toward solutions and opportunites for the youth of our community, his goal isn’t only to appease the complaints of the neighbours (tax payers) affected by vandalism or rowdiness – he really wants to engage the youth of our community and give them places and opportunities to have fun in a productive and healthy way. Solutions don’t come overight and this is not a quick fix but Marc is actively working on this. My neighbours and I want to see change and we know that WE have to be part of it – not just expect our local government to do all the work!
I eagerly give Marc my support and vote in the upcoming election. He is someone who has worked hard an earned my respect during the years that I have lived in Ward 5. (I am not part of Marc Grant’s campaign, just an Oakvillian who loves her town and wants to be part of the effort to make it a better place to live and is eager to support those elected officials who have demonstrated that they do too!)
Agree 100% about vandalism etc. happening at night. I live across from a high school and the parking lot and surrounding areas are used by young people (some incredibly young) for passing the time. They are very loud, destructive and at times there are fights that are so loud they wake me up with some kid screaming. I have called the police numberous times but have yet to see anyone show up.
Some of these kids look to be not much more than about 15 years old, and it is often the middle of the night when I see them. Doesn’t anyone wonder where their child is at that time.
With the exception of this noise, which does affect my sleeping, Oakville appears to be well run and is an attractive place to live. However, I leave every day for work elsewhere and were I to be here all the time I would have to say that there is not a lot to do. There are many parks, trails, greenspaces etc. which are lovely but sometimes these are part of the problem. Young people need destinations. Organized sports are often too expensive for families so there need to be alternatives.
There is very little spontaneous shopping here except for the main street downtown and that is also very expensive. Personnaly I believe that small towns and suburbs are not the ideal place to raise children unless you have plenty of money. It can get boring and that leads to trouble. Young people need to be where there is a lot of activity, bookstores, small coffee shops (not Tim Hortons in a parking lot)public skating etc.
I remember when I did some work in a provincial prison for a while and noticed that many of those in there were from small towns. They often used to say that if I did only one thing for my children, it is that I should not have them grow up in a small town. It only leads to boredom then trouble (drinking, drugs, vandalism). Interesting also that those with drug convictions used to go more to the small towns to unload their product because they knew it provided some kind of excitement for some of the young people. Sad.
I realize we can’t rebuild Oakville but think more emphasis needs to be placed on making more variety available, not just expensive sport complexes and parks. One more thought is that kids need to get out of the cars and have places to walk to. Where I live they race up and down all night with their tires squealing.
PS. Can’t say that I was impressed that the skateboard park which was not popular in its location, was up and moved right near where I live. I now have the high school and the skateboard park. Both areas where the young gather late at night.