Business owners in Victoria乌鸦传媒檚 core are sick of waiting for 乌鸦传媒減erfect乌鸦传媒� solutions, and the organization that represents them is demanding action from all levels of government.
The Downtown Victoria Business Association乌鸦传媒檚 2025 Report on Downtown: A Wake Up Call is a comprehensive look at data drawn from the area, including a survey of 1,800 association members 乌鸦传媒� with a record 30 per cent response rate.
In years past, it was an 乌鸦传媒渙paque乌鸦传媒� report full of data simply presented, said executive director Jeff Bray.
乌鸦传媒淭his year 乌鸦传媒� the report really serves as a significant wake-up call to all levels of government that businesses are in a difficult situation and are no longer able to wait for long-term solutions, long-term action,乌鸦传媒� he said.
A standout statistic from the survey shows nearly half of businesses would leave if things don乌鸦传媒檛 change in the next year.
乌鸦传媒淔orty-eight per cent of those that responded said that they either would not renew, or were undecided as to whether or not they would renew, meaning they are not looking to wait three to five years for changes. We need action right now,乌鸦传媒� Bray said. It乌鸦传媒檚 particularly troublesome paired with an 11 per cent retail vacancy rate, compared to 3.4 per cent in 2019. 乌鸦传媒淭hat trend line is very concerning with a number of businesses openly questioning whether they want to stay downtown.乌鸦传媒�
The annual survey routinely asks businesses to give a letter grade to doing business downtown. This year, nearly 54 per cent gave downtown a C+ or lower. Bray noted that in 2019, 5.2 per cent gave a D or F.
乌鸦传媒淭his year it was 22 per cent,乌鸦传媒� he said.
The key concerns remain traffic, perceived safety and parking. When pitted against each other in the survey 乌鸦传媒� members were asked if they had to choose between spending $150,000 on improved safety or parking 乌鸦传媒� they overwhelmingly chose safety (73.87 per cent). For the DVBA, that demonstrates a clear priority to significantly reduce street disorder, including open drug use, camping in doorways and on sidewalks, and repeat criminal activity.
乌鸦传媒淭his is not a new phenomenon, this has been building up for years 乌鸦传媒� We need action now, they cannot afford to wait any longer for studies, task forces, reports,乌鸦传媒� Bray said, calling for action from all three levels of government.
乌鸦传媒淒on乌鸦传媒檛 let perfect get in the way of progress. Just take action, it won乌鸦传媒檛 be perfect, it won乌鸦传媒檛 be seamless, but we can乌鸦传媒檛 wait for the perfect solution, perfect facility, perfect scenario, before government takes action.乌鸦传媒�
For example, he noted the province has previously deemed portables 乌鸦传媒� not unlike those left empty at the Site C building site in northern B.C. 乌鸦传媒� good enough for kids in daycare or school and so shouldn乌鸦传媒檛 be an issue to use to house drug or mental health treatment. The primary issues are mental health and addictions, Bray said, and waiting for a handful of beds here and there isn乌鸦传媒檛 going to cut it.
The DVBA is calling on the province to expand mental health and addictions services and strengthen the justice system; as well as seeking bail reform at the federal level.
乌鸦传媒淭his revolving-door justice system where our businesses see the same person stealing from their store day in day out, is one of the reasons why businesses and their staff are not happy doing business downtown,乌鸦传媒� Bray said.
乌鸦传媒淭he small number of people committing the majority of the crimes, if they were held in custody, you would see an immediate reduction in crime.乌鸦传媒�
From the City of Victoria, they want to see more policing and 24/7 bylaw patrols and enforcement to deal with street disorder.
乌鸦传媒淣othing else will improve until the streetscape looks better,乌鸦传媒� he said, praising VicPD projects such as increased foot patrols that target prolific offenders. 乌鸦传媒淓very time that they乌鸦传媒檙e out doing beats and special projects, the crime rate goes down and the street disorder goes down. So we want to see more police on the street.乌鸦传媒�
乌鸦传媒淕et on with not only saving our downtowns, but saving lives (and) providing the care for people who are struggling on our streets,乌鸦传媒� he said.
It乌鸦传媒檚 a call coming from several cities and communities, Bray said, specifically mentioning high-profile Nanaimo and Vancouver. Save Our Streets, a coalition of 120-plus community and business organizations in B.C., echoed the sentiment after the DVBA released its survey and call for action on Wednesday (June 11). SOS says its members are experiencing the ongoing 乌鸦传媒渃haos of retail theft, vandalism, open drug use, violence and other criminal activity on a daily basis,乌鸦传媒� cofounder Jess Ketchum said in a news release. 乌鸦传媒淰ictoria is not only our capital but an iconic, idyllic symbol of beautiful, safe, friendly British Columbia. We are allowing that global perception to be destroyed.乌鸦传媒�
The costs associated with not moving forward outweigh those of waiting and 乌鸦传媒渄oing it right,乌鸦传媒� Ketchum agrees.
乌鸦传媒淭he cost of continuing as we have, with pilot projects and 乌鸦传媒榠nitial steps乌鸦传媒� instead of real foundational change, will be so much higher, and the damage to communities long-lasting and profound. It乌鸦传媒檚 time our politicians stopped putting criminals first and started focusing more on the B.C. families, taxpayers, business owners, and the vulnerable living with addiction and mental illnesses, who are suffering the impacts of their inaction.乌鸦传媒�
For Victoria, it could be life-saving to the core business area, according to the DVBA.
乌鸦传媒淒owntown has moved to critical care. It乌鸦传媒檚 not dying, but it can乌鸦传媒檛 sustain itself without some significant and immediate action.乌鸦传媒�
