Police foot patrols are the way to curb vandalism and rowdy behaviour on Patricia Street, says Jasper Tourism and Commerce president Bert Journault.

“They’ve certainly had an effect on Whyte Avenue,” Journault said, referring to the south Edmonton thoroughfare that has become notorious for alcohol-fueled mayhem.

“If you’re a young person coming out of the bar and you see three cops, you sober up fast.”

A stronger police presence was among the remedies proposed for Patricia Street at a public meeting last month. Town Council has scheduled another public meeting for June 17 at the Activity Centre.

Mayor Richard Ireland said after the first meeting that the town’s problems don’t warrant the extra police attention and spending by the Alberta government.

Because the town’s population is less than 5,000, the provincial government picks up the entire tab for policing. It costs $110,000 per officer, or about $1 million a year, for Jasper’s nine-member detachment, according to Sgt. Dave Maludzinski, the commanding officer. 

“We have issues here, but they are looking at communities with gangs and drive-by shootings,” Ireland said.

Journault thinks the town should pay the extra cost of putting police boots on Patricia Street, noting that council has approved spending $250,000 this year on surveillance cameras in the hope of discouraging vandalism. Cameras were also tried on Whyte Avenue and abandoned after they were deemed ineffective.

The City of Edmonton recently revoked the business licence of a notorious bar after repeated breaches of provincial liquor laws and complaints from nearby residents about criminal behaviour and public drunkenness.

Verne Balding, Jasper’s director of corporate and legislative services, said the town’s solicitors have been asked to examine that decision and also for a legal opinion on the powers of the town’s chief licence inspector. 

The Alberta government is to introduce new regulations this month intended to reduce binge drinking, which Premier Ed Stelmach says is getting worse and threatening community safety. The regulations are expected to focus on minimum drink prices, the length of happy hours, and the number of drinks that can be served after 1 a.m.