Vandalism, late night noise plague merchants, residents

Like parents of a rebellious teenager, Jasper residents were to meet Thursday night to search for ways to bring order to the rowdiest street in town. 

“This is a community issue,” said Mayor Richard Ireland. “We all want to work together, we all rely on tourism.”

Merchants and residents of the street have been subjected to repeated acts of vandalism, prompting a call for surveillance cameras and late night citizens’ patrols. 

The Alberta government is also planning measures aimed at reducing public drunkenness and rowdy behaviour.

“Every little bit helps,” said Ireland.

Planned for months, the town hall meeting was given a greater sense of urgency by recent letters to the editor that complained of loud partying late at night, and wondered if Jasper has an anti-noise bylaw.

RCMP Cpl. Tony Dolhan said that noisy bar patrons are beyond the reach of the law – unless the bar owner complains to police.

“There isn’t anything we can do unless the bar owner asks a noisy or unruly patron to leave and they refuse; we can act only if the bar manager calls for our assistance,” said Dolhan.

If the noisy behaviour spills on to the street, police could charge the offenders with causing a disturbance in a public place, he said.

Bert Journault, president Jasper Tourism and Commerce, said that “anything that detracts from visitor experience has to be looked into.”

Mayor Ireland said that bar owners have obligations to meet licensing requirements and “without doubt, they should be required to keep peace in the community.”

The Alberta government will introduce new regulations next month to curb binge drinking, a problem Premier Ed Stelmach says is getting worse and threatening community safety.

The new regulations will likely focus on three areas: setting a minimum drink price, shortening the length of happy hours and capping the number of drinks a person can order after 1 a.m.

Solicitor General Fred Lindsay said the aim is to cut down on the drunken, loutish behaviour at some bars.

“We all know that violence has been increasing in and around bars. We’ve been taking a number of steps to control that and this is another step that we think will encourage people to drink responsibly, and hopefully cut down some of the violence and silliness we see in drinking establishments today.”

Lindsay said he hopes the new regulations will be in place by the end of June. A number of other provinces have minimum drink prices, including Manitoba, where bars can’t charge less than $2.25 for a beer or cocktail.