BRZ focused on downtown safety during the holidays

By Toyin Obatusin - Lethbridge Herald Local Journalism Initiative Reporter on December 17, 2024.

This Christmas holiday being safe while shopping downtown is the main focus of the Downtown Business Revitalization Zone as it supports small business entrepreneurs.
The BRZ supports downtown Lethbridge with events in the area throughout the year.
Currently, the BRZ is running their winter campaign called “Snow Much Love,” partnering with Economic Development Lethbridge, Lethbridge Chamber of Commerce and Tourism Lethbridge.
Executive Director Sarah Amies says people can simply explore local shops, attractions and food stops to win $500 by scanning the QR code on Snow Much Love posters at participating businesses. People can submit one entry per week until Dec. 31 with winners announced in January 2025.
The BRZ is highlighting a safety program called Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design, whose goal is to create and implement strategies to prevent, rather than detect, crime.
CPTED grants provide funding for permanent property improvements that enhance security and crime prevention measures. The program provides 50 per cent of matching funds up to a maximum of $5,000 per successful applicant. There is an open intake until such time as the program is fully subscribed or it’s closed at the direction of city council.
Projects have to be on private property located downtown, in the warehouse district or on 13 St. N. with front-facing properties between 1 Ave. N. and 9 Ave. N.
Applicants need to have an ownership interest in eligible properties and/or be a commercial tenant with a current City business licence. And applicants/properties can’t be in arrears on municipal taxes, utilities or any other municipal charge.
“We do suffer from a perception issue” with a number of people saying that the downtown area is too dangerous because of social disorder, Amies said.
A Business Improvement Loan program aids downtown businesses to make purchases for landscaping and materials that will enhance the shopping experience, including exterior lighting for greater visibility around the buildings.
The BIL program is a partnership between the BRZ, Community Futures and the Heart of Our City Committee.
“We also support our businesses by constantly coming up with new initiatives to encourage folks to come into downtown and participate in the local economy”.
Downtown Lethbridge is big on advocating for businesses and shoppers.
“Small businesses are typically run by one or two people, family members, and it’s paramount for them to create the time to form relationships with their customers, and in a small business environment, it is way easier to do that,” says Amies.
The BRZ serves more than 600 businesses, and maintains partnerships with the City of Lethbridge, cultural venues, service groups, and other non-profit agencies.
Amies also sits on the board of the Downtown Lawlessness Reduction Task Force, as co-chair. That task force, which operated as a subcommittee under the Safety and Social Standing Policy Committee of city council is being disbanded and re-invented as an administrative committee.
“It gives us more ability to pivot, to address issues as they emerge, and to have less lag time between those emerging issues and to actions,” said Amies.
Working with the City’s Community Social Development department and in tandem with the new iteration of the DLRT with a community safety co-ordinator who is being hired on a two-year term.
Amies says it’s important for the BRZ and downtown businesses to maintain open communication with the City.
“As I walked up 3rd Avenue and came down 6th Street, I was struck with how pretty Festival Square is right now. The green and red lights, the Christmas tree, the Festival Square lights in the foreground” reminisced Amies, when asked for advice on what to look forward to this holiday season from Downtown Lethbridge.
The BRZ encourages residents to continue engaging with them and to enjoy all that downtown Lethbridge has to offer.

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