The noise machines under Winnipeg bridges were not ok, but I also want to put this moral question in the larger context of ‘hostile architecture’ in Winnipeg. This kind of thing happens more than just under bridges... my statement below:

Our Public Works Department has been trying to find ways of deterring harassment and intimidation of users of our secluded walking paths which has been a serious and growing problem,

without resorting to other more aggressive responses such as police involvement, constructing barriers, etc. In other areas like the Norwood Bridge, we’ve tried with some success using environmental design methods like clearing away vegetation to create better sightlines.

I learned about the noise maker under the Provencher bridge a few weeks ago, after I happened to hear it passing by and reached out to 311 to ask. I felt very disturbed by it and have been thinking and talking about the larger topic since, and what policy response it deserved.

For starters, they are a bandaid over the real problem: poverty, homelessness, lack of mental health & drug treatment and harm reduction. Also though, under bridges aren’t the only places where this method is used.

The Marlborough Hotel on Smith St has been playing loud music at their entrance, where people have liked to loiter for a long time. Is this practice humane (more or less so) when it’s music vs white noise?

This also touches on the notion of “hostile architecture” which is widely used in both public and private spaces in Winnipeg. We place objects on and around benches, walls, and other surfaces where people might sleep or gather.

Are those practices for pushing a homeless person away from a certain location any more or less humane than the noise machine? I’ve heard the backlash against these noise machines and feel it is justified, but only if it doesn’t stop there.

We have a vast array of tools deployed in our city to make it inconvenient & unpleasant for the homeless and perhaps it’s time to take a look at all of them.