‘We’re seeing visible change here’: Efforts to bring order to Savanna Bazaar appear to be working

October 10, 2024 Canuck

It appears measures to curb unruly behaviour at a Saddle Ridge strip mall are working.

That’s according to some business owners at the Savanna Bazaar plaza, which has been a trouble spot for the past year.

“I’ve noticed things quiet down. We don’t have people ripping through the parking lot,” said Judd Couillard, registry owner.

A group of around 30 residents attended a safety meeting with Calgary police Thursday evening.

It followed another meeting last month that saw around 100 people come out to express concerns about drivers of muscle cars racing and stunting through the parking lot.

Police have been called for drinking and fighting and have made arrests for assaults and impaired driving.

Since then, police have stepped up their patrols and plaza management has installed large speed bumps and barricades.

The city councillor for the area and the community safety officer tasked with managing complaints say the efforts are working.

“Our office isn’t getting complaints. In fact, I’ve had a couple of people — two to three people — call me and tell me, ‘Thank you, we’re seeing visible change here,'” said Coun. Raj Dhaliwal.

“So far, this has all the attributes of a successful operation. We’ve collaborated with the plaza board, we’ve collaborated with the councillor’s office and everyone working together have come up with the signage, the barriers, the speed bumps that you see, so it has been really successful that way,” said Sgt. Ahmed Shahein.

Police say similar measures are being considered at nearby plazas, to be proactive against the crowd moving to a new location.

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