safety and emergency planning
3 Pillars to Safety
People- Anyone who has lived in the village for any amount of time knows people like to walk it, bike it, and use personal accessible modes of transportation. We need a safe place to do these activities. Let’s start with painted white lines to create pedestrian safe walking zones on busier streets. Repairing derelict sidewalks as well as looking at other areas that need them. We need more crosswalks and the existing ones should all have signage that includes flashing lights. Far too many people in our community have had “near miss experiences”.
Simple solutions can save lives.
Property/Community- Knowing your neighbours is a huge part of safety. I would like to see continued and more community events to bring people together. Local neighbourhood events and regular activities including workshops go a long way to promote a safe community. I know firsthand from my own community involvement, how vital this piece is to strengthening our village. I want to see a welcome package provided by the village, to new residents and also available for pickup by any resident. This package outlines the different programs, committees and clubs that exist in Harrison Hot Springs, so they can jump in and be part of the community.
Knowing your neighbours creates a strong safety net. This discourages crime and protects property.
Environment- With the ever present threat of wildfires we need to promote a proper fire resistant tree canopy, this creates cooling while protecting people, property and wildlife. Wildlife is all around us and we need to understand and respect the intricacies of their travel corridors, animal territories, and use proper wildlife safety strategies such as being “Bear Aware”. Water is another environmental area that requires a safety approach. I would like to see the village establish lessons or information sessions on water safety both for swimming and for small personal water crafts. I am committed to working with all levels of government, including First Nations to increase fire resistant tree canopies within the village, protect wildlife habitat and to promote safe water use.
Safe healthy environments improve quality of life for everyone.
Emergency Planning
Emergency preparedness requires a purposeful, practical, and sensible plan. This should be practiced with an annual village safety drill. It is my goal to see that each residence be issued an emergency plan packet, that can be easily accessed. In an emergency people panic and the only way to mitigate that is to have proper planning. This packet will contain essential information to navigate an emergency such as fire, flood or earthquake. It includes a grab and go list, emergency phone numbers, information to prepare your home and a coloured card that can be placed in a visible location such as a window or door, to let responders know you need assistance. This packet would also include detailed instructions outlining what to do in case of an evacuation. The village needs to have a realistic evacuation plan of multiple routes and residents need to be aware of the plan. The one road in, one road out in an emergency is problematic.
In an emergency proper planning prevents tragedy.
