The City of Peterborough has begun erecting temporary construction fencing around the site of the tent encampment of unhoused people in downtown Peterborough, preparing for the installation of temporary modular housing in the fall.
The fencing is being installed around the municipal parking lot at Wolfe and Aylmer streets, as well as along sections of the south and north sides of the Rehill Parking Lot Dalhousie and Wolfe streets. Gates have been put up to prevent vehicles from accessing the two parking lots.
The city will also be installing temporary washrooms in the Rehill Parking Lot in the next couple of weeks to address one of the key complaints of neighbours: public urination and defecation.
City council approved a homelessness services plan on May 23 that features temporary modular housing as an option for people experiencing homelessness.
The plan also includes a new drop-in centre service and the conversion of the Wolfe Street building currently used as an overflow shelter into a homelessness services hub, with community agencies providing services out of the building.
Social services outreach workers are speaking with unhoused people at the encampment site as part of the preparations for the modular temporary housing. The city is also creating a neighbourhood liaison committee that will include residents, city council representatives, a representative from the Peterborough Police Service, and city staff members.
The construction fencing is temporary. Plans for the temporary modular housing include privacy fencing for both the residents of the modular temporary housing and the surrounding neighbourhood residents.
