Victoria removes signs in protest of fencing installed along Pandora Avenue

Under the guise of being installed by the City of Victoria, signs were put up on the fencing on Pandora Avenue Monday night. 

The signs read, “Please excuse the fence as we violently displace people without homes.”

At least four of these signs were fixed to the fencing on Pandora. 

A City of Victoria spokesperson clarified that even though the signs used the City’s logo, they were not installed by City workers and have since been removed  

This fencing was installed by the City in mid-October in several areas along the 900-block of Pandora Avenue to prevent unhoused people from sheltering in the boulevard spaces. 

By putting up the fencing, the City has displaced the people who were unlawfully sheltering on the boulevard sections of Pandora, as a part of the City and VicPD’s ‘Pandora and Ellice Safety Plan’. 

The fencing has cost Victoria approximately $10,000 to date, with an additional monthly cost of around $1,350, according to the City. 

The fencing is to remain in place for the foreseeable future. 

As of early August, BC Housing told Victoria Buzz, there were 305 shelter spaces and 1,267 supportive housing units in operation in Victoria. 

Most were at or near capacity. 

Since August, efforts have been made to add more spaces to local shelters, with Our Place Society opening 40 more temporary shelter spaces and the City opening another location on Dowler Place, which will soon provide additional spaces as well. 

Another initiative that has displaced unhoused individuals in Victoria came when the City banned overnight sheltering in additional parks, leaving only three for unhoused individuals to shelter in—Gonzales, Pemberton and Oaklands Parks.

According to the latest Greater Victoria Point-in-Time count, there are at least 1,665 individuals experiencing homelessness in the area.