Caitlin Stockwell and OneCity Commit to ReLight Vancouver: building safer public spaces, shelters, and streets for everyone

VANCOUVER, B.C. on the Territories of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh – Today, City Council Candidate Caitlin Stockwell and OneCity announced ReLight Vancouver: the next part of the party’s Public Safety Action Plan. Everyone deserves to feel safe in public spaces. That means being able to see where you’re going, feeling safe as you’re getting there, and finding shelter when you need it most. 

Right now across the city, streetlights and bus shelters are drowned in darkness, and people don’t feel safe waiting for the bus after a long work day or walking to family dinner, let alone getting home after a night out. OneCity Councillors will fight to make sure all Vancouverites can live without feeling like they’re constantly looking over their shoulders. Vancouver needs to fix the broken streetlights, dark spots in walkable neighbourhoods, and bus shelters without any actual shelter so everyone – at all times of day – can feel safe getting where they need to go. 

“You shouldn’t feel like you have to leave early just to get home safe,” says Caitlin Stockwell, OneCity City Council Candidate. “Vancouverites deserve representation on Council that will take care of the structural issues we know make life better so Vancouverites feel safer no matter the time of day. Cities across the world have shown brighter streets and safe shelter makes a difference. Vancouver should lead and build safe public spaces for everyone by doing what we know works.”

ReLight Vancouver will make it possible to see where you’re going and who’s around by:

• A Built for Everyone Standard, that ensures that if you’re anywhere from downtown to Kits to South Van or Boundary Rd., you get the same access to well lit spaces and bus shelters. 

• New, well-lit bus stops, so waiting for the bus doesn’t mean standing in the dark. 

• A structured safety audit, focused on prioritizing well lit sightlines, adding mirrors on corners, and eliminating obstructed pathways so you can feel safe, seen, and sure of your surroundings. 

• An emphasis in auditing lighting coverage in parks, pathways, and streets, so that any way you get home is well-lit and easy-to-navigate.

ReLight Vancouver will also require dignity and safety in public design by default through: 

• Prohibiting “hostile” architecture in City owned benches and bus shelters – so Vancouverites can seek refuge when they need it most. 

• Engaging Vancouver-based community and advocacy organizations in developing actual bus shelter standards that meet the needs of our neighbours – not the current cookie cutter versions that leaves Vancouverites out in the cold. 

• Launching a public monitoring system so that we can actually fix existing gaps, and be held accountable for progress.  

This work builds on City Councillor Lucy Maloney’s Progressive Public Safety Plan that Ken Sim and ABC voted down in August, and OneCity’s Eyes Off policy – the first proposed AI wearable surveillance regulation for public spaces in Canada. OneCity’s full Public Safety Action Plan will be announced in the coming weeks. 

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Media Contact:
Giovanna Orecchio, Campaign Director
media@onecityvancouver.ca