In order to make a downtown Anchorage park safer, officials will destroy a decades-old fountain. It’s one of several measures Mayor Ethan Berkowitz introduced during an outdoor press conference in Town Square Park on Wednesday.
“We’re gonna dismantle this fountain, make sure that the space in Town Square is visual, so people can see across the entire square and feel safe, and this won’t be used as a hiding spot any further,” Berkowitz said.
The park is a fixture of downtown, but has attracted waves of complaints from business owners and residents over a perceived lack of safety. Since coming into office the Berkowitz administration has tried to find a way to combat widespread drinking, drug abuse and camping in the park, while respecting people’s civil rights in the public space.
Now, they administration and its partners are trying a three part strategy. In addition to dismantling the fountain within the next two weeks, more police patrols around the clock. The plan also involves groups like the Anchorage Downtown Partnership and the Community Development Authority to increase activities and services designed to draw more, quote, “good activity” into the area.
“If you have the right kind of built space it can enhance public safety, and that’s what we’re gonna do here,” Berkowitz said.
The unifying idea is to make illicit activities harder to get away with, dispersing it elsewhere, according to the administration. Pressed on whether this approach will just shift illegal and nuisance activity elsewhere downtown, Berkowitz responded that the Administration is pursuing larger strategies for connecting vulnerable individuals with resources and housing.
The fountain removal and minor landscaping adjustments are not expected to incur any significant costs.
Zachariah Hughes reports on city & state politics, arts & culture, drugs, and military affairs in Anchorage and South Central Alaska.
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