Getting into Victoria City Hall has been made slightly more difficult over the last several months, but the city says there have been few complaints about having to now ring for service.
Victoria implemented a program last fall that required people visiting City Hall to ring a bell to gain entry to the building from either the Centennial Square entrance or the Pandora Avenue entrance. The Douglas Street entrance, which was closed to the public during the pandemic, was never restored as a public entrance.
“The doors are locked for managed access, this is not about keeping people out,” said Victoria’s executive operations manager Colleen Mycroft. “No one is denied entry into the hall, it’s not about that. It’s just about managing the flow of people in and out of City Hall.”
Mycroft said there are two “ambassadors” who respond to the bell and will ask if visitors need assistance in finding their destination.
She said it’s been helpful for first-time visitors such as people doing renovations to their homes who may never have been to the planning department and don’t know where to go.
“We’ll show them upstairs, we’ll walk you up there, we’ll find your planner for you,” she said, noting it’s part of the customer-service experience. “You want it to be friendly and open, but we do have to manage the access, we can’t just have people wandering all over.”
Mycroft stressed the program was not instituted due to any incident, and they are not screening people and no one is denied access.
“Your behaviour once you’re in the hall determines whether you are asked to exit or not,” she said.
The program was established in late October last year.
Mycroft said there haven’t been any serious complaints.
Across the border in Saanich, they have established protocols designed to strike a balance so people feel safe while offering excellent customer service and a welcoming environment.
Communications manager Kelsie McLeod said municipal facilities have separate public and staff entrances with designated hours of access, and while they do not require visitors to register at front desks, reception areas are positioned to direct visitors to appropriate public areas.
Staff areas are closed to the public by way of partitions or in some cases entrances that require key code or fob access.
Authorized access to staff-only areas is managed electronically and certain spaces are further restricted due to sensitivity of records, safe operation of electrical mechanical systems and the like.
In North Saanich there’s a front counter that acts as a one-stop shop and the public can speak with a representative who will either assist them directly, or contact a staff member who can address their needs.
At no time can the public enter the employee office areas.
Langford City Hall provides a reception area to welcome and help the public connect to its various departments.
Natalie Sponaugle, Nanaimo’s communications adviser, said in response to public safety concerns, access has been limited to certain City Hall entrances, but all municipal buildings remain open to the public
“When deemed appropriate, we have sometimes hired a security guard for certain meetings and public hearings when safety is a concern, but there is no regular screening program currently in place,” she said.
Beefed up security is nothing new in government buildings and the B.C. legislature was one of the first in the region to start increasing its security measures, particularly after the terrorist attacks on the U.S.
These days visitors to the legislature are required to go through security screening.
“Entry screening requirements for the parliament buildings have been in place since 2016, ensuring safe access to all visitors, as well as MLAs and staff,” said Kate Ryan-Lloyd, clerk of the Legislative Assembly. “This change in posture was instituted following a security review undertaken after the 2014 incident on Parliament Hill in Ottawa.”
There was also the foiled bomb plot at the B.C. legislature on Canada Day in 2013, which spurred MLAs to vote to arm legislature security guards, increase the number of surveillance cameras and install metal detectors and X-ray machines at key entrances to check visitors and their bags for weapons.
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