Residents of central Ottawa’s Sandy Hill neighbourhood say the first weekend for university students means a return to sleepless nights.
The community sits beside the University of Ottawa and is a popular spot for weekend get-togethers of various sizes and decibel levels – good news for nearby businesses but a source of annoyance for some people.
“Oh boy, we just got the last batch trained and now we have to start again,” said one resident.
“They’re driving out young families because students are partying and urinating,” said another. “Who would raise a family here? Basically what you’re going is ghettoizing the whole neighbourhood.”
The community association said students don’t always realize how their actions affect other people in the area.
“When you live cheek by jowl in Sandy Hill near a campus, it’s really important to follow those rules,” said Chris Collmorgen, president of Action Sandy Hill,
“The little things that you don’t think will impact people will impact them more than you think, just because of the proximity.”
As for the students, they said Sandy Hill isn’t that bad.
“People party but I think it gets a lot of its reputation from single days like Canada Day and St. Patrick’s Day where everyone is expecting to party,” said one.
“Some people go crazy but it shouldn’t be a stereotype for everybody,” said another.
Ottawa police have been handing out leaflets saying “Don’t invite us to your party” in an effort to reduce the number of nuisance-related calls they respond to.
There can sometimes be as few as four bylaw officers on duty for the east side of the city, causing law enforcement to focus on prevention.
With a report from CTV Ottawa’s Ellen Mauro
