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​​​​Safe Streets and Trails - ​ Tackling homelessness, investing in crisis response services, staffing up the Anchorage Police Department, and improving public safety for everyone.​​

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Anchorage has faced significant challenges when it comes to homelessness, health, and safety. Mayor LaFrance is committed to making Anchorage safe for everyone who lives here. The following priorities are key to the administration's efforts to ensure Safe Streets and Trails for all:

  • Addressing Homelessness, particularly unsheltered homelessness
  • Investing in Crisis Response Services​
  • ​​Improving Public Safety and Staffing Up Public Safety Departments
  • Creating Safe and Vibrant Public Spaces

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Department Goals that Contribute to Achieving​​ the Mayor's Mission:​


Development Services 

  • Mobilize ROW Enforcement plow trucks to assist Street Maintenance and Parks and Recreation with snow removal operations on critical streets and trailheads. 
  • Ensure new developments incorporate adequate snow storage, drainage improvements, lighting and bike/pedestrian facilities. 
  • Assist APD in the abatement of derelict properties and homeless camps. 
  • Demolish blighted, vacant properties to reduce the number of “hotspots” requiring APD and AFD resources. 

Equal Rights Commission 

  • Seek to design and implement effective outreach programs so that all Anchorage residents will know that we exist and can assist them with discrimination and sexual harassment. 

Fire 

  • Expand the Mobile Crisis Team to 24/7. The pilot program has proven its use and community demand at night. 
  • Reactivate the Community Outreach Referral, and Education (CORE) Team to provide assertive community outreach for homeless and housed individuals, as well as the vulnerable adult population, that over utilize the EMS system due to a lack of resources. Data indicate eight out of the top 10 of these individuals are currently experiencing homelessness. 
  • Develop an overdose/opioid response team to provide immediate treatment in the field, follow-up, and access to community resources. The State of Alaska has many grant opportunities to assist with this potential service. 
  • Consider an additional Mobile Crisis Team unit during the day/peak hours. 
  • Institute an in-house paramedic school in conjunction with UA to address paramedic attrition at reduced cost. We currently sponsor prospective paramedics to attend out-of state schools. 
  • Expand State of Alaska deferred jurisdiction for providing fire prevention services in the portions of the MOA not within the Building Safety Services Area (Eagle-River, Chugiak, Peters Creek, Girdwood).​
Health 
  • Improve responsiveness to public health complaints. 
  • Reduce days non-compliant with federal air quality standards by monitoring key indicators and developing strategies to reduce air pollution. 
  • Improve public health in the community by maintaining surveillance systems that detect and provide a timely response to public health needs including infectious diseases. 
  • Improve response to animal-bites/attacks complaints in the Municipality. 
  • Maximize industry compliance with safe food handling practices by inspecting facilities and effectively enforcing regulations. 
Library 
  • Improve public safety by providing safe and stimulating places and clean, well maintained buildings for all. 
Maintenance & Operations 
  • Support the efficient, safe operations of emergency services by providing expeditious maintenance of public safety mission critical infrastructure with a goal of 100% reliability. 
  • Minimize the downtime of Fire, Police, and General Government personnel. 
  • Assess LED Lighting options and design installation plan for LED streetlights. 
Municipal Attorney 
  • Provide effective, timely assistance to law enforcement (APD and AFD). 
  • Assist law enforcement in increasing transparency in accordance with federal, state, and municipal law. 
  • Support Municipal Prosecution to ensure that misdemeanor crimes affecting daily life and safety within Anchorage are handled appropriately, either through prosecution or diversion programs to reduce recidivism. 
  • Support the Homelessness Coordinator, administration, municipal departments, and Assembly in creating and applying effective and legally sound laws and policies to address issues arising from homelessness. 
Municipal Manager Department – Emergency Management Division 
  • Ensure community education and public outreach programs are effective in preparing citizens for emergencies and disasters. 
Municipal Manager Department - Transportation Inspection Division 
  • Protect the safety and welfare of the regulated vehicle customers. 
Parks & Recreation 
  • Provide recreation opportunities that are safe, secure, and enjoyable. 
  • Through the practice of routine maintenance, maintain Municipal Park assets to ensure optimum risk management by keeping parks, trails, and facilities in a state of good repair and that are safe and welcoming. 
  • Coordination with APD and the administration to promptly respond to the camp abatement process. 
  • Maintain vegetation within public space to open sight lines for public safety while reducing the likelihood of hidden and illegal camps. 
  • Continued focus on “healthy spaces” camp clean-up program to provide safe welcoming spaces for recreation and environmental stewardship.
  • Upgrade aging park infrastructure to provide a safe experience to park and trail users. 
  • Continued development of inclusive playgrounds to serve the Anchorage population of all abilities.​
Planning 
  • Apply Crime Prevention through Environmental Design guidelines in the review of site and building plans. 
  • Adopt policies and procedures to minimize the impacts of and response to natural disasters. 
  • Provide guidance in the design of public and private development projects that fosters crime prevention and minimizes the impacts from natural and man-made disasters. 
Police 
  • Aggressively investigate and pursue violent criminals, specifically those involved in gun crime, drug trafficking and gang violence. 
  • Disrupt and intervene in illegal drug production, manufacturing, importation, or distribution; address drug-related activities that are having a significant harmful impact at the neighborhood level. 
  • Effectively partner with other governmental and community stakeholders to ensure the appropriate resources are available to assist individuals who are experiencing homelessness, mental illness, and substance abuse. Individuals in these communities are disproportionately impacted by crime. Intervene appropriately to address victimization and to hold offenders accountable. 
  • Reduce violence against women and children and strengthen services to victims of domestic violence, child abuse, sexual assault, and human trafficking. 
  • Maintain the rate of Uniform Crime Report (UCR) Part I crimes in Anchorage at or below the national average for comparable size communities. 
  • Answer 911 calls within national standard time range, under National Emergency Number Association (NENA) standards. 
Project Management & Engineering 
  • Implement design and construction efforts for capital improvement projects that are safe, code compliant, informed by planning goals, multi-modal for active transportation needs, connected to transportation networks, context sensitive, and invested in creating vibrant public spaces. 
  • ​Manage the timely repair and replacement of aging roadway infrastructure by implementing a capital improvement program that monitors asphalt pavement conditions. 
  • Rehabilitate streets and roadways to maintain or improve service level conditions. 
Public Transportation 
  • Provide public transportation services which are safe, convenient, accessible, and reliable. 
  • Ensure vehicles, bus stops, and transit assets are maintained in an accessible, safe, and reliable condition. 
  • Implement a transit safety and security program. 
  • Provide operator safety and training. 
  • Maintain enhanced COVID-19 cleaning protocols for vehicles and facilities. 
  • Treat all individuals with dignity and respect, serve the entire community. Provide training and education for public transportation employees to be more effective and responsive to those who are experiencing homelessness.
  • Provide education and outreach to social service organizations serving the homeless population. 
Real Estate 
  • Maximize amount of acreage mitigated through appropriate responses to negative impacts on MOA land inventory due to fire, insect damage, illegal dumping of hazardous or contaminated materials, trespassing, and/or vandalism by property inspections. 
Traffic Engineering 
  • Continuous improvement in the safe and efficient movement of people and goods. 
  • Timely investigation and response to community traffic inquiries. 
  • Traffic operation improvements that maximize transportation safety and system efficiency.