The Victoria Conservatory of Music has installed temporary security fencing along the Pandora Avenue and Quadra Street sides of Alix Goolden Hall. The main entrance on Johnson Street will serve as the only entrance to the facility.
It is the second time the Conservatory has put up security fencing. Fences were last put up over the summer on the Pandora side of Alix Goolden Hall. The fences were taken down in September when their fall term of courses and performances began, but neighbourhood continues to face challenges with some members of the street community loitering in the area and in front of the hall.
“We experience a tremendous amount of vandalism on that building,” Victoria Conservatory of Music CEO Jane Butler-McGregor told CTV News Vancouver Island.
Butler-McGregor says it is a precautionary and preventative measure to protect the building and people who would have been using the Pandora side entrance.
Without access to the Pandora Avenue doors, Alix Goolden Hall can no longer run at full capacity. The hall can only allow 300 to 400 inside safely instead of the full 800 it usually would be able to seat.
The Conservatory is hoping positive changes are made to the area so they can remove the temporary fencing. Permanent security and decorative fencing was installed at the Johnson Street entrance last year and an upgraded entry way with new doors and a canopy is currently being created.
The Victoria Conservatory of Music provides music education programs in every music genre for people regardless of age or ability. They currently have students from 4 months old to 91.
