After nearly an hour of discussion, Cold Lake’s Corporate Priorities Committee has voted to refer transit safety concerns to the City’s Policing Committee for further review as part of developing a broader Community Safety Plan.

The discussion at the June 16 committee meeting was prompted by concerns raised a week earlier by Lakeshore Optometry owner Dr. Blake Dornstauder, who appeared before council following an alleged assault outside his business near the Marina bus stop.

During the June 9 council meeting, Dornstauder described how an intoxicated woman allegedly stole flowers from outside his clinic before attacking his wife and later biting him when he intervened.

“As a health care professional, if that bite wasn’t clean, it could have ended my career and all the work I put into becoming an optometrist,” Dornstauder told council.

While Dornstauder said he supports keeping Cold Lake Transit free, he urged the City to examine whether changes are needed to improve safety around bus stops and on the transit system.

His presentation sparked a lengthy discussion among councillors and administration at Corporate Priorities as members examined whether the concerns were rooted in the transit system itself or broader social issues affecting the community.

Transit or broader social challenges?

CAO Kevin Nagoya told the committee that before significant resources are dedicated to policy changes or new programs, council needs to determine exactly what problem it is trying to solve.

“The question will be in any of these, is it the transit system itself that is the issue or is it a societal issue?” Nagoya asked.

Administration noted that public transit is intended to provide affordable and accessible transportation throughout the community and cautioned against assuming restrictions on transit use would prevent incidents like the one described by Dornstauder.

Nagoya also questioned where the line should be drawn between maintaining public access and restricting movement by individuals who are creating concerns.

“Where is the balance between trying to restrict movement of certain individuals in the community and maintaining unrestricted movement for others?” he said.

The committee reviewed several possible approaches, including rider identification systems, conduct policies, additional monitoring, enforcement measures and transit eligibility requirements.

However, much of the discussion focused on whether issues such as addictions, public intoxication, mental health challenges, homelessness and crime can realistically be addressed through transit policy alone.

Administration noted that municipal enforcement was called to assist with transit-related incidents three times in 2025 and four times so far in 2026.

Part of a larger Community Safety Plan

As discussion continued, councillors increasingly focused on the need to view transit concerns as one component of a larger public safety conversation taking place throughout the community.

Councillor Vicky Lefebvre ultimately moved that the matter be referred to the City’s Policing Committee for further examination as part of Cold Lake’s developing Community Safety Plan.

The motion passed unanimously.

The Policing Committee will now consider transit-related concerns alongside broader issues involving public safety, crime prevention, addictions, mental health and community well-being before bringing recommendations back to council.

The decision means no immediate changes will be made to the transit system.

Instead, the City will continue to examine the issue through a broader community lens, with transit safety as one piece of a larger discussion about how Cold Lake addresses growing social and public safety challenges.