New Neighborhood Transformation project to focus on West Side

Last week the city launched its third Neighborhood Transformation Project, this one to focus on the West Side of the city.

A community meeting was held at West Side Park to kick off the start of the new NTP area. About 50 neighbors attended and heard presentations from Chief Craig Carter and other police department representatives about their plans for cleaning up the area.

Two years ago, the Escondido Police Department spearheaded an initiative called the Neighborhood Transforma­tion Project (NTP). The NTP is a five- year comprehensive plan to address is­sues like graffiti, loitering, vandalism and other appearance and safety con­cerns, one neighborhood at a time, us­ing an interdepartmental approach.

The departments working on the NTP include Police, Neighborhood Services, Public Works, Code Enforcement, Eco­nomic Development and others, as well as community and faith-based partners.

The first two NTP projects were: 1 ) the South Escondido Boulevard area and 2) the east end of the City),

A map showing the area that will be focused on this time can be find on the Escondido Police Department web site at police.escondido.org/ntp.aspx .

For the next 18 months residents will see increased patrols as well as special enforcement efforts in the west side neighborhood. You can also expect to see other city departments (Code En­forcement, Public Works, Neighbor­hood Services, etc.) focusing their efforts and devoting resources to the neighborhood.