Sidewalks
There is a dispute over the placing of a new sidewalk on Lyons Ave. Some of the residents are upset that a sidewalk is being installed. And there is some question about the petition requesting this sidewalk.
First, I don't understand why the residents even have a choice. All city streets should have sidewalks and on both sides. I know that this is not the case in many areas of the city where sidewalks have never been installed. In fact, some of the streets adjacent to Lyons have either no sidewalks or they are only on one side. And the worse cases are streets with elementary schools on them such as Woodman Drive, Baxter St. and Lynwood Drive where children have had to walk to school on the road for years. Much of the older part of Echo Place and most of Grand Woodlands have never had sidewalks. I can understand residents not wanting sidewalks because then, they not only have to pay a portion of the cost, but they are also subject to the sidewalk snow clearing bylaw. But for safety sake sidewalks are a necessity. I don't like having to clean my walk either. If I can get 60% of my neighbours to sign a petition, can we get our sidewalk removed? And if I was ever charged under the existing bylaw, I think that I would have an excellent case as this is clearly a discriminatory law.
Second, why are petitions in such matters (parking is another example) handled by someone in the neighbourhood. Surely the highly paid city staff are not that overworked that all such petitions should be handled by them. But then if a uniform policy for sidewalks was in place (all streets without sidewalks should get them, no objections allowed) no petitions would be needed.
First, I don't understand why the residents even have a choice. All city streets should have sidewalks and on both sides. I know that this is not the case in many areas of the city where sidewalks have never been installed. In fact, some of the streets adjacent to Lyons have either no sidewalks or they are only on one side. And the worse cases are streets with elementary schools on them such as Woodman Drive, Baxter St. and Lynwood Drive where children have had to walk to school on the road for years. Much of the older part of Echo Place and most of Grand Woodlands have never had sidewalks. I can understand residents not wanting sidewalks because then, they not only have to pay a portion of the cost, but they are also subject to the sidewalk snow clearing bylaw. But for safety sake sidewalks are a necessity. I don't like having to clean my walk either. If I can get 60% of my neighbours to sign a petition, can we get our sidewalk removed? And if I was ever charged under the existing bylaw, I think that I would have an excellent case as this is clearly a discriminatory law.
Second, why are petitions in such matters (parking is another example) handled by someone in the neighbourhood. Surely the highly paid city staff are not that overworked that all such petitions should be handled by them. But then if a uniform policy for sidewalks was in place (all streets without sidewalks should get them, no objections allowed) no petitions would be needed.
posted by The Grouchy Old Man at 6:46 PM
1 Comments:
Oh you Grouchy Old Man...damn you and your stating the obvious! By the way...what DOES city staff do during the day? In 20 years I have spoken to three, perhaps four people at City Hall total. Well...not counting the ever-so-pleasant people that answer the phone. But much like the 'bouncers' who stand scarily behind the velet rope, I think most are hired for their ability to scare people into not calling back. But I keep calling anyway, after all, I pay for them to help me right? Like, you know, helping me get information on how to get sidewalks on my street.
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