Editor’s note: Before the work was done, the District of Squamish posted notices about this clean up, which was done in preparation for the May long weekend.
On Wednesday, May 16, I was on my way for a peaceful 7 am: coffee at the Zephyr Cafe. My bubble was burst, as I was greeted by 3 or 4 Squamish Operations crew (doing their jobs) blowing dust off the downtown sidewalks onto Cleveland Avenue and other nearby streets. To the operations manager, is this really a necessary spring maintenance?
First of all, I would think we have some of the cleanest sidewalks in Canada, due to our frequent rain washing the dust and dirt down the street storm drains.
Also, it appeared to me that this procedure was creating more ‘bad than good’ results. Large dust clouds were eventually settling on everything like the (sidewalks ?) roads, cars and the cafe patio furniture with a thick grit. Worse, being in peoples’ and the town workers’ lungs, as I noticed, none of them wore dust masks and not all wore ear protection?
Maybe drop this useless job for keeping the sidewalks and ditches clear of those nasty thorn type plants that I have trimmed myself (three times) that were growing over the sidewalk (with railing) across from the Shoppers Drug Mart on Winnipeg Street. This was a real safety concern, as it is a busy route for school kids.
I would suggest a pre-summer recon of the downtown area, making notes on what specific addresses that need attention and create work orders for them? Does Squamish have a hotline number to call for such issues? Hopefully, this is read with an open mind and acted on in a positive manner.
Dan Blais
Squamish
