Editor,
I am writing in response to your editorial, "Over-Secure" from Feb. 12.
Taking issue with increased enforcement and coming to the defence of individuals who are breaking rules seems to be a head-scratcher for me. Yes, there are more RCMP cruisers out in force helping to keep us safe. But isn't that what we would want most of the time?
And isn't our local government disputing past census figures in order to maintain or try to increase our current RCMP budget so that we don't lose any RCMP presence in our community?
Think about it. For every extra RCMP cruiser we have on the highway, even if it reduces or eliminates one fatal accident due to speeding or people running lights, isn't it worth it?
And then there is your stance on the district's increased bylaw enforcement. To use the argument that there has not been any "parking enforcement in decades" and calling them "a little over-zealous" seems a little illogical to me.
There are so many analogies I could use to illustrate this, but let's use your reference to the woman who has used the same parking spot for four years without issue and then received two parking tickets two hours apart. Please follow the logic here.
So, in essence she has been parking illegally for four years, and gotten away with it, until the increased enforcement finally caught up to her.
Should she get a warning? More education about our parking bylaws? A second chance? I don't see why when every time she parks in that same spot, the same parking sign clearly is warning her that she has a certain time limit to park there.
Also, in regards to the woman who received a ticket for parking in a handicap spot even though her decal was clearly displayed. While I have great sympathy for the struggles people with disabilities have to endure, they should however also display the same qualities of common courtesy and consideration of others.
To park longer than two hours in one of the few handicap parking spots available is bad judgment and is inconsiderate to the many other handicapped people in our community who rely on those spaces to do their shopping and go to their doctor appointments.
What really has prompted my reaction to your editorial? I have seen on more than one occasion, people swearing at, verbally abusing and berating our bylaw officers. For what? Catching them breaking a rule?
I just don't get it. They are just doing the job that they have been hired to do enforce bylaws that have been put in place to make our community more livable.
They don't just give out parking tickets they deal with unsightly properties, improper signage that can clutter our streets and making sure that we have businesses in our community that respect the licensing bylaws plus a host of many other things.
They deserve our respect for what they seem to have to endure each and every day.
On a final note, keep in mind those parking spots they try to keep clear every two hours, assist the nearby businesses to have access to more customers, which hopefully for you, translates in more revenue to continue to advertise in your fine newspaper.
J. Irving
Brackendale
