LETTER

Planning?  Too old-fashioned

 

My! My... just look at how much Aylmer has grown up in its last 10 years. With progress still in the making. Check it out, take a drive through our small little town and see for yourself. You'all quickly notice a host of newly-constructed
high-rise apartment buildings and also see a series of contiguous (look alike) townhouses that have sprung out of nowhere. ''Build and they will come.'' ...  Right.

Drive through our quiet residential neighbourhoods and witness how our  quaint little houses are being quickly replaced by huge up-scaled houses that occupying their property's boundary to its extreme measure. ''Bigger is better''.... Right.  

Our streets and roads have virtually remained the same. A few adjustments are supposed to offer more safety on our streets.

We now have our many, many speed bumps. They must have been on sale.

We also have the new safety-styled crosswalks.  These seem to be the latest fashion. They are impossible to miss – with large yellow (or white) lines painted on the road, a big white sign plus a bright pylon in the middle and at both ends of each crosswalk. During the day, they stick out like sore thumbs and resemble a border crossing checkpoint. At night, in foul weather with poor visibility, well ... a different story.

I'm all for safety on our roads. To have cross-walks or speed bumps for schools, hospitals and senior residents’ crossings is understandable.  A pylon in the middle of the crosswalk (a flashing light at night would help) is an excellent idea.  But pylons at both ends of a crosswalk, that's overkill, causing a distraction, not a safety precaution, especially on streets without sidewalks.

True progress should be a thought-out plan -- not just rip, tear and build to supply someone’s need for a profit.  Road safety has no quick fix. Rules and regulation are in place and should be followed and enforced.

What will happen in the next 10 years?   Perhaps a skyscraper or two, maybe even a huge complex with a casino at the marina.   Who knows?

Nino Pasquarelli
Aylmer