02-13-2015, 02:31 PM
I hate these articles from the Record (and local papers in many places I've read them) that try to paint a property owner as the victim of capricious bylaw enforcement. I could critique every quote by the property owners in that article, but will spare everyone. Suffice to say, I would imagine that they do not walk often.
A few years, the City of Kitchener issued one of these notices to me, and the "bare concrete" thing spooked me, too. It also made clear that it's to be down to bare concrete for the whole width of the sidewalk. I remember mine being one of the better sidewalks in the neighbourhood by far, but I dutifully went out to finish it to that standard. Later a neighbour of mine told me that we all received these notices, and that the bylaw department would only tell him that it was either because a number of complaints from our neighbourhood had been received; someone complained about the entire block; or someone actually did list every address on the block (or else a range).
I hate the idea that it's okay to do something poorly when many other people seem to, like that Jastrau individual suggests. For all she knows, someone had a close call on her sidewalk, or someone with a mobility issue had a particularly bad time traversing it. It might seem "good enough" to her, but for people who depend on getting around by foot (or have challenges), it may not be.
A few years, the City of Kitchener issued one of these notices to me, and the "bare concrete" thing spooked me, too. It also made clear that it's to be down to bare concrete for the whole width of the sidewalk. I remember mine being one of the better sidewalks in the neighbourhood by far, but I dutifully went out to finish it to that standard. Later a neighbour of mine told me that we all received these notices, and that the bylaw department would only tell him that it was either because a number of complaints from our neighbourhood had been received; someone complained about the entire block; or someone actually did list every address on the block (or else a range).
I hate the idea that it's okay to do something poorly when many other people seem to, like that Jastrau individual suggests. For all she knows, someone had a close call on her sidewalk, or someone with a mobility issue had a particularly bad time traversing it. It might seem "good enough" to her, but for people who depend on getting around by foot (or have challenges), it may not be.