There has been news reports within the past year about accidents in crosswalks, global warming, etc. One area of concern for a lot of people including myself is the lack of safety in shopping malls and plazas. In the Summer time, during storms or other times when shoppers are lazy, we see cars parked in firelanes or close to crosswalks in shopping plazas. it creates a congested area where pedestrians or shoppers can't see around the cars or the idling cars narrow the roadway for 2 way traffic. There have been a number of close calls where a shopper steps out from in front of a car to be almost hit by a car going around an illegally parked vehicle. A plaza in my area is the Superstore plaza in Dartmouth on Eisner Drive. There are cars parked illegally in front of the grocery store, in front of the liquor commission and Nubody's, when there is plenty of parking in the designated areas. I have contacted the HRM and their reply is that it is private property and that they don't have jurisdiction...until someone gets hurt. I have also contacted the various merchants who either don't reply or pass the buck saying that it is not their responsibility to police it but the landlord of the building. So unless someone does a story to make them accountable, then no one will take up the cause. This is always a safety issue but also frustrating to see gas being wasted by idling cars waiting for a shopper. -A concerned and frustrated consumer
By Concerned Shopper