To the editor,
I feel compelled to write to you on behalf of the merchants, property owners and residents of Quinpool Road and the surrounding area. The "Neighbourhood watch" article that was written in your September 1 Back to School issue has ruffled many feathers and created disappointment and frustration on the street.
We very much appreciated all the positive comments that were made about Quinpool and the mention of some of the hotspots, but we hope to dispel some of the old ideas that still linger about the Quinpool Road area.
Quinpool Road is the only street in HRM to be proactive in the removal of graffiti. The pilot project "Keep Quinpool Clean" anti-graffiti campaign was created back in 2003 to get the street clean and to keep it that way. The Quinpool Road Mainstreet District association spent $6,000 last year in removal expenses and the costs continue to rise.
The Quinpool Road Association also employs summer students who sweep the sidewalks, pick up garbage, remove posters from telephone poles and report graffiti.
We have also added, with the help of HRM, the pocket park in front of Canadian Tire with planters, benches and a poster kiosk. The park along the side of The Oxford theatre is nearing completion with a new bus stop, benches, planters and another poster kiosk expected soon. An additional small park is in the beginning stages for the front of the Bank of Montreal on Quinpool Road.
Quinpool Road has attracted up-and-coming entrepreneurs who believe in the street enough to start their business there and to devote time, energy and money to make them the successes they are.
Margaret Armour of Aerobics First says, "Another quality that I like about Quinpool is the number of independent businesses here; you will not find most of these stores anywhere else. There is an amazing mix of excellent, niche players who are the best at what they do."
The Quinpool Mainstreet District Assocation feels that Quinpool Road is a safe, welcoming shopping destination where considerate, friendly service is the norm and not the exception.
By Janet Josselyn, general manager, Quinpool Mainstreet District As