This article appears in Dec 6-12, 2007.
A walk to dismember
What does it take to get some fucking sidewalks in Bayers Lake? If the government won’t pony up for it, the businesses should have to. Your customers should be able to walk to your store without almost getting smoked by a fucking idiot driver. There are
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I have often thought abou this as I drive through Bayers Lake. I have seen people trying to walk with children on the road, it’s really scary!!!!
You ain’t whistling Dixie, Bro – I’ve had the same thought for a long time. So who do you think will get sued when someone finally becomes a hood ornament? Betcha that’s when you’ll see the HRM crews rolling out the sidewalks in no time flat.
Same thing in most of Burnside too.
Businesses in places like Bayer’s Lake are not interested in courting pedestrian traffic. Especially stores like Future Shop and Home Depot. People on foot don’t buy much, because they have to carry it. If you don’t drive, you’re a bloody peasant, and they don’t want your measly 50 bucks if they have to put in a sidewalk to get it. They’d rather use that real estate for a couple more parking spaces.
Ah, Halifax.This is what passes for “city planning” in this fucking shit hole we call home. No tall buildings, they might ruin my view of the refineries over there in Dartmouth. Oh and they ruin the heritage of… Maritime Center, Scotia Square, the Metro Center, and the Cogswell St. Interchange.Bike Lanes? Yeah right. Transit money? We get a super bus that goes from all over to.. oh yeah, Scotia Square. So, yes, no where useful. That is unless you work for a Bank or Aliant and live in Colby Village, Portland Estates or Sackville. Yeah. Well that little forward peiece of thinking got 5% of the city covered, good work boys, why yes, help yourself to the city treasury. Oink oink oink.The best way to get your point across is not to go to Burnside or Bayer’s Lake. Tell everyone you know not to support those businesses either. Start a boycot and a protest! Call people who own businesses and tell them off for choosing such a piece of shit location for their business. Then throw eggs at them!I remember what it was like to work in Burnside and have to take the 52 or the 64 to work, buses not showing up all the time, having to dodge the tractor trailers, and the truck hicks giving you the finger because you’re trying to get killed.And they think people want to get the fuck out of here for the work some where else… Yeah right.
I hear ya! They way those folks look at, it is a Business Park and therefore you must be driving. So, no need for sidewalks.Head up your ass thinking!
I work in BL! I don’t have a choice but to dodge fucking traffic every time I head to the bus stop.I also used to work in Burnside, and cross that damn highway sucked. It wouldn’t be so bad if you hit a time of day where you could take the 66 from Highfield, but that was rare. Most days I had to skitter my way across the highway, dodging trucks and cars, just so I wouldn’t get in shit for being late for taking the safe route.
Aaaaah, car culture… don’t ya just love it?
Do you like seamen on your poopdeck?
One has to note that these are industrial parks. They were originally designed for large warehouses or for industrial use, hence no sidewalks and very few traffic lights (mostly just stop signs). However, as the large retailers saw the advantage of these parks (lower rent, more parking, etc..) they congregated to them. It was just a matter of time before the competition followed, just like the banks. Ever notice how if one bank opens a branch, others follow shortly. Or ever notice how if there’s a branch on one corner, soon, the other three corners are taken over by the rival banks?Since the city planners were in growth mode, they didn’t care about the consequences of opening up all these new neighbouring developments (Clayton Park West, Hammonds Plains, etc) weren’t taken in to consideration, so now we’re stuck with the current mess.Tax dollars and rampant, over-development for the sake of it without consideration for impact on the local downtown core, environemntal affects, and pedestrians was all that mattered.