Roundabout rules need to be followed
To the person in the dark SUV – please familiarize yourself with the rules governing our new traffic circle.
While in the roundabout, don’t go changing the well-advertised rules, or inventing new rules, to suit your misguided need to be polite.
Cars already in the traffic circle have the right of way ahead of those waiting to enter, and cars moving within the roundabout are not allowed to stop.
Motioning toward a waiting vehicle that it should advance into a space you’ve created (by stopping!) contradicts the existing rules on how to navigate through a traffic circle.
The posted speed limit is 30 km/h, there are no stop signs within the roundabout.
Attempting to bend or change existing rules can only lead to confusion, chaos and possibly a collision.
Please go online to sooke.ca/wp-content/uploads/Roundabout.pdf to view simple to follow rules and a diagram of what everyone else in Sooke is doing … except you.
Mary Coward
Sooke
More needed to help world’s poor
More than 60 years ago the United Nations established Nov. 20 as Universal Children’s Day, a day where the rights and needs of children everywhere are acknowledged.
By all measures the world has done an incredible job at improving the lives of the world’s most vulnerable, but of course much remains to be done.
Sadly, Canada cannot take much credit for this, because we have long lagged behind all other major developed nations in our commitment to foreign aid, as a proportion of GDP.
With the election of the Trudeau government many Canadians hope for a significant improvement in Ottawa’s sense of social responsibility, at home and abroad.
But past Liberal governments began Canada’s steep decline in aid, a trend that only worsened under the Conservatives. Canada’s aid is parsimonious, barely one third of it’s publicly declared goal of .7 per cent of GDP.
Improving Canada’s standing in the world has been one of Justin Trudeau’s stated goals during the election, and this Universal Children’s Day is a great opportunity for him to show that this was not mere electioneering, and at last increase aid funding for the world’s most vulnerable children.
Nathaniel Poole
Victoria
You can’t put a price on safety
One of the most important services we can have in emergencies is telephone service.
But last week’s storms and power outages have shed light on an aspect of emergency response systems which is dangerously lacking: access to landline telephones.
In recent years, many people have chosen to “bundle” their telephone, cable/satellite, and Internet services in an attempt to economize without realizing or taking into account that by giving up their landlines, they are giving up the ability to call an ambulance, the fire department, the police/RCMP, family, neighbours, and so on, during a power outage.
I wonder if these emergency responders are aware of this situation, and if emergency response teams throughout rural communities like Shirley, Jordan River, Port Renfrew, Otter Point, East Sooke, and so on, are taking this problem into consideration when they create their plans.
Shirley was without power for two days, and even though our wifi was on, the Internet didn’t work without electricity. We have a landline so we had telephone service and could call B.C. Hydro for updates on when the power would be restored, and could call anyone and anywhere we liked.
The idea of being completely cut off is very scary, and we have always had a landline.
I encourage “bundle” customers to contact their service companies and demand telephone service during emergencies; if this fails, please reconsider having a landline. I don’t think you can put a price on your safety.
Helene Harrison
Shirley
Roundabout needs redwood Christmas tree
If there is a suggestion box for the roundabout and town center piece, may we suggest a lovely Sequoia redwood tree to be planted in the center of the roundabout that may be decorated with lights during the Christmas season.
D.I. Brown
Sooke
