I read, with interest, the articles in Friday’s (Trail Times, Jan 16) paper about the workings of Trail City Council. I applaud the Mayor for his innovation of having a designated deputy mayor.
Having been in the emergency service for four decades I realize how important it is to have someone who is up to speed and familiar with the available options in the position of decision maker.
I have seen the chaos created by poor or late decisions and the lasting ramifications that result.
I don’t spend time on Facebook or any other social media so I was surprised to learn that some of our elected officials might pass off their own opinion as that of the entire council. I think the new policy is only reasonable since it forces the author to claim ownership of what they write by stating that it is their opinion rather than that of the entire council.
Finally, my wife and I went to the Smoke Eater game on Friday and were very entertained. Although the Smoke Eaters and the Clippers are at opposite ends of their respective divisions there was not much to choose between the two teams.
Nanaimo won by one goal, a power play goal late in the game, but the Smoke Eaters were competitive right until the last whistle.
I did see something that disturbed me however. I saw an elderly lady being dropped off in front of the Trail Memorial Centre but not at the door. The closest the driver could get was the end of the decorative railing (35 steps from the doors) and on the wrong side of the uncleared pile of snow.
I understand the theory of spending money to beautify and modernize our city but at some point functionality should also play a part.
In the past a driver could pull right up to the door, out of the traffic, and drop Nona off. No more. We have expanded (beautified ?) the sidewalk right up to the traffic lanes and put a decorative safety railing in to prevent anyone from falling in front of a bus.
Did we really need to make these changes?
Attendance at Smoke Eater games has been declining in recent years, so why make it more difficult for long time supporters to go.
I suspect it is too late to correct this now but maybe, before we go on to the next phase, we should take a look at how the changes really affect people.
Bill MacMillan
Trail
