I attended Saturday’s market and got my first real look at the 200 block of Main Street. I still disagree with narrowing the street down to two lanes, but my main issue is with all the brick work at the intersection of Westminster Avenue and Main Street.
If there is a major break in the water main, be prepared for a rainstorm of bricks. If there is any kind of an issue that requires the road to be dug up, this will be a major undertaking, and the repairs will take far longer and cost much more taxpayer money than if the intersection were asphalt.
I have a hard time feeling sorry for mayor and council when they whine that they don’t have money to maintain their facilities or pay their firefighters, but there is all kinds of cash to make something look pretty.
Hopefully, when we are done with the South Okanagan Events Centre in 2017, maybe, just maybe, we will have some money to actually start replacing the aging infrastructure in the older parts of town. Maybe we can start repaving some roads. You can start with Kinney Avenue. It looks like a jigsaw puzzle of tar patches. Maybe we can increase our police force and get a handle on the property crime in this city, because it is running rampant with no end in sight. I hope mayor and council enjoy the next 29 months, because my gut tells me the house is going to be cleaned out come 2018.
Mark Billesberger
Penticton
