Letter to the Editor

Major kudos to the ‘Group of Seven’ for accomplishing the removal of Cranbrook’s ‘corner of death’ (11th Ave and 2nd Street South), by lowering the lovely, but accursed brick wall that obstructed the view for drivers heading west on 2nd Street.

Additional kudos are also in order for ‘going secular,’ by eliminating that invocation before council meetings, where negative vibes have flourished at times.

Not-so-major kudos for the activities at Idlewild pond. The tattered orange fence flapping in the breeze and the exposed garbage cans, tires and other debris emerging from the depth reminds one of a war zone and has lowered the overall appeal of the area, as evidenced by the lack of visitors. One day, ambitious engineering siphoning efforts lower the water level substantially, and the next day the water level is higher than before these activities, apparently carried on for practice.

It still seems to be an In-camera (really off-camera) secret as to what might happen next. The scary Dam breach Inundation Study offered some options, including increasing the downstream mass of the dam and widening the outflow channel, but we have heard little of that, except that the park, dam and pond may be fixed in years to come.

My theory is that in order to ward off the threat of non-compliance by the regional Dam Safety Officer, the necessary response was to eliminate the lake until such time as funds were found for the improvements. We want all funds directed to re-paving streets, even those that are not so bad, and to Hell with the sensitive mini-ecosystem of the pond.

I assume that all efforts and budget by the city are now focused on paving our streets and reducing business for the tire and auto repair shops in the area. After all, that’s what we voted for. The ducks, turtles, sandpipers, garter snakes, etc., including those in the marsh just east of the lake, had no vote on this issue. Their lives are rapidly being altered or ended because of our fear of the non-existent ‘fres-shit.’

If only some rich dude would buy that fire hall for $2 million, we could fix the dam, otherwise it will require not fixing a few blocks of streets, and we will not go for that. On the other hand, a nicely refurbished dam could make a nice photo-op for those who can remedy the situation.

Jack Loeppky,

Cranbrook

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