By Khang Nguyen

Residents optimistic that walkways will be closed

Aug 25, 2015 | 6:19 AM

A group of neighbours seem to be one step closer to getting what they’ve been asking for.

Council will decide at their next meeting whether or not to close two walkways that connect 22nd Street and Agnew Street.

The issue of closing the walkways has been a long and winding road when the issue was brought forth months ago.

According to a report presented to executive committee on Monday afternoon, there have been approximately 28 formal requests to close walkways throughout the city over the past 15 years.

At the moment, there are four separate requests to close walkways in different areas of the city, including those on Agnew Street.

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Tim Derbowka has lived beside a walkway for the last 10 years and says there has always been problems.

“Drunk people walking up and down, people looking over our fence looking for what they can steal … all that kind of riff-raff.”

Derbowka has had two bikes stolen from his property over the years and his vehicle has been broken into a number of times.

Residents also claim to experience disruptions late at night, graffiti, and vast amounts of garbage from bottles to needles left in the walkways.

Dorothy Holmgren has lived by the walkway over 40 years and says it’s time for walkways to be a thing of the past.

“They [used] to serve a purpose, a good purpose. However 40 years later, they are used for vandals to come in to get into the area, do their vandalism and then to escape. It’s an entry for vandalism and also a quick exit.”

Holmgren’s point was echoed at the executive meeting by Councillor Martin Ring.

“This wasn’t an issue some 45 years ago. There were numerous people who used those pathways,” Ring said.

“Unfortunately we got segments of our society that don’t have that respect when they’re walking down through those pathways. Whether they’re making noise, throwing trash around, or getting out the spray cans and spray painting fences.”

The city is responsible for maintenance of the walkways which Councillor Lee Atkinson admits they haven’t done a good job of.

“Really [the walkways] are a nuisance and a detriment to the adjacent properties … I don’t believe, no matter how many staff we put in place that we’ll maintain them to any degree of standard. I don’t believe that will ever happen so let’s just close them and be done with it.”

The question of whether to close the pathways or allow for them to be purchased by the adjacent homeowners was also brought forth during the executive meeting. This would potentially direct any utility maintenance that comes with walkway to the homeowner, something that Derbowka disagrees with.

“I don’t think we should be responsible for the utility part of it if something goes wrong. That is totally wrong,”

“But I do want the walkways closed. Stop the traffic going through there, re-route it to the main streets that are patrolled because it’s just not patrolled in our neighbourhood enough,” he continued.

knguyen@jpbg.ca

Follow on Twitter: @khangvnguyen