Jeers: To the City of Charlottetown and to the over-zealous commissionaires doling out tickets to Islanders who work in downtown Charlottetown during winter months. During last week’s snowfall, it took the city several days to clear the streets and parking spaces. As a result, parking around town was very limited. This, however, didn’t stop the commissionaires from writing ticket after ticket to vehicles who managed to find what little parking was available. Expecting vehicles to move every couple of hours to other spots, which aren’t available due to the lack of plouwing, is sometimes unrealistic, as it was last week. Timely snow-removal should be the responsibility of the city. If they aren’t able to adequately clear the streets so residents can find parking when going to work, the commissionaires shouldn’t be allowed to take advantage of such situations by giving out a bevy of tickets. The city should find more productive ways to make a buck than off the backs of hard-working citizens.
Cheers: To Doug Newson and the Charlottetown Airport Authority, as well as other partners, for the hard work over the past three years in pressing airlines for more frequency. Over the last couple of weeks alone, WestJet has added two brand-new summer destinations — Hamilton, Ont., and Calgary, Alta. — that will see capacity at the airport increase by 30,000 seats. WestJet will offer non-stop service to Calgary while its discount carrier, Swoop Airline, will offer seats to Hamilton that are so inexpensive it’s hard to believe. That’s impressive for a small airport like Charlottetown. It means more options for Islanders, the business community and tourists. If the demand is there, WestJet is willing to add even more frequency to and from Hamilton and Calgary. It’s good news for the airport, for the city and for the province.
Cheers: To Charlottetown’s arts advisory board for creating an idea bank, called Imagine Charlottetown, and asking the public and businesses for input on what kind of public art people would like to see in the city. There are already examples of it in the city. The popular John A. Macdonald statue at the corner of Queen and Richmond streets, the Robin Hood wood statue on the bypass highway are but two examples, but the board wants to spice things up and add some colour to the city. And it wants people to have some fun with it. Imagine painting murals on the drab, blank sides of buildings. Imagine the people who would stop and take pictures. Imagine if one of those murals was done in 3D or perhaps a city crosswalk was painted in 3D. They exist around the world and are fascinating to look at. Children would love stuff like this and tourists would flock to these spots. And, in regard to the downtown itself, it would give people another reason to walk around and perhaps pop in to the stores. This is a wonderful idea that the City of Charlottetown, and its residents and business people, should get behind.
