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Speeding traffic in a neighbourhood on Park Extension's eastern border, that is sometimes mistakenly not even considered part of the district, was the subject of a resident's complaint during the Sept. 2 public meeting of the borough council. Referring to St. Lawrence Boulevard as a "speeding alley," Misha Savic said, "It's very difficult for people that live in our area to feel comfortable as pedestrians, and seeing we have three kids it's hard to walk."
Speeding
According to Savic, cars and trucks are speeding as they try to catch the lights at the de Castelneau and St. Lawrence intersection "and the tires are just squeeling …. It's a Formula One race to catch that light. It's very difficult, the sidewalk is very narrow on that street on that side … How about a 40 kilometre an hour speed limit being implemented on that street? … I would suggest speed bumps, because we are about 600 people living across the street from Jarry Park … I think that speed limits should be a little bit lower than in other areas."
Savic also complained that too many dogs are loose in Jarry Park. She said a pitbull was loose a few days before and she felt lucky that her two daughters weren't with her at the time. She said many of the trees in Jarry Park are deteriorating because so many dogs are urinating on them. "I think that we should have either signs, or maybe a little more police on bikes," she said. "A little bit more control." Park Extension city councillor Mary Deros said certain anti-speeding measures are under consideration for Savic's street, including speed bumps.
Jarry Park dog problem
She noted that a young man was killed only a few days before when two cars were speeding on Côte de Liesse Road and one hit the other. The victim wasn't wearing a seatbelt and went through the windshield. "The last I'd want is for the same thing to happen here," she said. "It's not a busy street, but the danger of having people coming and using it as a race track frightens me." With regards to the dogs in Jarry Park, Deros noted that police station is located on the edge of the park and that two officials are assigned during the summer to verify that all dogs in the park are on leashes.
"There is a law, there is a regulation that dogs are supposed to be on a leash," she said. "Whether you're just on the outskirts of the dog run, they must be on a leash to be within the law. So especially when we hear of such violent acts with dogs fighting people or children, we have to control that. So we will definitely ask the police to be more vigilant in that area. I can understand the dogs getting all excited going to meet their friends at the dog run, so this may become an area that we'll have to look at more often to make sure that they behave."
Deficit in borough budget
According to an annual financial report tabled by Borough Anie Samson in preparation for the next budget, the borough has a fiscal deficit of $1.67 million, largely because of snow removal expenses incurred because of all the snow storms last winter. With another $329,000 added to the debt because of budgetary balancing with the Centre City, the deficit reaches $2.01 million. Samson said the borough will be using accumulated surpluses to make ends meet, rather than resorting to imposing a surtax on residents, as the borough is actually entitled to do by law. Like many other elected officials, the mayor is hoping the sort of weather we had last winter isn't repeated in the coming season.
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