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Finish the job
?Sometimes it’s a little hard to understand how the bureaucratic mind works. We cite a small, but important example to make our point: the total lack, for almost six months now, of any garbage cans, litter barrels or trash receptacles of any kind on the western portion of Brock Street.
When that section of Brock was reconstructed last summer, from Toronto Street to the tracks, great praise was deservedly heaped on the contractor, the Township, the BIA and everyone else involved at the smooth, speedy manner in which the work was achieved. The workers were unrelentingly pleasant and thoughtful in their relations with the public, and in particular with the businesses along the route; they went out of their way to ensure that any disruption was moderated as much as possible. They even helped the BIA to make an event of the construction by having a couple of street festivals themed to the inevitable heaps of sand.
Although most businesses reported an expected downturn in sales, for most the construction was less of a disaster than anticipated, and the fact that the work was finished ahead of a schedule was a major bonus. As promised, except for some landscaping details, most of the workers were long gone by Nov. 1. The sidewalks were finished (along with some noted improvements like Scott Rutledge’s clock), the pretty lights were on the trees (they’re still there - we thought they were for Christmas, but apparently not), and everything was wrapped up neatly. Except for one detail.
At first we, and we suspect most of the customers on the street, supposed that the installation of some sort of waste disposal units had been postponed until the completion of the planters. But the landscape folks came and went, and still no garbage cans. The Christmas rush arrived, but no garbage cans. Shoppers had three choices: stuff garbage in their pockets and haul it back to their cars, ask to use a garbage can in one of the stores, or throw it on the ground. The latter option is obviously the most convenient one, and however much they might realize what they’re doing is wrong, people in a hurry will frequently opt for convenience.
Accordingly, the pretty new planters have become garbage cans over the winter, and although the snow has been gone for some time now, there are still no trash bins, so the planters are continuing to serve that purpose.
So whose responsibility was it to finish the job properly by putting in some garbage cans, even some temporary ones to see us through the winter? The contractor? The Region through another contractor? The Township? The BIA? The businesses themselves? The answer, we suspect, is the Region or the Township, but when those entities didn’t come through by the time the first snow flew, it’s hard to fathom why the BIA, or the businesses, didn’t take action of some kind to fill the gap.
Instead, this newly spruced-up street has resembled a very large ash tray for several months. It shouldn’t have happened at all, but someone please, do what needs to be done to make sure it doesn’t go on much longer.
