File Photo (Image Credit: CFJC Today)

By Doug Collins

One Man's Opinion

COLLINS: Why spend money on things that won’t be used

Mar 24, 2024 | 6:00 AM

ALL OF US WANT TO FEEL SAFE and secure in our lives. We want to have a decent place to live. We would like to feel like we can leave our home safely for a couple of days without fear of it being broken into. And we would like to feel free to enjoy the beauty of our city.

But sometimes you wonder whether that’s possible anymore — and whether some money is best left unspent.

The city is undertaking some work in the area of Seventh Avenue and Pioneer Park. Part of it is necessary work on water mains and blacktop. But in an effort to make that area more enjoyable for residents and visitors, they’re going to make the area more attractive, adding decorative lights for romantic nighttime strolls. It’s a great concept, but in my alter-ego as Mr. Doom and Gloom, I think the lights are a waste of time.

Do we really think people are going to walk hand-in-hand down the Rivers Trail after dark, where homeless people are probably sleeping or camping, perhaps thinking you’re there to steal their possessions? Or people using drugs openly because we don’t think it’s fair to restrict them to certain areas.

Lights? Why pay for them? I’m not going to be there at night. If I’m a dad or mom with a couple of toddlers, I’m not even sure I would even go during the day for fear of a young child stumbling, as toddlers often do, and landing on the sharp edge of a used hypodermic. I would hope that I wouldn’t be quite that paranoid, but that’s today’s reality.

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We don’t have the resources to properly patrol those areas. Just like we don’t have resources to properly patrol downtown and West Victoria Street, where smash-and-grabs and other forms of vandalism seem to be occurring far too frequently.

Let’s beautify Kamloops but let’s not waste precious dollars on things that just aren’t worth the expense — pretty as they may seem.

I’m Doug Collins and that’s One Man’s Opinion.

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Editor’s Note: This opinion piece reflects the views of its author, and does not necessarily represent the views of CFJC Today or Pattison Media.