To the editor,
Re: City council calls climate emergency, May 2.
Now that Nanaimo’s city council has declared a climate emergency, let’s see some climate action.
Walking is an activity that is good for both the environment and the walker. Unfortunately the city of Nanaimo makes walking difficult and unhealthy. The city does nothing to ensure sidewalks are passable in summer or winter. It’s common to see sidewalks obstructed by vegetation or parked vehicles. On garbage day, sidewalks are an obstacle course of garbage cans and in winter they are obstructed by snow. All these issues are clearly visible, and contravene city bylaws, but city staff takes no action.
To discourage walking even more, the city allows backyard burning that results in a smoky and unhealthy atmosphere for walkers to breathe.
The big question is will Nanaimo city council now take action to remove these impediments to walking, or is the climate emergency declaration just a pointless PR exercise?
S.I. Petersen, Nanaimo
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To the editor,
Re: City council calls climate emergency, May 2.
Being a newcomer to Nanaimo, I didn’t know what to expect when I attended a city council meeting with the Council of Canadians to present a proposal requesting that council declare a climate emergency. A motion to this effect was presented by Coun. Tyler Brown. I want to say how impressive it was to see the unanimity and eloquence expressed by all councillors in supporting this motion. Thank you so much.
Jim Senka, Nanaimo
The views and opinions expressed in this letter to the editor are those of the writer and do not reflect the views of Black Press or the Nanaimo News Bulletin. If you have a different view, we encourage you to write to us or contribute to the discussion below.