LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Snair closure hurts kids

I have read about the bike path that Kirkland wants to close. They say they want to sell the land and close the bike path. Residents of Snair St. made a petition to close the bike path for reasons of vandalism. I have a very hard time to believe this. As a father who walks his kids to school by the bike path I have seen once or twice in three years some broken bottles. Vandalism is everywhere, not just Snair. There is more vandalism by the school and the bike path there that goes to a park and Meaney street. Why don’t they close this as well?

I’ll tell you why residents on Snair are mad that Kirkland built a school behind there houses on Elkas Boulevard.

There are 15 parking spots for parents who bring their kids to school or visit the school. Residents of Snair St. requested Kirkland put no-parking signs everywhere near the school. Most schools have parking or drop-off on the road for a limited time during the day but not on Snair St.

I walk my kids because the bus goes by at 7:25 a.m. and I find that too early. It’s a 30-minute bus ride because there are no streets that connect Pierrefonds to Kirkland. All the kids that walk or bike to school well have to pay the price because Snair residents are mad because the school was built there. It’s not the kids’ fault that the school was built there but they will pay the price because residents of Kirkland near the school (Snair and connecting streets) think they are better.

The school has had broken windows over and over, graffiti on the walls, bottles broken in the kids’ play area and this is all near the bike path in front of Snair, not at the end. So why are they not trying to close that bike path? Simple: because it connects Elkas Blvd. to Meaney St. (Kirkland to Kirkland), while the one at the other end of Snair connects Pierrefonds and Kirkland. This is a no-no. All this means nothing to the mayor of Kirkland, however.

Francis Gallant

Pierrefonds

NIMBY is back

I am talking about the residents of Ceres St in Dollard des Ormeaux that oppose the enlargement of Sunnybrooke train station parking lot. A project that, if done, will add about a hundred (100) parking spaces near the train station rendering the access to parking to the citizens of Dollard easier. Right now, the AMT parking holds 410 spaces and Dollard authorizes parking along Ceres St. on a very limited basis to avoid parking problems and noise prior to and after peak hours.

Dollard is the owner of the vacant lot facing Sunnybrooke, between Ceres St. and the train tracks. Many residents of Ceres St. pointed out how important were to find a good development project for the land, presently inhabited by weeds and garbage. These are the same residents that now are making the local news opposing the development of the land into a parking lot. This project would alleviate the endemic traffic congestion in our highways. It will make it feasible for 100 residents of Dollard to gain access to public transit on a regular basis to the benefit of the environment. That’s 100 cars off of the highways on regular basis. Why then oppose a project that benefits the community as a whole?

We all know that our future as a society is bound to how well we used our limited resources. Public transportation plays a key role on developing a sustainable environment. It may seem like a small gesture but we all are well aware of the negative effects of too many cars running in our highways. We talk about doing our part for the environment but when a real project with real impact comes along, NIMBY comes back and individualism takes centre stage.

As a society, we should examine the pros and cons of any project, but we are better of if we leave our personal parochial interest aside and look at what is good for society as a whole. NIMBY should be stopped. The feasibility of this project has not been taken lightly by Dollard des Ormeaux. The project projects the plantation of cedar trees along the wall surrounding the backyards. It also will bring along the installation of a much-needed traffic light on the corners of Sunnybrooke /Ceres and Spring Garden. But above all, it will provide to the citizens of Dollard with an alternative to taking their car to work to the benefit of everybody including the environment. Let put away the NIMBY hypocrisy and let do our part even if that implies to have a parking lot in the backyard. The long-term effects of small gestures like taking one hundred cars out of the highways will benefit all of us.

Agueda Molina-Carbonell

Dollard des Ormeaux

With reference to John Dirlik’s letter (Aug. 22) concerning Shaheen Ashraf’s call for Muslims to denounce the violence of Islamic extremists, the only double standard that exists, is in the mind of John Dirlik.

Mr. Dirlik asks if Jews are constantly asked to distance themselves from what he propagandizes as “the ongoing injustice and ethnic cleansing committed by the self declared Jewish state of Israel”.

Mr. Dirlik, the objective individual that he is, is aware that Israel, unlike every other middle eastern state is a democracy and in Israel people do stand up against their government if/when they feel that their government is wrong.

By coincidence, yesterday in Israel a court ruled that an Israel Defense Force member and the Ministry of Defense must pay about $C 125,000 to a Palestinian family whose son was the victim of negligent homicide*. When was the last time that Fatah, Hamas, Hezbollah, etc. gave any money to an Israeli family for their actions that led to the death of an innocent Israeli?



Murray Levine

Montreal





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