The front of these stores on Somerset is much the worse for wear. The cause: walk plowing.
I have every sympathy for the walkway plow drivers. The pavements are uneven. Obstacles abound. Throw in hidden objects and frozen masses of snow, and its a recipe for difficulty.
In this case, the plows seem to be crashing into the buildings to avoid the parking meter kiosks:
I have no doubt that the minimum 5′ gap was allowed for when positioning the parking meter kiosk. I did the walkabout with the meter installers with both the Preston and Somerset BIA’s, when locations were being selected. The biggest problem is the clutter of other objects located on the walk space, and the ole bureaucratic maxim that the minimum spacing shall be the maximum allowed. And keep in mind that the area shown is already on a widened walk from a previous generation of streetscaping.
I’m waiting to see what happens to the new decorative lampposts on the east side of Bronson. One of them was installed just past our driveway at the re-Cycles shop. We watched, after the foundation for it had already been put in place, be moved over a foot or so. Then, once it was in place, it was rather close to the building (477 Bronson).
The guy I talked with readily said “yes, the clearance to the building is substandard”. On a brand-new project! He said they brought the maintenance guys out to show how much room they would not have when plowing the sidewalk, and a bollard was installed ahead of the post to take any hits (presuming the sidewalk plow will always head north). He agreed that the lamppost should instead have been installed at the corner of McLeod (these lamps are for lighting the sidewalks, while the taller ones on the west side are for general overhead), but that the design and placement were carved in stone. He figured it’ll get relocated if it does indeed get chewed up and / or start to lean. Our landlord, who owns both 477 and 473, watches the sidewalk plows go by with apprehension…
Most of the store fronts on Somerset are badly in need of repair, redesign or just paint! As a local resident of this area I am constantly ashamed of the condition of our restaurant/retail buildings. If it isn’t weeds sprouting from their foundations in the summer, it’s peeling paint or pigeon splatter, papered windows and junk piled high for all to see. For an area that draws so many people I am amazed at how little care is taken by those gladly willing to take your money for their wares. I’ve attended a couple of Dalhousie ward meetings and it seems pretty clear that this is the arse end of Councillor Holmes’ domain and we will get only the bare minimum of attention. Almost half the attendees were from Bell St. Where are all the other folks? There was nary a person from the local business community.
R.Bowes Bell St. N