Potholes aren't the only eyesore

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• Doing my best to dodge Prince George potholes
• Potholes and other fun
• City dealing with potholes
• It's still snowing, but potholes are vanishing
• The road was just like glass
• Watch the money

Editor:

Your recent editorial, Pot Holes are Bad for Business, is extremely interesting and the recent survey by the Chamber of Commerce  hits the nail on the head. Image, it appears in our city, is not really associated with commerce as our city sees it. The city and the Ministry of Highways at one time had an agreement that Highways would landscape one side of the Bypass and the city would be responsible for the other. It was an unfair agreement but nevertheless it took the city many years to do their side after Highways had completed their share.

The landscaping of a short distance of highway is not the only image problem in our city. Most of the wild areas along our city streets are left in that state. The city boasts about all the parks that we have throughout our city but most are just raw wild areas. After they finished logging the beetle kill in these areas, they were devastated. Most of the remaining fir was damaged during the harvest of the dead pine.

There’s an area along 20th Avenue across from Prince George Secondary School that has just native willow and weeds growing in it. This is just one location but these are throughout the city, unkempt and wild. The city has discontinued the tree planting program. When you drive through the area east of Victoria and the Fraser, it’s a  pleasing area to look at. But that’s all gone. The large homes that they are allowing to build on a 60-foot lot leave little room for trees which are so attractive.

In the light industrial areas along Quinn and Ogilvie the parking is in front of the building so all you have is black asphalt for a street view. In other cities these areas are landscaped with green grass and flowers. The parking is behind or alongside the structure.

And here’s another idea. Instead of annoying the resident along Wright Creek Road with dumping the sludge on a farm field, why don’t they spread this safe product on city parks? It could be liquefied and pumped on at night when no one will be the wiser. Add some grass seed and it would not need to be cut as often to keep  the weeds from showing. Ospika Boulevard is another area that could do with some new grass. The only areas on the boulevard that have green grass are the upper part and then they hauled big ugly boulders to protect the trees with shabby uncut grass around them. Imagine South Fort George Park with nice green grass three inches tall and no plantain or dandelions showing. When will our city learn that “image” is also part of the infrastructure?

It appears that diking is more important on a 100-year flood plain that has a problem every 50 years or so.

Kim Reynolds

Prince George