The Editor,
Thursday afternoon, I find myself rushing to cross St John’s street in Old Port Moody to get to an appointment. Fortunately, a couple is at the light and have already pushed the button.
As the light turns green for us, I notice that she is in an electric wheelchair and, despite his efforts to help, they can’t even get off the sidewalk to the street due to the buildup of snow/ice/slush.
I approach to help, wishing that I had put a snow shovel in my purse before I left the office. Between the two of us moving slush out of the way with our dress shoes, we finally manage to struggle our way across Kyle street, only to face the larger obstacle of St Johns.
At that point, another businesswoman approaches us and throws her back into the effort. Thankfully, while our journey takes us well beyond the time we have to cross, all the traffic waits quite patiently for us to finish the trip and get our wheelchair-bound passenger back up onto (another) snow-covered sidewalk.
My newfound work partner and I are now met with the most genuine gratitude. It takes him and us and the weight of an electric wheelchair almost 10 minutes to get off the sidewalk onto the nonexistent ramp to wait for a crossing and to make it across St Johns. He then adds that they “live in Glenayre and cannot even get out of our driveway.”
I cannot pretend to imagine the grit, strength and courage it takes to let strangers touch you and your chair; live with the reality that you cannot get around despite being intellectually capable and need to rely on others in the faint hope that there may be enough support to get you where you need to go.
I’ve read lots of complaints about what the city has/hasn’t done about the snow but three out of four corners were not shovelled by the businesses there (one of which is part of a company that made more than $8 billion in profits last year), and I’ve been much more aware of how much I take for granted since then. At the very least, each of us needs to make sure our sidewalks and transition spaces will allow everyone passage.
Lisa Dube, Port Moody
HAVE SHOVEL...
The Editor,
I just had to send out a big THANK YOU to the young man who was waiting at the corner of Shaughnessy Street and Pitt River Road Monday evening with shovel in hand for the sole purpose of helping drivers in the horrible conditions.
He was truly the silver lining in my evening after a scary and nerve-wracking drive home from Vancouver. I couldn’t make it up that little hill alongside the Shell gas station and started panicking. He ran right over and started shovelling and scraping around my tires, and ultimately pushed my vehicle up the remainder of that hill so I could then turn left onto Shaughnessy towards downtown PoCo.
I hope he reads this but even if not, I think it’s important to share when these kind gestures happen to remind all of us that there are still many good hearts out there. I’m so thankful for his help in what was otherwise a terrible evening. And I find it extra encouraging to know that our younger generation is stepping up to help their communities.
Erin Styles, Port Coquitlam
DRIVE SAFELY
The Editor,
With all this snow, I know it’s a priority to get the main arterial roads cleared for the all-important car, especially given the fact that a trip more than two blocks has become a driving necessity. (Walking has become a lost art.)
Still, last Sunday morning, I took my dog on her morning walk from Brunette Avenue down Schoolhouse Street to Lucille Starr Way to Mackin Park. Getting there was not too bad — sidewalks had a few inches of snow but walking was good.
The return trip, however, was a nightmare. The snowplows had obviously been up and down Schoolhouse and Brunette. The snow was piled up at least two feet on the sidewalks on both sides of the street. People were forced to actually walk on these busiest of streets.
I understand the need to clear the streets, what I can’t understand are these drivers who were zipping by these pedestrians as if they enjoyed optimal driving conditions. Some drivers were obviously peeved at the pedestrians and we’re giving them the one-finger salute.
It’s weather conditions like these that brings out the best and worst in human nature, unfortunately it’s usually the worst.
Neil Swanson, Coquitlam
