Editor:
I am a resident of Quayside, an area that is bustling with both locals and residents from other neighbourhoods and nearby communities.
The boardwalk is an exceptional area for local recreation and to enjoy the beauty of the Fraser. The New West city landscaping team is putting in tremendous effort into keeping our neighbourhood beautiful.
Over the last few months though, I have noticed a decline in the cleanliness of our streets, sidewalks and the boardwalk. It started with more people just tossing garbage on the ground, disregarding the community.
I've seen items ranging from cigarette butts, used masks, drinking cups to bagged dog poop. There are plenty of waste bins in the area and I cannot comprehend why people would not respect our neighborhood. Especially during the ongoing pandemic, I am concerned about items such as masks and cups as these came in close contact with people's mouths and there are many kids in the area.
To make matters worse, I have observed a concerning trend of dog owners not cleaning up after their dogs. This has been especially obvious since mid-late November. While in the past, I would have to avoid stepping into a poop every few days, I now have to legitimately dodge landmines on a daily basis. Just this morning, I counted myself dancing around these unwanted piles over 20 times on my way to drop of my kids to school.
I don't know what the city could do to nudge dog owners to pick up after their pooch. There are already doggy bag dispensers installed and leaving a pile of poop on the ground is the ultimate demonstration of disrespecting the local community. It also gives dog owners overall a bad reputation and there are many responsible dog owners in our neighborhood who clean up their dogs' mess. Maybe stricter fines are required, maybe dog owners should call each other out, maybe dog owners should have to attend annual mandatory training?
Maybe it's just a matter of people visiting our community to refocus on what matters. Respecting our community, respecting each other and not being so focused on oneself. A renewed focus on the wellbeing of our community might go a long way, both for our ability to walk undisturbed as well as in our collective effort to overcome the pandemic.
Jens Vent-Schmidt, New Westminster
