FALL RIVER: Barry Dalrymple is a frustrated man.
The local councillor emphatically says bringing crosswalk flags to his and other districts remains a priority, even while city councillors continually reject the idea.
Dalrymple, the councillor for District 2 (Waverley-Fall River-Beaver Bank), is blown away at the denial at what he calls one of the most basic, simple things. Considering there are no full, legal crosswalks in the area he represents, he doesn’t understand the approach by city councillors, many who do have full crosswalks, on the issue.
“I’m more flabbergasted at this then almost anything else that I’ve seen in the HRM to date,” Dalrymple said. “So many councillors oppose the notion of a crosswalk flag program for all the wrong reasons, most of them totally inaccurate. I have no idea where they got some of the information they said the night we debated it.”
He said even when council debated the issue that was unexpected as councillors were just trying to pass a motion to send a letter to the provincial government asking them to enact legislation with regards to crosswalks.
“We’re still free within council to bring back a motion allowing HRM to adopt the use of crosswalk flags,” he added.
While he intends to bring the motion for crosswalk flags back, he isn’t exactly sure of a timeline with so many issues before HRM.
“I think slowly but surely, over the last number of months as we sit down with each councillor one on one and explain the misinformation that came out, I know we’re gaining a certain amount of support,” Dalrymple said. “At some point in time councillor Darren Fisher and I are certainly going to bring this back for a motion for the HRM to allow us to use it.”
However for the time being he remains angered over his fellow councillors notion to throw the idea to the back burner.
“What absolutely frustrates me about this is I have asked over and over again for crosswalk lights, crosswalk signage, and full lights in general at Windgate Drive, and steadfastly been told we don’t meet certain traffic counts, we don’t meet certain pedestrian walk traffic counts,” he explained. “We have hundreds of these requests in and I do understand that. But city councillors who want to horde these crosswalk lights, and who for the most part have them all, there’s not one full, legal crosswalk in District 2. They have them by the tonnes and we don’t have a single one, yet they’re denying my residents, my children the right to have a safe way to get across the road. This is inexpensive, it’s cheap.”
He said councillors like himself, and Fisher, the representative for East Dartmouth-The Lakes, have continuously told city-based councillors they don’t need to use the program in their districts or even pay for it, they just need to have an open mind and look at the concern from the viewpoint of those in the districts without proper crosswalk signage and lights.
“We have said, from day one, we will raise the money in our own districts and pay for the program where it would be needed. That’s all we’re asking for,” Dalrymple said. “For them to deny us one of the most simple, basic rights, that won’t cost them anything, just infuriates me.”
phealey@enfieldweeklypress.com