Letter to Editor

To the Editor:

My compliments to Liz Danielsen for her article on the Kinmount sidewalks. The piece was well researched, well written, and presented all sides of the story. I am writing this letter to clarify a few points, as I wonder if the people signing Hafiz’s petition know all the details, and why they didn’t attend public meetings
if they had concerns. Hafiz said he didn’t know about the first meeting, but I told him about it and he said he was too busy to attend. The decision to restore the sidewalks was not an arbitrary decision by the City but at the request of people who live here, voiced at public meetings hafiz didn’t attend, and in the interest of public safety. Hafiz currently has five parking spots including the driveway. The City
plan shows two in front of the sidewalk, two left of the driveway in front of the store (one of which he should make disabled if he is concerned) and the driveway…still five, so pardon me if I am confused? He also benefits from parking at the cenotaph. Cars currently parked in front of the store are on the sidewalk area, and present a hazard to pedestrians particularly on backing out. Also the plan indicates most of this area is on the road allowance. The parking lot he was supposed to build at the back when he added on, could have been economically done in gravel
years ago, and provided his customers with extra parking and a place for vehicles belonging to the store to park instead of at the front. Most other businesses in town provide gravel parking lots. At the theatre with each permit we were required to complete additional parking before being permitted to operate. The five ton
delivery trucks should also be accessing this driveway, as they do at the Liquor Store. The width between the roof overhangs is similar and all he needs is concrete pylons to guide them like the Liquor Store. In the early months of 2009 Darrell Darling an engineer with the City of Kawartha Lakes & I met to see if there was some way to try and retain Hafiz’s front parking under specific conditions, when I brought this up to Hafiz I was told he wasn’t being told what to do! Not the spirit of compromise he talks about. The new street plan is the end result of a lot of hardworking people, who secured the funding and advised and planned the
street which is basically being returned to its original state, the way it was for over 125 years. It is necessary for safety concerns, as it seems some people have a problem figuring out where the sidewalk begins and the road ends. Hafiz has a popular store, and people will still stop there whether they can drive straight in or
park on sidewalks. The project is on hold for the weather not because of Hafiz. It
will proceed in the spring unless he gets his court injunction to try and stop it. In the end it will give us a beautiful Main Street, which is long overdue, and will be enhanced by those people who strive to make our community beautiful. It will be better for all of us including Hafiz.
Keith W. Stata - Kinmount