Silent but stinky
I feel compelled to write to you about a silent menace in our midst. I live in a dog-friendly building at the corner of Bidwell and Haro with my two small dogs and have noticed a marked increase in the amount of skunks lurking about in the balmy evenings. Our one dog was unfortunate enough to meet with the business end of a skunk last summer and then this past Saturday doggie number two also got it in the chops. Thats right, both my dogs were sprayed in the face, at close proximity after countless near misses and close escapes. Despite being on skunk watch every time we take them outside, the nature of these horrid little creatures means that they hide in bushes or lurk in the shadows until you are but a foot or two away from them and tada skunk mace in the face. I happen to know that another dog in our building was also skunked a few weeks ago, and no doubt many others in the area as well. The smell is not the only concern. I am very disturbed by the fact that skunks are also the number-one carriers of rabies in North America, and therefore in my humble opinion, counting in excess of at least six skunks in a two-block radius serves as a serious public health concern. I now feel genuinely afraid taking my dogs out every evening. Surely I am speaking on behalf of other residents in our neighborhood who have had runins with these smelly little suckers when I say: Vancouver city council please, please get rid of these nasty skunks!
Mudpaw Mamma
Flower power
A big huge shout out to all the homeowners and building managers who plant lovely lush front gardens right up to the sidewalk. As I cycle and walk around my neighbourhood, the vibrant colours, tantalizing scents and sheer variety of vegetation bring joy to my heart. Nothing makes me sadder than a patch of lawn with a few straggly plants up against the building at this time of year. And a thank you to the volunteers who plant gardens in the traffic circles and traffic-calming bulges too!
Lilyrose
A better bike route
Heres why I bike on Main: It has a better grade than the bike path on Ontario Street. I also find it faster when commuting. Traffic lights are faster than stop signs and the traffic stops are also spaced further apart on the main roads. On the bike routes, there are mostly stop signs or lights activated by pressing a button. I cant see the through traffic until almost at the stop sign which means stopping and starting all the time. But with the traffic lights on the main roads, I can see the light from a fair distance away and can adjust my speed accordingly speed up to make the light, slow down a bit so it will have changed to green when I get there. It is not that I wish to slow the buses down: I wish for us to be able to share the roads. We all pay for roads through our property taxes. Property owners and renters alike, as the landlord will use part of the rent money collected to pay for the property taxes. I close my eyes and imagine dedicated tram lines on Main along with dedicated bike lanes. Broadway and Kingsway too. Kingsway is also super, one of the oldest streets in Vancouver. Plus, its foolproof. How do you get to New West? Why just take Kingsway all the way there: you cant get lost. Dedicated tram lines on Kingsway and dedicated bike lanes. Widen the sidewalks too for a lovely promenade street. You know, hope springing eternal and all that.
Kathryn
Barking mad
Re: Off-leash incident (WE, June 9). Youre a typical paranoid small dog owner who thinks all big dogs are attacking when they are just playing. You lost my sympathy at the showing teeth and snapping in your dog rant. Clearly exaggerated. Standard poodles are not typically aggressive, nor do they attack other dogs. However, the owner was wrong by not calling her dog when she saw that you were freaking out. But, as a dog owner myself, if you had hit my dog like you did hers, you would have been on your ass so fast. If your dog was being viciously attacked then you would have every right to hit, punch, kick to save your dog, but in this case you were just being paranoid, the owner was being ignorant and you should have yelled at her to get her dog. You had no right whatsoever to hit her dog. Nelson Park sucks any ways, it is like a huge kitty litter box. The dogs dont have enough space to run so they wrestle with each other to get out their energy. So if your dog is so fragile why take it there? Are the other dogs expected to have no fun because you and your small dog have arrived?
Traysea
Goals for charity
I hear Roberto Luongo makes $10 million dollars as goalie for the Vancouver Canucks. Perhaps there should be a clause in his contract, where, for every goal he lets through, especially in the Stanley Cup finals, he gives $1 million dollar to a charity chosen by his fans. That would make good sense as very few of us make that kind of moolah.
Joan Chandran
Biking badly
I would like to see bikes banned from inner city streets; Im tired of these rude, inexperienced, dangerous, riders.What a waste of money the bikes lanes were.I see them empty while the bikes are on the sidewalks and roadsright next to a bike lane. Eight weeks ago I was legally crossing the road on a sidewalk when a biker riding over the crosswalk nearly hit me. I had to jump out of the way and broke my ankle. Theres no recourse for me because the damned cyclists dont carry insurance or even any ID that one could use to trace the rider.I had to cancel a holiday because of this uselessidiot and I have been in pain for weeks.How can we call this a world-class city with morons like this running things on the roads.I see them cutting off cars and doing all sort of dangerous things.At thesidewalk at English Bay beach, where there is a crosswalk and sidewalk before the beach entrance,the bikes even have the right of way on the sidewalk.Where else in the world would you see that? Nowhere.Ive seen tourists, who are not cognizant of our rules, cross the road and the sidewalk to get into the beach area and nearly get run down by people on bikes.Thats a sidewalk, not a bloody speedway for bikes.I want to see mandatory insurance for the riders of bikes.These hillbillies riding bikes know there are no rules for them.Thisme-first, entitled, self-importantattitude is a symbol of what Vancouver has become.Certainly no world-class city in my book.
Eve
