Destroyed, Ignored and Unacceptable

[dropcap]M[/dropcap]My grandmother had beliefs and sayings that stuck with me throughout my life.  One that comes to mind every time I enter Richmond by the fire hall is “You judge a home by it’s entrance”.   The Richmond welcome sign lying forlornly in the middle of the road doesn’t leave a good impression of our community entrance at all.  It has been ignored by City crews for almost a year now! The rubble no doubt presents a safety issue as well.

The destruction was brought to the attention of the City shortly after the crash that took it down in June 2017.  Patience is a virtue but this has gone beyond that point and is becoming symbolic of what many residents feel is pure neglect by the City.  Hopefully, this isn’t the case. Residents of any City neighbourhood expect the aftermath of a crash such as this to be cleared up in a matter of days. Hopefully, appropriate insurance claims to cover the costs of clean up and replacement have been filed.

Richmond is about to host the celebration of it’s bicentennial. The entrances and street need to be as welcoming and becoming as possible.  Businesses and residents have come together to do what they can to make the celebration a great one and to beautify their properties.  With “Clean the Capital” moving forward in many areas across the City it is time this mess got cleaned up. Moving this rubble is beyond what volunteers can do.  Moreover, if the community could issue a personal challenge to City crews it would be to put an extra special effort into cleaning and grooming Richmond this Spring and Summer as a contribution and tribute to the bicentennial. Residents and participants in the celebrations would surely notice!

In a discussion with Councillor Scott Moffatt today he has promised to follow up on the issue of the sign.