It is time for musings on a number of topics. These are my musings and the musings of others [who have shared their thoughts with me].
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An employee of a First Avenue Northwest business offered me her opinion of the city’s push-to-the-side, non-snow-removal policy after the most recent heavy snowfall in Moose Jaw.
She pointed out that because the city had piled mounds of snow in the parking lane along a portion of First Avenue, clients of her employer could not park at the meters in front of the business and had to find alternate parking and were forced to walk back along icy sidewalks and across treacherously slippery intersections to avail themselves of services in the business outlets.
This blockage went on for four days, providing unnecessary hardships to owners and customers.
But just as it appeared, the snow would melt there; the snow was removed just in time to allow parking for customers of the Moose Jaw Event Centre where the Warriors were meeting the Pats and where provincial curling would begin later in the weekend.
This process begs the questions: are events at the hockey/curling club more important long-term than businesses who pay taxes and thus expect a certain level of city services? Will affected businesses be compensated for loss of the opportunity to effectively serve their customers? Of course not, to both questions.
Hopefully, business owners lodged their protests with appropriate city officials, the mayor and councillors.
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It was indeed a busy time in Moose Jaw on the March 17-18-19 weekend: busy all over Moose Jaw, not just in the downtown.
Yes, the hockey game sold out thanks to Connor Bedard. The Healthcare Rocks AC-DC tribute concert at the Mae Wilson Theatre also sold out. That brought several hundred people into those buildings, with parking spots filled on streets and avenues. Restaurants and hotels, downtown and in other parts of the city likely thrived with customers. That’s good news.
But don’t forget all those other events of that weekend: the two-day very successful collectibles and car parts swap meet and trade show held by the Sukanen Museum at the Exhibition Grounds (line-ups to get in) and the two-day model train show at the Western Development Museum where large crowds viewed the delicate and extraordinary designs of model train enthusiasts.
Don’t forget the St. Patrick’s Day dinners and events at the Legion and Anavets and at Trinity United Church. And there was also a successful Fellowship Musical Revue concert at Timothy Eaton Centre where extra chairs had to be brought out to accommodate the crowd.
All of those events (and there were likely many other regular activities that happened that weekend) added to the successful Moose Jaw experience. But it seems like all the talk in the days after that weekend concentrated on the cultural centre and the event centre. They are but parts of a whole. The other parts should not be forgotten.
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My apologies to readers who wanted to listen to the Kelly Bourdages program referred to in my March 15 column. My fingers tapped the wrong letter and the incorrect link sent readers to a domain that was being advertised for sale. The correct link is mbcradio.com in the archives department.
Joyce Walter can be reached at ronjoy@sasktel.net
The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the position of this publication.
