City deserves kudos for swift work on our streets

Criticizing or complaining, justified or otherwise, generally comes quite easily; commending or praising not so much.

There’s been very little complaint this year regarding streets. Therefore, it would follow that St. John’s city council is doing a respectable job in the roadwork department, and they are.

Street lining, a very important function in ensuring safe driving for both locals and visitors, was done very early in the season and at an unprecedented pace. The same efficiency is also apparent in road repairs. It seems as if lines appeared and potholes disappeared overnight. We heard that the government was going to experiment with night work. Maybe council did also.

One might wonder why the efficiency this year. The usual explanation of it’s being an election year might be a reason. It could be the pleasant weather. Oh, wait! A female was elected to council a while ago. Maybe fresh ideas and a new perspective got things moving. If so, maybe we should elect all females to the next council. Fair is fair. An all-male council was elected last time around.

There’s only one problem. The next mayor is likely to be a boisterous, aggressive, no nonsense mayor with prior experience who may not work well with an all-female council. There’s an old-time solution but today’s society might frown on that. It was called altering. It would be counter-productive anyway. It was the source of the saying, “as lazy as a cut cat.”

Derm Browne St. John’s