Rants &Raves
We discuss overdue paint jobs, sluggish home sales and more
RAVE & RANT: For overdue crosswalk paint jobs. Nice to see CBRM’s public works department finally got around to painting two prominent “zebra” striped crosswalks where Falmouth Street intersects George Street in Sydney last week. And what a coincidence that it occurred less than 24 hours before we were planning to run a front-page story on the glaring oversight. Just one question. What took them so long? This is one of the busiest sidewalks in CBRM, especially when events are taking place at the nearby Centre 200, and George Street’s four lanes make it one of the widest in the province. That means it takes pedestrians a little longer than usual to cross, yet somehow this job didn’t get done until late July and perhaps only because a Cape Breton Post reporter called a local councillor who then called public works. Pedestrians will also be happy to know that two other “zebra” crosswalks were also painted further north on George Street last week.
We’re not sure who does up a crosswalk paint job priority list but we would suggest that this portion of George Street receive a higher billing when crosswalks get repainted next year. That said we do appreciate all the work that has been done putting down new lines and crosswalks throughout CBRM. It’s a big job and other than this oversight it seems to have been done well.
RANT: For wrecking balls. It doesn’t look good for the former Parish Centre in North Sydney, a building that holds some historical significance as a former Western Union Cable office where, on Nov. 10, 1918, the first official notification was received in Canada that the First World War was coming to an end the next morning. Owner Gerard Dugas has owned the three-story structure since 1986 and it has been boarded up for the past 20 years. Now he’s looking into having it demolished and developing the property as residential. Every old building holds some history and it’s sad to see them go. There just even the money or interest to save them all.
RANT: For sluggish home sales. According to figures released last week home sales in CBRM and Victoria County are down 14 per cent so far in 2016 as compared to a year ago. And while sales are down active listings are up 14 per cent year over year. Little wonder that sellers are only receiving approximately 83 per cent of their asking price as compared to 90 per cent in 2015. The numbers shouldn’t come as a big surprise for anyone who pays attention to For Sale signs in the area. There are lots of them and some have been sitting on front lawns for a long time. In fact, homes that do sell locally are on the market about 40 per cent longer on average than those that sell in the Halifax-Dartmouth area. Not a positive economic indicator that’s for sure. But for anyone thinking of moving to the area the bargain prices are a nice incentive, aren’t they?
RAVE: For musical longevity. Hard to believe the Barra MacNeils of Sydney Mines will be celebrating 30 years in the music business next week. Why it seems like only yesterday that Stewart, Sheumas and Kyle teamed up with their sister Lucy to record their first album. Fast forward to today and their resume includes 17 albums, two DVDs, numerous awards and a well-deserved reputation for producing some of the world’s most popular Celtic-themed music. Another encore, please.