Backyard transgressions

I was amused by the piece on the woman who was fined for various minor transgressions in the way she kept her backyard. I have to wonder where these warriors for justice are when I risk life and limb to negotiate the numerous icy sidewalks in February. I suppose it’s a lot safer to wander around and peep into a few backyards in April than it is to negotiate said sidewalks targeting real miscreants in February.

I have a few more observations from someone who moved from Edmonton to Hamilton in 2013:

■ In Edmonton, when you step onto the road at a junction, traffic stops. In Hamilton, they dare you to try. My wife and I have even been berated by a driver who wound down his window to inform me that there was a perfectly good traffic light a block away. I’m 71.

■ In Edmonton, garbage collectors place your can and recycling bins in an upright position where you left them and pick up fallen items. In Hamilton, where garbage can tossing appears to be a sport, you have to negotiate around the cans, bins and debris strewn over the sidewalk and road.

I live on a street where the parking restrictions flip from side to side every 15 days, except November to April. Kafka springs to mind. I’m sure I’ve paid the salary of one of the aforementioned warriors for justice in parking fines.

Derek Elliott, Hamilton