Timmins council is being asked to look at abolishing at least some of the islands beside downtown streets. Ward Five councillor Cory Robin will ask that question at the next meeting on January 19th.
The islands – or flowerbeds – have been in place since reconstruction and revitalization work in the mid 1980s.
“Many people have said that they don’t want them anymore and that they’re impacting parking and there’s lots of complaints,” Robin tells My Timmins Now Dot Com. “I’ve heard it from every business owner downtown.”
(Bob McIntyre, MyTimminsNow.com staff)
This all arises from a line in the proposed city budget that calls for refurbishing them.
“And ultimately I’m trying to think about saving the city some money,” the councillor says. “Why refurbish something that there is growing sentiment against?”
At that January 19th meeting, Robin will ask administration to investigate how many of the islands can be removed without affecting vital infrastructure.