Dear Editor:
I would like to ask all property owners and renters to please, please take responsibility for making sure that all public walkways around the perimeter of your properties are kept clear of invasive and harmful branches and bushes.
I am blind and get around my neighbourhood, with my guide dog, by walking everywhere.
All too often I encounter overgrown vegetation which creates great stress to my mobility.
I know that I am not the only one who has to battle with this problem; there are many others with poor vision, people with other mobility challenges who need to use a walker or a cane, and those people using wheelchairs. There are also parents and nannies pushing strollers who often have other small children in tow and students carrying large backpacks.
After and during rain, I often get hit on the head by low-hanging branches and sloshed in the face by wet leaves which is particularly not fun when I'm wearing make-up!
This time of year is particularly brutal as all the brambles seem to grow feet overnight! Just in the last few weeks I have had to deal with scratches on my face, legs and bleeding arms. I have even had clothes torn. Twice this week alone, I've had to step into the gutter on a busy street to get around offending brambles that reach over to the curb.
For you drivers, how would you like to have your way impeded or your vehicle scratched?
Please, please, please just take a few minutes of your time, secateurs in hand and walk around the outside of your residence or place of business, and cut back anything that might cause a problem to any pedestrian, and please do this more often during the fast growing season.
I, and many others, will be very appreciative.
Rosamund van Leeuwen West Vancouver
