Dear editor,

鈥淔ree camping 鈥� don鈥檛 want to pay taxes, or obey Rules, Courtenay is the place to be! Come pitch your tent wherever you wish, with no regard to anyone but yourself, the weather is great.鈥�

I bring notice to the public walkway/corridor between 8th Street and Piercy Avenue.

This walkway/corridor is heavily used at all times of the day by children, moms, dads, dog walkers, cyclists, elderly, persons with walker/wheelchair, the list goes on.

Put this into perspective - the tent is pitched, friends come for a visit, do their transaction, inject/smoke whatever they purchased, open a beverage, proceed with open urination/deification, leave their needles and garbage, all while exercising either their vocal cords and/or their fists to get their point across 鈥� then after completing their busy day, it鈥檚 nap time.

I pay taxes for 鈥渟ervices鈥� to help combat homelessness, of which I have empathy, but do I have to witness this disgusting behaviour so close to my home? What am I paying taxes for, if I can not live in a safe and peaceful setting?

So to the City of Courtenay, and its duly elected officials, put the welcome sign out for any and all who don鈥檛 want to live by rules/bylaws set forth by 鈥測ou.鈥� It is my humble opinion, that when I address my concerns regarding this location, no one has an action plan. I feel that lip service is the new word, stating that other cities are dealing with the same issues as Courtenay. In other words walk on by, don鈥檛 say anything, all will be fine, there鈥檚 nothing further that can be done, it鈥檚 just the way it is.

The RCMP and bylaw have been wonderful. They have done everything possible to rectify this walkway/corridor problem. Considering being very short-staffed, they can only do so much within laws that they must uphold.

G.A. Kinney,

Courtenay

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