How does it go? If wishes were horses then beggars would ride!
As a St. Albert beggar, here is my wish list.
First, I wish that in the future, St Albert council would develop integrity; that they would listen to the citizens and not waste money on empty plebiscites.
As an older citizen, I wish that the newly formed seniors advisory committee will not be a rubber-stamping operation. I was not selected, but during my interview process it was made clear to me that ideas would be generated by council/ administration and be brought forward for the committee to vet.
I wish that more than one-third of council would realize seniors are different in their needs and treat them accordingly.
We need a better bus service so that it can be used properly. Maybe those future bus stops we see will finally be used! It will be interesting to see if young people use the bus service for school attendance.
If there was a bus that went around the city and enabled rides to all major destinations, then I am sure many older people would use them.
We have a seniors centre that is not on a bus route. The parking lot at the centre is often oversubscribed. In fact, the only open spaces are for City of St. Albert employees – why do they need such prime parking? The seniors centre is trying to encourage more evening use. Many seniors do not enjoy driving at night. Why not have a city bus service?
I wish for a new pool. We have just celebrated the 40th birthday of Fountain Park – the population back then was less than a third of the size of today. This pool is the only one that can adequately provide lessons and exercise space. It does not matter how you dress it up in the new recreation guide, it is inadequate.
Affordable housing is a desperate wish. If seniors want to downsize, choice is limited. With the best will in the world, our incomes are fixed and in the present economic climate, our savings are devalued. Yes, there are some seniors who have money, but many do not have any to spare.
Help to stay as active members of the community when we are sick has been diminished. Once there was a society that provided affordable help in St. Albert when there was a need for help in the home. I wish we had such a service again.
I wish the City of St. Albert would rethink how garbage is collected. We put out half-empty blue bags every week and yet our brown bins that must now take the excess are only picked up every two weeks. We pay a great deal each year for this service. It is time to go back to the drawing board!
It is obvious that climate change is with us; icy sidewalks are becoming the norm. Why can we not have sand and grit bins spread through the neighbourhoods? I also wish that when the roads are cleared, the entrances to driveways are not blocked off by the windrows left by road-clearing equipment.
I wish I could be on the committee that deals with branding of the city and buying art. I think that letting the world know we are a botanical arts city needs the views of ordinary citizens – we do not need any more expensive yellow stalk edifices.
Finally, I wish that we would face the fact we are in the Capital region. In the future, money from the province will be provided to us through our status in the Edmonton area. We need to work with Edmonton – and become a part of the region.
Here’s wishing.
Elizabeth Allchin, St. Albert
