Mayor Krakowka has a message to those people who are insulting and abusing staff for the sometimes wobbly lines painted on the roads: cut it out.
Krakowka made an announcement before the meeting of council on May 20. “We are always looking for ways to create operational efficiencies, improve services and reduce costs,” says the mayor. “We encourage thinking outside the box and exploring new ideas methods and opportunities. This was the case of the line painting.”
Historically, the district has hired professional companies to come and paint the road lines, but this has been quite expensive, and they are limited by when the companies are available.
So last year, the District purchased new equipment with which to paint parking stall lines. Historically, staff has painted crosswalks and parking stalls by hand, but this year marks the first time staff has used the new equipment to paint the roads. “This was a trial and error process, as we tried to mitigate the limitations of the painting machine with the actual conditions of the road. Painting lines on the road is significantly different than painting parking stalls or crosswalks, and we are aware that some of the lines around town aren’t perfect, but in general it was a good first attempt.”
But, says Krakowka, many people have taken to social media to mock staff, and even level personal attacks at them. This is not appropriate, he says. “The comments I’ve seen are based on misinformation and gossip. Instead of continuing to spread misinformation and disrespectful comments, I urge anyone with any questions or concerns about the district administrative project or operations to contact town hall.”
He says the district will evaluate the success of the in-house line painting initiative. “We will determine whether it will continue with additional modifications to the process or whether cost/benefit supports reverting back to hiring a professional line painting company.
Trent is the publisher of Tumbler RidgeLines.
