How safe do you feel?

Community safety.

We don’t know how many times we’ve written about this important issue, but it’s never a bad time to talk about things that need to be done – and things that should be tempered or avoided altogether.

It all came to a boiling point when roadwork on the OCR spilled over into a bit of a free-for-all, coupled with confused and lost non-locals, a halal festival, and individual incidents that had locals fuming.

First off, the roadwork. It had to be done, the expansion and reparation of a key network in town that also connects us to other communities. Unfortunately, motorists use it for a shortcut all the time, especially to bypass the heavy morning traffic on Highway 138.

Roadwork is never a welcome sight because it causes detours; in this case, through Mohawk Street, past Mike Morris’ blue building, and out at Arena Road.

It’s confusing to some, but most definitely to people who have never been down Mohawk Street before.

What happened as a result, again coinciding with more traffic than usual during the weekend because of a large festival at OCR and Diabo roads, was the perfect storm.

One local reported her vehicle being struck by a non-local’s vehicle in anger, with what they described as a, let’s say, less than adequate response by the Peacekepeers, in a clear case of trespassing.

Others took to the street to try to obstruct non-locals, but it also spilled over into obstructing locals (for no good reason), as some people overstepped their personal authority and appointed themselves guardians.

This is what we have issue with. It’s one thing to have a community watch, to observe and report to proper authorities, but to hold up people who live in certain areas because you don’t know them, or to delay food to a family because you decided it would be better for the driver to go around the longer way, is not the answer.

You just anger people.

The Peacekeepers set up shop as well, and helped to alleviate the rush of traffic, but even that morning system hit a bump Thursday morning.

A local man was driving his kids into school, and he lives in Chateauguay. He rolled down his window, waved to the PK and went on his way, but, according to him, he was followed by the same Peacekeeper, lights on, and was cut off, to stop his vehicle.

It scared his two little girls in the backseat, but our question is why?

He’s quite obviously from town, and our understanding is if something like that happens, they could follow them and run the plate to see who it is. Not create distress and anger for no good reason.

That’s how that situation could have been avoided.

It’s not to say the PKs are doing a bad job, they’re obviously stressed and we’re sure most of them are doing their best; but it shows how difficult this whole thing is on everyone, including a force that is stretched far too thin.

But make no mistake, adding checkpoints permanently is not the answer.

We have said it time and time again – who would sit at them, paid, and really make a difference in unwanted non-local traffic?

Would they catch all of the bad guys? You know the answer.

Who would pay their salaries?

And what about the businesses that rely on non-local traffic, who would compensate them if they were forced to close because, frankly, there is too much power that comes with erecting checkpoints and putting an average Joe, with little to no real training, behind them.

As a collective with collective rights, nobody’s individual rights usurp another, even if they are paid to sit there and pick and choose who comes into town.

No one has a right to stop a customer from going to your business, and on the flip side, as we saw during the pandemic, no individual or business has should flout restrictions everyone must abide by, even if you don’t agree.

With a collective mindset comes the need for a good mind, and as this past weekend showed, even good minds can be clouded with anger, and good people can get caught up in all of it.

Steve Bonspiel

The Eastern Door