Missing Sidewalks - the good vs. the ugly

I took a walk out to McAllister Mall from our apartment Uptown last week, I really don't like the traffic out that way so I thought walking would be a better option. It took awhile, but overall it was an okay walk.

There was however, a section of road that I wouldn't have been able to pass if I was a super strict rule follower. I mean, I like rules and I respect them but this is just ridiculous:

Sidewalks on BOTH sides of the street closed? Really? Is that legal? When complaining about this to Greg he made a very interesting point - would both lanes of a street be shut down for construction not allowing any traffic to go through if it was avoidable? Especially when it's an easy fix to just make one of these lanes into a pedestrian lane...really, it's not that difficult, is it?

I went for my walk on Saturday, Greg and I went to the movies on Tuesday night and both of these sidewalk closed signs were still up. I was hoping it was a temporary fix, perhaps only for a day.

Here is a much better alternative of creating a sidewalk during construction:

Yea, it's not a sidewalk, an appropriate sign has been placed to ensure the safety of pedestrians - IMAGINE! Thinking of pedestrians during a time of road construction - SHOCKING!

Tisk tisk on you Saint John construction crews. I know these construction efforts are for the benefit of the road and the vehicles who drive on them (yes I fall into that category sometimes), but it's necessary to think of other people, those who don't want to drive, or who only have the option to walk when ripping up the road and willy-nilly shutting down pedestrian paths.

Ugh.

Student Debt - Unnecessary

Earlier this year there was a student day of action in Halifax to protest the rising cost of tuition. Nova Scotia has the highest tuition in Canada and that comes with the highest debt after graduation.

The folks at the Dalhousie Student Union put together this great video highlighting a number of students and the (growing) debt that they are facing:



I'm on the lucky end of the spectrum and my undergrad left me relatively debt free ($10,000 give or take) - Thank you Mom and Dad! I also busted my butt working a number of jobs throughout those years to make sure I was the least in debt I could be.

But now I'm back in the debt boat after working to pay it down for two years post-graduation. I'm currently working towards a degree that will allow me to get a job that is needed in every province in Canada - because everyone needs teachers, right? It's a strange situation where individuals need to pay so much to receive the education needed to be qualified to do essential jobs for our population.

The Nova Scotia government (in particular) really needs to get their priorities straight or we are all going to be broke and saying HELLO! to the welcoming arms of cheaper universities in the country.