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Opinion

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This article was published 23/05/2014 (4153 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Visit a royal shame

Re: Royals take quick taste of our city (May 22). The royal visit was an extravagant waste of the taxpayers’ money.

Can the royals not afford to pay their own way instead of putting the responsibility on the country’s taxpayer? Our infrastructure is among the worst in North America.

We can do without another royal visit for a few years until our city is once again the pride of Canada.

TONY MARCOFF

Winnipeg

 

The royal itinerary was as lacklustre as the weather was bleak, with the exception of Prince Charles feeding Hudson the polar bear, our gorgeous Arctic ambassador.

Yet an immense opportunity was squandered — it seems the bureaucracy at our architectural jewel, the Canadian Museum for Human Rights, was in a deep slumber.

ROBERT GAMACHE

Winnipeg

 

On Wednesday, 14 Manitobans were invested into the Order of Manitoba for various noteworthy achievements in our province. Congratulations to them all.

Unfortunately the Winnipeg Free Press didn’t think this was newsworthy enough to receive any mention other than a fleeting paragraph. Even Hudson the polar bear received more media attention.

KATHIE TAFT

Glenboro

 

Respect on the road

There seems to be a lack of respect by both cyclists and motorists in Winnipeg (Fear & pedalling, May 20).

The laws are there for both to obey, as well as for each’s protection. While you can report motorists because they have a licence, you can’t report cyclists.

How many times do we see cyclists pass on the right-hand side of the road between a vehicle and the curb? How many times do we see cyclists ride through a crosswalk, not signal properly and roll through stop signs?

Motorists aren’t perfect, but two wrongs don’t make a right. All cyclists should have a licence — maybe if they know they can be reported, they will attempt to obey the laws.

MITCH TABAK

Winnipeg

 

Winnipeg cyclists want more bike lanes, more respect from drivers and equal rights on the roads. They should start by obeying the rules of the road.

Cyclists should be stopping at stop signs, going the right way on one-way streets, riding in designated bike lanes, staying off of sidewalks and paying attention to traffic lights.

I live downtown. While standing on my balcony for 10 minutes, I witnessed five cyclists going through stop signs while not riding in bike lanes.

BARBARA SMITH

Winnipeg

Dog complaints unleashed

I agree with WINDOG that more off-leash dog parks should be established in Winnipeg (Plan for off-leash dog parks revived, May 22).

These dog parks should be for the exclusive use of dog owners and their pets — no other activity should be allowed in these parks.

I’m tired of being confronted by off-leash dogs in non-off-leash parks. There are too many complaints about people being bitten, knocked over or chased by off-leash dogs, dog poop and so forth. More off-leash parks would also result in fewer confrontations between dog owners and non-dog owners.

It would be worth the small cost to taxpayers to have more off-leash dog parks in the city.

ED BAILEY

Winnipeg

 

 

My wife is a runner; now that the weather is somewhat better, she has moved her marathon training regime from the treadmill to the streets.

Every day when she comes back from her run along Churchill Drive and Kingston Crescent, I hear the same complaint about people out with their unleashed dogs.

She has been chased by some of these unleashed dogs, and a friend of ours was even knocked off of his bike by one — all with the owners in plain sight.

Maybe it’s time for more dog parks, but in the meantime people should leash their dogs.

BOB MACDONALD

Winnipeg

 

CFL rift threatens season

Re: CFLPA has tough road to negotiate (May 21). Paul Wiecek’s piece suggests the CFL Players’ Association has little leverage in its quest to revive the revenue-sharing model previously conceded in the last labour agreement.

His narrow perspective on the market value of established CFL players is less an analysis than an opinion.

Aside from an ill-advised foray into the U.S. market and two temporary franchise suspensions, the CFL has been able to maintain a stable membership and develop a business model that supports 30,000-plus-seat stadiums and ticket prices that range between $20 and $150.

Ongoing fan support and team merchandise sales require a stable roster of recognizable stars in the local market, as opposed to Wiecek’s suggestion that the parts are interchangeable.

J. HUGH MCMORROW

Winnipeg

 

Paul Wiecek purports the CFL may already be overpaying its players, arriving at this spurious conclusion solely by comparing the pay of CFL players to that of players in other football leagues.

If Wiecek were to truly and accurately examine the evidence for such comparisons, he should have shown how the players’ pay in each of those leagues compared to their respective league revenues.

JOHN PEREHINEC

Whitemouth