Letters June 29: A year to eschew Canada Day; the need for affordable housing timescolonist.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from timescolonist.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Leaving them to drown is not humane, as they take a long time to tire out and die. I know because on occasion I rescue them, tired and tailless, from the dog’s water dish. Wall lizards have been on the Island for more than 50 years, longer than the author and probably most of his readership, yet we don’t try to drown, shoot or sticky trap them just because they “aren’t from around here.” Leave the lizards alone! On our small farm we have been growing crops and living in harmony with the lizards at “ground zero” in Central Saanich for four years. They scurry around the greenhouse starting on the first sunny days in February and live in piles of leaves and rocks around our farm.
I hope the flex space on Erie Street becomes permanent, too. I’m delighted with the Dallas Road walkway. I drive a car when necessary, but most of the time I walk to local grocery stores, health-care providers, pharmacy and coffee shops. What I can’t find in James Bay, I walk to find downtown. I appreciate measures that make walking safer, including those that slow down traffic. New crosswalks, speed bumps and four-way stops all make me happy. Closing some roads in Beacon Hill Park makes me happy. Bike lanes provide a buffer between me and fast-moving vehicles and lower speed limits are safer for all road and sidewalk users.