Dear Editor

I'm not a business owner, but I do work downtown. I'm wondering when street sweepers became a thing of the past. I don't mean the big motorized ones that actually wash the streets, I mean the men who used to be caretakers of the city sidewalks.

I take my breaks outside of the business I work for, and the condition of the walks is, to say the least, gross. I don't mean the condition of the cement, I mean how filthy they are. Cigarette butts, litter and bird droppings are abundant.

I know businesses are supposed to be responsible for the condition of the walks in front of their property, but half the buildings are vacant. Whose responsibility is it then?

I have contacted the City about this and, yes, they did come to clean the area I mentioned, but that's it. They cleaned about five square metres of the entire sidewalk. After that I took a little walk just to check a little more of the area and I was totally grossed out.

The City has snow removal equipment to care for the walks in the winter, but what about the summer? The City wants improvement in the downtown area but, they don't seem to be walking the walk.

Clean the walks that have been neglected and I, as a downtown business employee, will do my part and sweep our little patch of City property. Every little bit helps to improve our fair city's image.

Lloyd Cadrain

North Battleford