Yesterday afternoon I was able to accept this donation of over $150 of change from Mike Evans on behalf of the Berwick Foodland.
This particular donation will help with providing multiple civic signs, free of charge to those who NEED them in our community.
Not only was Mike able to help, but yesterday, while delivering a civic stake to a resident in Greenwich, I also received some additional funds to help with this project. Special thank you Drew.
Back in February and March, I canvassed a variety of locations across the valley to get statistics on who had civic signs and who didn’t.
No one should feel ashamed, it’s something that’s not on everyone’s mind. There has always been a lack of education across the board, making it something not many think about, until it’s too late.
There are so many homeowners who genuinely don’t have the funds, or they aren’t versatile about how to get a sign displayed, which makes it tricky for many.
Over the past couple of months, I’ve certainly had some trial and error, working to find a way to get signs displayed properly, to ensure it’s easy for first responders and many essential services to locate properties easily, while also being in accordance to municipal bylaws.
In most, if not all cases, property owners have civic signs but they aren’t displayed properly. This makes it extremely difficult to see a civic from the roadway. This could result in emergency services passing an address and losing critical time in the event of an emergency.
In fact, many residents feel their signs can be seen, but there is a misconception about how important it is to have your civic sign displayed at the end of your driveway, facing not just one direction, but all directions of travel and on the same side of the road as your property, reducing confusion and saving time for emergency services when they are approaching.
Most bylaws in many municipalities don’t emphasize this, but if you speak to any first responder they will tell you how important it is to have a sign displayed at the end of your driveway facing all directions so it can be seen before approaching, a slight miscalculation with most bylaws.
It is very touching to see a significant increase in signage locally. Places that I canvassed months ago where there were no civic signs now have perfectly displayed signs!
I began this initiative in late December and since February the Coldbrook & District Lions Club has made approximately 120 civic signs.
This doesn’t include the many other organizations that also supply signs across the Annapolis Valley, so it’s hard to say how many people have truly reached out and installed theirs.
I’ll be working on this over the next couple of weeks to ensure residents in our communities who need a sign get one!
Thank you to all those who have been supportive of my initiative and understand the importance of having these crucial signs displayed in our communities, when seconds and minutes matter.
Adrian J.
