Dear Editor,

As a citizen of Maple Ridge for 50 years and a residential taxpayer for 27 years, I want to send a clear message to all your readers who pay their fair share of taxes in our community.

We are getting excellent services for stuff we don't need.

Bollards are the goofy things that grow around intersections: they are black and stick out of the ground about four feet. We never needed them in the '60s when cars averaged two tons, why do we need them now at a thousand dollars apiece?

Traffic signs are growing faster than knotweed, and they are popping up almost everywhere at a thousand dollars apiece.

New trees are planted under existing power lines. It's a no-no, yet we still do it, so we can pay the district to cut them - as it is in their budget (i.e. taxpayer dollars).

Planting shrubs in the middle of roads.

WHY?

The new and improved Abernethy Way has four new stop lights from 232nd to 224th Streets - are you kidding me? What was wrong with the original 4-way stop?

And how much did that cost the taxpayer?

Now let's get on to the bike lane gong show.

Since those goofy lines and bicycle pictures have been painted and repainted and repainted, I have yet to see one avid cyclist use this utter nonsense.

Folks, the District is spending your money, and it ain't gonna stop unless your pay attention!

Will Waterbeek, Maple Ridge