Builds his own sidewalk

By Christy Marsters

The Hants Journal/NovaNewsNow.com

One landlord in Windsor couldn’t get council to slate him a sidewalk, so he did it himself.

Kevin Saunders, owner of the apartment complex located at 158 Stannus Street, was out in the rain Oct. 28 constructing a sidewalk after asking Windsor town council countless times to put one in place, without any success. “I just got tired of bugging them,” he said.

“So, I decided to hire the man, the equipment and the materials to do it myself,” Saunders said. “Tenants were out helping me. But, they also think the town should’ve supplied it.”

The area in front of this apartment complex was a muddy ditch before it was leveled off with gravel and then filled with crusher dust by the town, which was a messy material, Saunders said. “I’ve had two people (both in wheelchairs) in the last two years who’ve wanted to rent an apartment here but didn’t because they couldn’t travel past the gravel.

“I put in a sidewalk cause the town wouldn’t. It cost some money, but at least it’s done,” Saunders added. “It just would’ve been nice to have some cooperation from the council.”

Mayor Anna Allen said so long as Saunders is on his own property, and isn’t breaking any of guidelines of the town, he is allowed to do whatever he wants for his residents.

There is a sidewalk on the other side of this street when some areas don’t even have one, Allen said. “But, most areas in town are fortunate enough to have at least one sidewalk.”

Main streets in town do have two because these areas are used more and contain a greater traffic flow, Allen said. “I do wish we could have a sidewalk on every street, but without more revenue, it’s just not feasible. It’s hard to maintain the existing sidewalks we have.”