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Penny pinchers only cheating themselves |
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Written by Al Hollingsworth
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Friday, 22 August 2008 |
A couple of years ago, the new Cobequid Health Centre in Lower Sackville opened, a facility that serves residents not only in the Bedford-Sackville district but over a catchment area that spans a great part of East Hants and St. Margaret’s Bay within HRM. It is a state-of the-art facility and should be a point of pride for all who use it.
There are some, to phrase it as kindly as possible, who have no idea how fortunate they are to have this institution literally in their own back yard. They simply don’t ‘get it.’ and through their thoughtless and miserly actions, abuse the privilege of being able to access the services offered in this facility.
Let me explain.
When the move was made from the old Cobequid Multi Service Centre on Memory Lane, a new dimension was added. Sackville got its first pay-as-you-park lot, a large, paved, well-appointed parking lot adjacent to the new Cobequid Health Centre. While some expressed their displeasure at the prospect of paying to park, most of us accepted it as a way of life in the 21st century. However, what some, notably those who manage to avoid paying, do not realize, is that the monies generated from these parking fees go back to the Cobequid Foundation. Every nickel collected stays in the community.
Even more important to the equation is that the Cobequid Foundation uses that money to buy new equipment and thereby expand the services available to the general public. Just as a quick “for example,” my wife and daughters are now able to have their annual mammograms within a five minutes drive of their homes. Prior to the opening of the Cobequid Health Centre, mammography and other such specialized services were almost exclusively centered in Halifax. Traveling to Halifax is becoming increasingly expensive, and parking rates at the city hospitals are even higher than those imposed in Sackville.
I have seen residents drive up, take their parking ticket and proceed into the lot. From there they enter the building to avail themselves of one of the many services provided. Then, when their health matters have been attended to, they come out, get in their vehicle and drive up over the lawn, gingerly maneuvering the curb and driving away, having saved themselves 50 cents or a dollar. You don’t know how many times I have silently prayed they would snag and do serious damage to the under carriage of their car or truck.
Now there is another cheap trick being employed. A few months ago, Lawton’s opened a new facility that sits directly in front of the health centre. Among other things, it boasts a huge parking lot for their customers and those who have business in offices located on the second floor.
Go there any morning or afternoon and you can observe drivers parking their vehicles and then walking up the hill to the Cobequid Centre for treatments or tests. Last week I noticed a well-known media personality using this ploy to save a dime or two.
I don’t know if the folks at Lawton’s are aware of this abuse, but someone should tip them off. Maybe they could hire a Commissionaire for a week or two, or liaise with the management at Cobequid to have their security check the lot and begin issuing tickets or, better still, have the offending vehicles towed.
Let these cheapskates pay a $150 recovery fee to get their car or truck back, and perhaps the small parking fee they charge at Cobequid won’t seem so onerous. Someone once said, “It takes all kinds.” ‘Tis true. And some of these kinds we can do without.
(Al Hollingsworth is a retired journalist and broadcaster)
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