COCHRANE - Cochrane is looking into putting a timestamp on roadside memorials.
After hearing from the region's top paramedic about the impacts of the memorials at the Cochrane District Social Services Administration Board (CDSSAB) meeting last month, the municipality is the first to consider it.
The idea was discussed at Cochrane’s regular council meeting on Tuesday (Oct. 24). The town plans to further look into the request and find a way to regulate roadside memorials, Mayor Peter Politis told TimminsToday.
“It's really just a general direction to try to regulate the process. It's obviously a very sensitive item where, you know, we’ve got people on both sides of the fence who are going to be very affected by this and so I think what the resolution is looking for is for us to have a look at it and try to find a responsible and maybe a more regulated way of doing it,” he said.
“The operation will put a brief together and make some recommendations about the conversation.”
The CDSSAB board is made up of mayors and councillors from across the district. At its September meeting, chief paramedic Jean Carriere told board members about the lasting impact that public-area memorials have on the mental health of local paramedics and other first responders. He asked municipalities to consider putting a 60-day limit on all memorials.
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Public memorials can range from roadside installations to displays in parks, for example, often including flowers, photographs and items of sentimental value installed by loved ones.
Some municipalities have bylaws requiring memorials to be taken down if it’s impeding construction or roadwork. In the City of Timmins, for example, the obstructing and encumbering of streets bylaw would only apply to roadside memorials if it affects the city's ability to complete services such as snow removal or obstructs the safe use of the roadway or line of sight.
Cochrane is the first municipal council to talk about the request.
“I’m happy to lead as opposed to follow,” Politis said this week.
Politis said he believes they should be a little more responsible and evolve the direction of roadside memorials.
“There's been an expression and a recognition that there's a reminded trauma, if you will, as they go by the memorials, at the same time, the challenge is that people that are most affected by this are obviously the families who have been involved in a tragic loss. So, we don't want to leave them in this as well at the same time,” he said.
“It's just a matter of recognizing that maybe it has gone unnoticed that first responders are heavily involved and the emotional side of this as well.”
The item will be brought back to Cochrane council for further discussion, however, it isn’t certain when.
