PEI farmers markets & late summer highlights 🌽

We’re half way through the last full week of August. Saturday marks the last day this year that the sun will set after 8PM in Charlottetown. Lucky are our friends up west…Tignish will have post-8PM sunsets until the 30th.

I made a few minor design changes to the newsletter this week. The only one I will point out is the ability to link directly to certain articles. This is made possible by Island Edition’s new website, which I launched over the weekend. The new site is still a work in progress, so I’d love for you to provide some feedback.

And with that out of the way, let’s get to today’s issue.

⌚Approximate reading time is 4 minutes.

IN THIS ISSUE

Pedestrian sent to hospital after being struck by drunk driver.
Charlottetown working on shared e-bike service.
Maritime sunrise from International Space Station.

QUICK HITS

Bear spray attacks: Two people from Charlottetown are facing assault with a weapon charges after five people were sprayed with what police believe to be bear spray. Around 2AM, three people walking down Water Street were sprayed by the passenger of a vehicle. A short time later, two more people were sprayed a block away. Police say the incidents were connected, and have charged a 20-year-old woman and 19-year-old man.

New community fridge: Not-for-profit charity Gifts from the Heart is planning to open a community fridge outside the West Royalty Community Centre. But before the charity can move forward, it will need approval from the city. There are issues around liability because the fridge would be located on city property, so the city is in the process of drafting an agreement, which includes the charity having to provide proof of insurance. The fridge would be locked daily at 6PM, which is different from the 24-hour fridge on Connolly Street.

Food security funding: Funding for the new community fridge is being made available through the province’s Community Food Security Initiative, a project to help organizations establish new food resources and increase access to Island food for their community. In addition to the fridge in West Royalty, Gifts from the Heart will use funds from the program to open another fridge in Charlottetown, and a fridge in Stratford. To date, the program has allocated $70,000 of its $200,000 budget to projects across the Island.

Nimrods Out: Nimrods’ in Stratford will be closing next month after operating in the town’s former KFC location for the better part of two years. The business made the announcement on Facebook yesterday, saying the pace and scope of the business has become too demanding, and that the original vision for the business was not being lived up to. Their last day in Stratford will be Sept. 4th. The business also operates a location at Peake's Quay Marina.

IMPAIRED DRIVER

Pedestrian sent to hospital after being struck by drunk driver

An impaired driver caused quite the scene early Sunday morning on Water Street, sending one man to hospital and leaving area residents shocked.

Just as pedestrians filled the sidewalks along Water Street following last call around 2AM, the driver of a Jeep hit a vehicle, left the street, struck a pedestrian, and then crashed into a business. The pedestrian was pinned between the driver’s Jeep and the building’s door, just inches from a brick wall that sustained damages.

The driver then tried to back out of the mess he had created, only to again hit the vehicle he first came into contact with. Recognizing the signs of someone attempting to flee, witnesses surrounded the Jeep until police, who heard the crash while on another call nearby, arrived on scene.

Police observed signs of impairment, but the driver refused to provide a breath sample. Police arrested the 34-year-old Ontario man, and later charged him with failure to provide a breath sample. He’s scheduled to appear in court on Sept. 15.

GoFundMe Campaign: Members of the community have been supporting a GoFundMe campaign that was launched to help 20-year-old Seth Doyle, who was the pedestrian struck in the story above. Doyle’s injuries are all recoverable, but the young man does need some support from the community to get back on his feet. You can read more about the circumstances and Doyle’s situation on the campaign page.

Copy to share the story:

https://islandedition.ca/read/pedestrian-sent-to-hospital-after-being-struck-by-drunk-driver

BIKE SHARE

Charlottetown working on shared e-bike service

A shared e-bike service in Charlottetown and Stratford could be rolling by next July.

The city began working on the project after being approached by the provincial government in late 2020 with the idea of launching some sort of bike share program.

Sophie Hayes, the city’s engineering student, made a presentation to the public works committee last week as a step toward moving the project to public tender.

The project would see 68 e-bikes made available at various locations throughout Charlottetown and Stratford. Residents and visitors would be able to rent a bike from one location, and drop it off at another. Secondary locks would be provided to allow users to run errands.

One hurdle that needs to be worked out is how the service would provide helmets. The committee heard that other jurisdictions with similar programs have struggled with helmets being damaged or not returned. One solution would be to have helmets available to rent from physical locations, such as city hall or participating businesses, rather than having them paired with each bike at the charging docks.

Public works manager Scott Adams was upfront in saying that the current estimated start-up cost is preliminary, but as of now the city expects this project to cost somewhere around $600,000 to get off the ground, with the province contributing half of that amount.

Copy to share the story:

https://islandedition.ca/read/charlottetown-working-on-shared-e-bike-service

#IslandEdition

Maritime Sunrise 🧑‍🚀

Retired Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield shared this undated photo on Twitter yesterday showing the sun rising across the Maritimes from the International Space Station.