To the editor:

A bylaw is only as strong as its enforcement. That said, it is gratifying to read in last week's Examiner that Public Security has been stepping up patrols in Westmount parks and issuing tickets to nocturnal dwellers (squirrels exempted) who ignore the City's parks' curfew or consume alcohol on the premises.

But it's not the quantity of tickets but the number of fines paid that ultimately matters. The story left this reader asking: what percentage of these fines is paid? How does the City collect outstanding fines or is it not cost-effective to pursue? If these stats are available, a follow-up story would be welcome.

Dorothy Lipovenko

York Street