A call for action. Delays in publishing City of Victoria reports on the seismic safety of buildings are an affront to Citizen Engagement. [...]
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If voters knew all that in November 2010, would they have thought differently about maxing out the City’s manageable debt on a $77-million, 8.5-quake-ready new bridge? It’s impossible to say. But no matter what, the Fire Hall report should have been released promptly, so voters would have had a more complete picture of the City’s immediate infrastructure needs, and the desperate state of its finances. [...] 
City of Victoria council decides Friday February 4th on the fate of rail on the replacement Johnson Street Bridge. Over 130 people from the South Island submitted their concerns, and support for rail, to municipal, regional and provincial officials. [...] 
It’s hard to say what all the factors were in the result. Might’ve been that editorials in newspapers and on radio stations called for Yes, believing that the old bridge would have to be replaced eventually anyway. Or that the City spent at least $50,000 of taxpayers’ money on its “Vote Yes” campaign, with endorsements from local celebrities, cyclists, and business personalities fearful of the City’s threat of a 12-month closure for repair. [...] On November 17th Focus Magazine held the ‘Public Hearing on the Johnson Street Bridge’ at Alix Goolden Hall. Over 200 people attended, listened and asked questions to a panel consisting of Victoria Councillor Geoff Young, David Broadland – publisher of Focus Magazine, Ross Crockford – director of johnsonstreetbridge.org and Michael Roberts – an engineer experienced in bridge refurbishments. [...] A small selection of the emails received over the past few days. Public engagement does not end with the August 10th feedback deadline – the Mayor and pro-replacement Councillors still must convince a majority of voters to support borrowing an historical amount of money in the November referendum. [...] Here is a selection of recent letters and comments, and thank you to everyone who has provided feedback – it is always welcome. While the City of Victoria has extended its public engagement and survey to August 3rd, plenty of people have been weighing in with emails, and comments on the website. Our supplemental survey has over 500 downloads – it will be interesting to see how many reach City Hall, and how they are included as information to council on August 12th. [...] I actually laughed out loud while reading the mailer I received from the City of Victoria entitled “The Future of the Johnson Street Bridge.” It was a political document pretending to be a call for public input. The publication is replete with threats and fear-mongering. “If nothing is done to address the Johnson Street Bridge within in the next two years it will face closure,” the city threatens. Write back to city council if you want, but you should know the decision’s already been made. [...] The City must receive responses by August 3. Please complete the City’s survey, and the supplementary survey, put them together in the same envelope, and get them in the mail right away! [...] A greater principle is also at stake here. Governments have a duty to thoroughly explore simpler, less-costly solutions to problems, before throwing millions of dollars at more expensive ones. Relying on a “quick” analysis that a cheaper solution won’t work is not acceptable. If the City is unwilling to try fixing obvious, existing problems, how can citizens believe that it will be able to successfully execute a far larger and more costly project? [...] |
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