MEDIUM

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

LETTITOR

 

   

 

The wrong way to do things

     

Garth McLennan

Editor in Chief

ince the Gordon Campbell Liberals

were re-elected last year, there has

been a laundry list of complaints and
rumblings against Gordo’s party, almost all of
which are more than well deserved. However,
while Campbell and company have been
getting bulk of the press for their asinine and
well-documented behaviour, there’s another,
albeit smaller, government that has been
setting a pretty clear example of exactly how
not to run a city. I’m speaking of course,
about Vancouver mayor Gregor Robertson
and his band of loyal followers on the Vision
Vancouver city council.

Since taking office almost two years
ago, Robertson has shown a striking ability to
basically spit on the principals of democracy.
The simple fact of the matter is that Robertson
has shown time and time again that it doesn’t
matter what the people think, he’s going
to do what he wants to do. Nowhere is this
illustrated more clearly than in his fanatical
green agenda.

Now, there’s nothing wrong with being
environmentally friendly, but what Robertson
is doing is going far beyond that. Robertson is
of course the man behind the Burrard Bridge
and Dunsmuir Street bicycle lanes, and now
he’s the driving force behind the recently
council-approved bike lane that will soon be
implemented on Hornby Street.

The problem of course, isn’t even
really the bike lanes (although that’s a big
part of it), it’s, much like Campbell and the
HST, the exceedingly arrogant attitude that
surrounds almost everything Robertson does.
The Hornby bike lane was always going to
be introduced, regardless of how opposed
those most affected by it are. Robertson
had crews set up and the lines for the new
bike lane painted before council even met to
decide whether or not they would even be
implemented! The whole “debate” process
meant absolutely nothing.

Oh, of course, I forgot; this is the same
mayor who recently couldn’t stop praising
China’s communist system for being able to
repress democracy in order to get things done
faster. Well Mr. Robertson, this isn’t China.
This is a country that respects the thoughts
and opinions of its people. Here in Canada,
we have fundamental freedoms such as due
process and freedom of speech. It’s a shame
that you don’t think much of those.

To Robertson, it didn’t matter that
Hornby Street merchants and their supporters
came out in droves to oppose the project. It
didn’t matter that already existing bike lanes
on Burrard and Dunsmuir are still, technically
at least, pilot projects designed to see if further
bike lanes would be prudent. Apparently it
doesn’t matter in the least to Robertson that
the evaluation periods for those lanes aren’t
even finished yet, he’s just going to go ahead
and put in another one, and who cares what
the people think, right? That seems to be the
modus operandi for B.C. governments these
days. It doesn’t matter to Robertson that the
aforementioned and pre-existing bike lanes
are also logistical and seldom-used disasters
either.

Putting walled bike lanes in major traffic
arteries all year around (and that’s another
thing, could someone please explain what
the purpose of these lanes will be during the
winter months, when the city is besieged
by frequent rain and snow? We don’t see
many cyclists using the existing lanes now)
is a ridiculous decision from any standpoint,
even an environmental one. All these lanes
are doing is further congesting traffic, which
causes cars to idle longer in one place with
their engines running. How exactly is that
good for the environment Mr. Mayor?

The fact is, these days it’s very difficult
to tell the difference between Robertson and
Campbell. Both have shown that respect for
the people is apparently an overrated quality.

 

 

 

 

Bicycie Suor
the Oniginal

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