City Hall: Dogma But No Substance: BENN

We need solutions from city politicians, not politics.

Instead what Ottawa gets is our civic leaders focus on proving that they are right. And that anyone who does not share their position is wrong.

Case in point, the spat between the provincial government and municipal government over bike lanes.

The provincial government recently introduced legislation that limits the ability of municipalities to install bike lanes on any roadway where the net effect will be to reduce the number of lanes for motor vehicles. Rather than reflect on the why, Kitchissippi Councillor Jeff Leiper drafted a column for the Citizen in which he complained that the province is playing politics. The column cites his casual observations about relative volumes of traffic modes.

These observations are not even close to being statistically valid. They are presented as absolutely correct, and undeniably support his righteous position. Observations, that if offered by a community association, would be dismissed out-of-hand by staff. These observations are used to support what is clearly a politically motivated preference. That this is a case of the pot calling the kettle soot-covered is lost on the author.

The why of the provincial decision regarding bike lanes matters. In too many cases the decisions to install bike lanes in what were previously motor-vehicle lanes were not supported by anything approximating an objective study. At best, the logic behind the decisions was along the lines of “if we build it, they will come”. The province noted the apparent lack of sufficient objective analysis of the impact on motor vehicle traffic flow of removing a lane.

Did the councillor, when drafting his rebuttal, even consider the relative merits of the province’s concerns? Or did he just start typing?  Rather than finding a useful solution, we continue to suffer from decisions and made for political gain. Nowhere in sight is a mature analysis of alternatives that might, just possibly, improve the overall flow of people and goods around the city.

On to the next example.

The city demanded that the federal government bring its employees back to the office for at least three days a week to help save downtown businesses. It would also provide riders for the woefully under-capacity OC Transpo fleets of buses and LRT trains. Except it turns out that the city does not require all of its employees to be in the office at least three days a week. Except that the city does not expect its employees to take OC Transpo to and from the office. Except that the city does not dare ask its employees why they won’t take OC Transpo to and from the office.

There are many more examples of petty politics getting in the way of solving problems. Of petty politicians and staff demanding that everyone accept their ideologically driven preferences. Of refusing to countenance the concept that people make decisions based on their own best interests and needs.

All of which is to say that perhaps, just maybe, the petty politicians need to stop whining and stop preaching their righteous beliefs. Instead, perhaps, just maybe, they could focus on solving some of the more complex problems we face. Find solutions that involve understanding the impact of the decisions that benefit the self-interest group of the day are at the cost of everyone else.

Ron Benn, a finance executive, has been a member of the Centrepointe Community Association for the better part of three decades.

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