Leiper’s Part Of LRT Problem: BENN
Kitchissppi Councillor Jeff Leiper is amused by truly unremarkable things.
Trains have been running along tracks for more than two centuries now. There should be absolutely nothing remarkable about seeing another one. Except in Ottawa, where what should be unremarkable is remarkable such as running a train from Trim Road to Tunney’s Pasture and back again. What is also remarkable, but not surprising, is that a narcistic councillor didn’t think twice about drawing attention to himself by declaring the unremarkable to be remarkable.
Leiper has voted in favour of an endless number of motions supporting the LRT. The councillor doesn’t ask the probing questions that would demonstrate that he understands his role as a member of a council tasked with oversight of city management. Probing questions such as how far over budget is Stage 1, or Stage 2? Or, why is staff failing to tell us the most basic of information, such as an expected completion dates?
Furthermore, Leiper, nor any of his colleagues, could be bothered to present a motion censuring ex-mayor Jim Watson for his multiple acts of egregious malfeasance. Leiper voted in favour of awarding the Trillium Stage 2 extension to the SNC Lavalin subsidiary- led consortium while two of his colleagues were asking detailed questions that should have raised a red flag with anyone who was paying attention.
Leiper, after two-and-a-half terms, has demonstrated that he is part of the big picture problem. He has been an integral part of multiple councils that have been incapable of delivering an acceptable level of governance.
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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He is a proper —-. He declared he would “Absolutely not” represent my view, and described it as “extremist,” because I had the temerity to suggest that “roads” (in this case the QED) were built for “motor vehicles” and not bicyclists and pedestrians, and should, usually, as a rule of thumb, be used for that purpose.
Charles, at least Councillor Leiper made his position clear. He stands for what he stands for. He does not perceive his role as your councillor to include representing your concerns to the city, irrespective of whether he agrees with them personally.
Voters of Kitchissippi are on notice. If you agree with this attitude, continue to support him at the polls. If you are of the opinion that his role is to represent the concerns of all of the residents of his ward, not just his own, find a viable alternative candidate.
The same advice applies across the city. Too many of the individuals who populate council chamber have the same attitude as Jeff Leiper. They are right, and anyone who doesn’t agree with them to the letter are wrong, and those people don’t deserve that most basic element of the democratic principle of representation.
Forewarned is forearmed.
Here’s a quote from the 2008 International Peer Review report, where a panel of experts reviewed the Ottawa LRT Plan before construction began;
“An over-arching concern noted by the Panel was the basis on which the latest transit proposals had been developed. These appear to rely on long-term (2031) ridership forecasts for a peak hour only. This approach leads to high cost solutions designed only to address peak hour conditions. The Panel was also concerned at the lack of any cost: benefit analysis or wider option evaluation being applied to test, compare and appraise alternatives against clearly defined Transit Plan (and wider Official Plan) aims, objectives and targets.”
The Ottawa LRT boondoggle was doomed from the start, and the city planners knew it.
Since then, it’s become obvious to all that even those wildly exaggerated 2031 ridership forecasts are now completely implausible. The system would be due for replacement before the ridership appears.
The sensible and responsible action is to abandon all LRT expansion. The city itself admits it can’t afford to even operate the additional equipment.
At the very least, the provincial government must refuse to pour any more money into this gaping financial sinkhole.