Raise the Hammer

I'm sorry, but I have to remind you that I spent a huge amount of my time travelling around the suburbs giving presentations about LRT that made precisely the points you would like LRT supporters to make. It just isn't fair to complain without first checking what has been done. Maybe you just missed all the parts about the economic and social benefits to the entire city. People also keep make the point that LRT would allow the HSR to be reconfigured to better serve the whole city ... and the long term BLAST plan is for LRT all across all parts of the city.

And the City's rapid transit team put "City as a Whole" economic benefits at the forefront of their arguments and again engaged with all of the city. This approach is part of the reason Council kept voting unanimously to support LRT from 2008 to 2013. These argument were made and continue to be made.

The "angry language" is, unfortunately a natural result of suburban councillors going against the will of residents and local councillors on issues that really primarily concern a few lower city wards. The anger is directed against the councillors who keep thwarting lower city projects, not against the residents themselves (many of whom don't actually support their decisions). I'm sure Ancaster residents would be upset if the rest of council ganged up on their councillor to oppose an Ancaster project strongly supported by the local community ... but it never happens.

And, to come back to Vancouver, the changes were in fact driven by engaged citizens in the urban core (protests against the East End Penetrator Freeway) ... and I don't recall any serious attempts to "engage with the suburbs". In fact, I don't know of any cases where trying to convince suburbanites (and not engaging in activist campaigns from the core out) has ever worked. All the examples I know of happened from the urban core out.

Can you point to any examples?

Comment edited by kevlahan on 2015-01-31 12:51:57