Raise the Hammer

A staggering abuse of his authority on council. Much like Councillor's Whitehead and Skelly, Collins is squandering political capital--both his own and that of the city--doubling down on this seeming conviction that Hamiltonians would rather cut off their noses to spite their own face than accept real change. I know there aren't many people out there with the name recognition of Collins, but I dearly hope he finally gets unseated in '18. He's been in there too long, and doesn't have any sort of real vision for the whole of the city. He's playing divisive, parochial political games to stay in power, nothing more. I feel bad for the people of his ward who believe he has their best interests in heart, because he's revealed himself to be a cynical politician of the old school variety, and clearly has lost sight of the needs and hopes of the city and its future. And what for? So folks can keep their SoV commute times down? This and a GO station to divert people around the core makes him look like an embittered outer ward councillor, when his ward--the ward I grew up in--has always been a part of the City of Hamilton, from the first breaking of ground past Parkdale up to amalgamation and beyond. Is he hoping that the Wal Mart on Concession will magically become his own city hall if and when amalgamation ever gets repealed (Pro Tip: Don't bank on it, Chad, because it won't happen)?

I honestly don't get him. A dear friend assures me he's a great guy, but his maneuvering and conservative approach, especially of late, make me think of reptilian politicians twice his age, and he's around my age! I know that us East Enders aren't noted for our intellectual acumen, but he actually makes me wonder if he has any idea what city building in the 21st Century actually entails. He certainly shouldn't be deciding policy for a growing metropolis. All he's done in the last few years is increased traffic flow on some of the scariest streets I've ever seen, in a part of town so divided by five lane highways and Hamiltonian driving habits that there is barely any community spirit left in all but a few areas, where they've galvanized and formed a couple of NAs to combat the decay that has continued in the more residentially dense, less commercial areas of his ward.

OPEN LETTER TO COUNCILLOR COLLINS

Chad, I don't pretend to understand all of the challenges you face in serving your ward, but do you think you can get your nose out of the 1950s Robert Moses playbook long enough to look at a calendar, buddy? Wider roads don't solve anything. They never did. Induced demand isn't another leftist smoke screen for publicly funded studies, any more than climate change is. This is the reality we live in. The roads have gotten wider and longer and faster, and yet we still have people waiting at traffic lights (the HORROR!) on Queenston and Nash, and people running to get across five lane intersections before the lights change. The sidewalks are just about wide enough, but it's still one of the least walkable wards I know of, because it's optimized for cars, not people. I'd estimate that a quarter of your ward is made up of parking lots and roads, and few if any small businesses, as walking traffic is so restricted, particularly along Barton and Queenston, that nobody knows where anything is except the gas stations on Centennial and the U-Haul on Nash. You WANT people traveling to and around your ward. You WANT pedestrian and cycle friendly travel. A lot of your residents can barely afford to run a car anywhere buy into the ground. Cut them some slack and make some decisions that actually help them get around. You have three and a half bus routes that run through your entire ward. They're separated by some of the largest blocks in the lower city. Kids and poorer families have to scramble along some pretty dangerous streets, in all weather, to get anywhere. You have grocery stores on nearly every block, I'll grant you, but they're almost a mile apart, and only the very young will walk or ride to any of these so-called destinations (along back streets, because the main streets are lethal), unless they're in a car.

Did you hear the one about the millennial who traded in his bike and headed to the used car lot? No? me neither, because it doesn't happen. Millennials figured it out. Car ownership is a trap these days, with skyrocketing insurance and gas costs, and repairs that can only be done in expensive modern garages (unless you're driving a beater, in which case, why bother?). You have to take the lousy job to afford the car you needed to buy to get to your lousy job. Millennials don't do that. Comes to that, a lot of us Gen Xers don't, either. Cars, and especially combustion engine cars, are going away. Not overnight, but they are going. Doubling down on more roads and parking lots is old school thinking. You may not want to upset your older Boomer constituents, but you can't win any more political capital selling them roads to get through and around ward 5 with no real destination locations except Eastgate Square (still my favourite mall, but honestly, it doesn't even have a movie theater, let alone a venue for larger crowds; for that, you need a thriving downtown core, and you need reliable, safe transit to and from).

Just trying to help you out, guy. Good luck in 2018... you're going to need it.

Comment edited by LeeEdwardMcIlmoyle on 2016-09-30 07:25:05