OPINION - City’s Transportation Plan is a Dog’s Breakfast Wrapped In a Monkey’s Lunch

City council owns the issues which have arisen regarding the Transportation Master Plan.

It’s the plan they all voted to implement two-and-a-half years ago promising “extensive” engagement with the community, committing $500,000 from city coffers towards the effort.

The plan’s failures are best exemplified by the same councillors who voted to launch the initiative in December 2022 are now spouting opposition to what they created.

Rather than engaging with Hatters face-to-face during development of a plan, the city has once again fed its addiction to hiring pricey consultants to conduct surveys they ignore.

And the facts speak for themselves.

 Councillors now want to walk back from their responsibilities that included overseeing and shepherding an initiative they tasked their staff to do on behalf of the public.

The level of public engagement has been limited to the point city councillors are throwing up their hands in frustration in not being able to address citizen concerns about the plan.

And again, this is a plan council voted for and were responsible to ensure it was meeting the public’s expectations.

City staff have repeatedly characterized there being a robust level of consultations. But the lack of public support from not only those who are opposed to the plan but also those who you’d think would support it would seem to be an indication to the contrary.

But this council appears unwilling to provide Hatters a venue to express vocal support or opposition and allow for such discourse to contribute to a plan which can work across the board.

A motion to have a public hearing on the plan was defeated despite such a conversation allowing for a healthy debate on the matter. Both councillors who stated they’ve heard support for active transportation initiatives as well as those who have been hearing opposition voted against hearing the community’s voice on the matter.

In doing so, city council failed yet again to allow Hatters to give their opinions – both for and against the plan – and come to an amicable point of agreement.

When it comes to the active transportation portion of the plan, what’s been presented falls well short of the consultation bar set by the cycling and trail master plans developed 15 years ago.

Those plans involved engaging with trail users on the paths themselves, working groups and dedicated public meetings open to all and giving Hatters a sense they had a say in the development of a future network.

And despite engaging with a large number of Hatters, those plans – as well as the previous Transportation Master Plan – took half as long to develop and cost less.

The manner in which city council has rolled out the plan does no favours for those who support improving the safety of city streets as it excludes the legitimate voices of Hatters who feel it could impose on their values.

But those most opposed to the initiatives outlined in the Master Transportation Plan need not fear as implementation of expensive, consultant-driven strategies always fall by the wayside in this city.

And as always, Hatters will be left to pick up the tab for another failed plan.