City council has a tough decision ahead of it.
The new transit facility location proposed for 18th Avenue and Foothills Boulevard is one of those issues that voters will remember next fall when they go back to the polls. The issue has resonated with residents, many of whom don’t want to see greenspace next to Ginter’s Field become a bus garage.
Last week’s public information meeting on the proposed facility was a classic. It had everything … angry residents yelling over speakers, bureaucrats speaking bureaucratese, a lack of local politicians actually taking the pulse of the community (Coun. Susan Scott was there), and a general feeling that the fix is in.
BC Transit and city officials said the site best meets their needs, although refused to discuss other possible locations that they may, or may not, have looked at. That, of course, angered the crowd to no end.
BC Transit’s Levi Timmermans admitted that there is no Plan B … in other words, if they don’t get this site then it’s back to Square 1 and suggested not getting the site will likely jeopardize the federal and provincial funding available … and there’s the rub.
A federal green initiative will provide 50 per cent of the funding and the province is kicking in one-third of the cost.
The driving force behind this entire thing is the fact there is federal and provincial funding available and, according to Timmermans, that funding will disappear if the project isn’t completed by March 2019.
Is this being rushed, or as residents at the public meeting felt, rammed down our throats?
Let’s not forget MLAs Shirley Bond and Mike Morris had to get their mugs in the paper announcing the location on March 3, part of the Liberals’ pre-election rush to announce something pretty much every day.
One has to wonder how much pressure, if any, was brought to bear on officials to make sure a location was chosen prior to the writ being dropped in early April.
That being said, I believe Transit officials when they say the site is perfect. It’s the right size, doesn’t have any buildings on it that need to be demolished or remodelled, and it’s close to major routes.
It’s Transit’s job to find a location that best meets its needs.
It’s council’s job to approve a location that best meets the needs of the community.
2 thoughts on “Did the election rush transit facility location choice?”
Bill Phillips,
Thank you for discussing this issue in a public venue- it is vitally important that the conversation occurs. Can you answer me this question: When will we (society) begin to evaluate proposals such as this with a monetary value attached to public health, noise pollution, air quality issues, biodiversity, ecological integrity, recreational value, marketing quality (MoveUp Prince George attracts investment in our community from urban centers such as Greater Vancouver and Victoria Regional District and is built on the premise of the liveability of our city- the accessibility of greenspace to where people live, work and play), and so many other factors that are typically not measured in terms of dollars and cents? This is truly the last intact greenbelt accessible to citizens in the bowl- can we begin to quantify the value of this for Prince George and its visitors? Lets start calculating the true costs of our decisions and then we can truly begin an honest decision making process on whether a proposal such as this is a thoughtful and well considered proposal for our city councillors to consider and for our citizens to evaluate. For your information, we have now obtained 4000 signatures in support of finding an alternate location for this proposed facility in two months of petitioning. Of those who have approached to sign our petition, we estimate roughly 1 in 50 choose not to sign the petition, and those individuals are choosing to research the topic further than the conversation that they are having with our volunteers. We will continue our education and outreach efforts and we will find other suitable locations for the BC Transit facility. We will choose a legacy of greenspace and liveability for our children and grandchildren- it is my promise to my community, to work tirelessly to achieve that goal.
As for the money whether it be federal, provincial or municipal, it all comes from the citizens of this country — us.