Consultation process can often be skewed
DEAR EDITOR:
Re: “Three councils have supported bike lanes,” (Herald letters, March 11).
Well, I knew it was only a matter of time before someone brought up the issue of the public consultation process regarding the bike lanes.
Brian Hughes, I don't know where you come from, but I suspect it is somewhere between Neverland and Narnia (the fake one).
I have been on this planet long enough to know that the public consultation process is nothing more than a dog and pony show 99.99% of the time.
One only has go back 10 years ago when John Hawkings, Director of Recreation Sites and Trails BC along with staff conspired with Karla Kozakevich from the RDOS and Laura Harp of PACA to restrict vehicle access to the KVR and the trail system above Naramata even when the majority of the public were against the restriction during the “public consultation” process.
Don’t worry I am a firm believer in empirical evidence vs anecdotal opinion, and I have the emails to support my assertion.
You see Mr. Hughes people like you like to use the term “grants” as if it was some sort of gift from a sky fairy when it is money out of mine and fellow citizens pockets.
Here is a list of cities that are in the process of removing some bike lanes once their city council bothered to listen to the majority: Baltimore, San Diego, Belfast, Milwaukee, Boston, Atlanta, Toronto, London, Melbourne and Sydney, Oakland, Dublin, Berlin, New York, Providence,
Tempe, Annapolis, Boston, Silver Spring (Source: saveconnecticutave.org, YouTube).
Gives new meaning to back peddling, doesn’t it?
What is even more astonishing is that we already have a lake-to-lake bike lane that is in dire need of repair along with a opportunity to forge stronger relations with the Penticton Indian Band.
Not once has this been mentioned. Not to worry though, once I go public with how much taxpayer money has been thrown at the special interest group Penticton and Area Cycling Association I suspect you will start hearing quite a bit more from the people of Penticton.
Daniel Pontes Penticton