The zone, installed with no warning or consultation the previous Saturday in time for the Fall Rummage sale, had irked parishioners but they had decided to work quietly behind the scenes with city staff to resolve the problem.
The tickets infuriated them.
"The politicians do not have any control" said one parishioner, " I can't believe the city does something like this that antagonizes the community after saying we wouldn't get tickets, instead of doing something that gets people to say "It's a great job you guys have done. " (There is speculation that the fact a group of 20 cyclists was being filmed by a camera crew, may have led to the ambush of church-goers by Parking Authority quota-happy enforcers.)
River Heights has complaints bubbling up all over the ward, from the loss of parking for a church that also hosts the Manitoba Opera rehearsals; to the bike lane and traffic circles on Grosvenor; to the curb extensions on Fleet making cycling more, and not less, dangerous; to the street protest captured on tape by CTV today on the unannounced giant-sized blockade of Harrow at Academy Road, that diverts confused motorists down backlanes at a rate of more than 1 per minute.
After Mayor Katz personally intervened to stop the McDermot Bike Lane - despite the fact there is no known complainant - the residents and businesses of Sherbrook wonder why the Mayor does not act to protect their lost rights to proper consultations and abrogated compromise agreements 'lost' by the consultants on their way to city hall.
The residents of Berry Street were visited by Katz on Friday and senior officials Saturday and asked once again for the study to support the project and the blueprints for the path being paved over their boulevard grass and into their trees only to be told- the city has no study and no plan they can be shown because everytime they run into a manhole cover on the boulevard the plan changes.
In the North End school buses are reported unable to navigate the circles, intersections are being blocked to local traffic with no consultation, and one business strip on Airlies almost lost their parking with no prior consultation until -- after weeks of squawking up and down the city hall ladder -- the spaces were restored.
The proof is clear: These Active Transportation projects are being rammed through by city hall bureaucrats who held secret meetings with special interest groups and excluded the public and stakeholders, and are now desperate to spend your money quickly even if your taxes go up next year to fix their mistakes.
About the same time the city was stabbing the Westworth United Church in the back, the leading bike lobby group, Bike to the Future, posted a rah-rah piece that insisted all was well with consultation and city staff, and non-cyclists like the church were unappreciative of how hard this all was.
Of course, no mention is made of the fact that the literature and advertisements NEVER made straightforward statements like "You will lose your parking" or "your street could change direction" or "more cars will be lined up on your street for longer during rush hour".
In this case, the bike lobby statement 'it's nice to simply live' distorts the truth -- " we know you were duped into thinking this would not affect you and we were in on it".
Somehow, the assurance that there are professionals behind this is supposed to reassure Winnipeggers that nothing was done wrong.
BttF doesn't explain how someone from say, Harrow or Assiniboine or Argue (where an unpublicized city review is calling for the revocation of the bike lane) can file a complaint against one of these engineers.
It is clear BttF doesn't want you to. In fact , they now pass the buck back to City Council:
" Sometimes projects go back to the politicians for a final look see and approval (in this case, all of them did)."
Except for McDermot (says Mayor Katz), Sherbrook (says Coun. Harvey Smith) and Grosvenor (says Coun. John Orlikow).
BttF tried to create the false premise that the politicians approved each project. It could bjust as easily be said they approved of not being bothered with the details and leaving it up to the staff to implement in the hopes there would be little fuss. BttF don't want the staff blamed, as you will read shortly.
The most most unbelievable claim is next to be made:
Let's compare that assertion -- that cycling is not an ideology -- with the reality we have seen unfold in Winnipeg.
The basis of the Bike Lobby efforts here is "we should be like VANCOUVER", correct?
Well, the cycling initiatives in Vancouver did not come to pass because of people who ride bikes innocently arising from the masses and individually approaching City Hall..
It came from a well-funded Vancouver Area Cycling Coalition, replete with a manual whose overriding themes will sound very familiar to Winnipeg's tired ears.
CityCaucus.com founder Daniel Fontaine is the former Chief of Staff to Vancouver Mayor Sam Sullivan and graduated with a degree in political science from the University of Manitoba. In August he wrote of how cycling is, in fact, an ideology, replete with a bible for converting public officials to their cause:
"In 2009, the VACC spent $343,501.17 to cover staff expenses...
The Guide reveals the techniques, approaches and tactics of the VACC. It explains how to cozy up to the media, politicians and city staff in order to get them on to the cycling agenda. It talks about how politicians need to be spoken to differently than staff and even asserts that everything must be done to make local councillors and the Mayor “look good.”
With all the debate around separated bike lanes vs. traditional bike lanes in Vancouver, the VACC Guide book provides some interesting insight into what their strategy just might be:
Change doesn’t happen by itself. Most improvements you see in cycling facilities around the Lower Mainland are the result of advocacy. If we don’t push for more, the best we can hope for is the status quo.
The status quo by the way has translated into Vancouver becoming one of the most bike-friendly jurisdictions in North America. Prior to the current Vision administration, over 400 km of dedicated bike paths had been constructed or planned throughout Vancouver.
Regardless, this hasn’t hampered efforts by some who continuously peddle (pedal?) the idea that previous administrations were not friendly to cyclists.
The Guide also offers great tips to their legions of volunteers regarding how to properly lobby politicians at City Hall:
· Politicians listen if the public is speaking
· Use your inside connections as well as outside strategies
· Try to be the one to frame the issue (e.g. we're pro-bike rather than anti-car)
· Focus on the swing vote (don’t waste your energy on those who won’t be convinced)
This is all very good advice for any lobbyist and the document was clearly not written by a dummy. I particularly like the part about how you should use your “inside connections”. I guess the Guide gives credence to the old saying “it’s not what you know, but who you know.”
{Sounding familiar? There's lots more}:
The VACC clearly indicates that working the media angle is an important part of their overall strategy. That’s likely why you see so many of their volunteers writing template letters to the editor and filling up the blogosphere anytime a cycling issue pops up. The VACC are also very adept at working key media that cover the city hall beat in the hope that all their efforts will pay off with good coverage
There are also several sections in the Guide which help to explain the difference between politicians and public servants when it comes to their power base. Regardless, the number one rule of thumb is all VACC lobbyists should make the politicians and staff “look good”, as this will yield results. There is no detailed explanation as to exactly what “looking good” means, but I’ll leave that one to your imagination....
{See a pattern developing ? Read on..}
The Guide states sometimes you need not bother the politicians, as staff can just go ahead and act on your request without much “fuss and bother”:
Work with municipal or provincial staff: Staff may be able to make things happen without too much fuss and bother; give them facts and advise them; give them a chance to look good.
Work with politicians: make them look good; give them credit; don’t overwhelm them with details.
...
Mmayor (sic), councillors, MLAs, ministers, etc., while perhaps not knowing the details of bicycle infrastructure and programs, help bring the funding and set the priorities for the bureaucracy.
It’s hard to believe that multi-million dollar decisions such as separated bike lanes on Hornby are being made by civic politicians who know little of the details of the initiative. Or is it?
Echos of recent headlines perhaps?
We already know the politicians here knew next to nothing and that the city staff responsible was heralded by unquestioning MSM reporters, basking in the glow of compliments from the special interest group they were favouring.
In relation to the VACC Guide, let's go back to the Bike to the Future web post today and see how they measure up to what we know to be true in regard to the public consultations that everybody admits were a failure:
"We have been honoured and humbled by the work ethic and dedication of the dozens of engineering companies, planners, city departments, volunteers, and designers working on this $20 Million project, and inspired by the thoughtful input from Winnipeggers. "
"The amount of mail drops, open houses, stakeholder meetings, big federal billboards, planning sessions, newspaper ads, shopping mall displays, cycling maps, etc, that have been produced and distributed is staggering. "
"We know for a fact that there were a lot of late nights, overtime hours, emergency meetings, head-scratching, phone calls, redesigns, etc. One project, for example, had more than 3000 letters mailed out, and has so far taken 3 years to plan and build. There are 37 of these projects happening this year. Do the math."
See? Everybody who contributed to the roadway debacles being faced by residents and motorists were HEROIC. Efforts "staggering" and "Inspiring." And under budget ! (Remember, the Guide says "Give them a chance to look good").
And the BttF view of those who stood up to city hall?
Notice how the interloping BttF makes no comment about the issue at the heart of the lawsuit -- whether the city had the legal authority to close off a lane and change the direction of Assiniboine for cyclists -- but instead criticizes the media for covering the complaints of property and business tax paying litigants. They have also expressed concern to the court about seniors, the disabled and social services agencies having prompt emergency services. BttF is silent about those victims.
That -- is ideology. The ideology of proper public consultations being "fuss and bother", of "don't overwhelm politicians with details", of "use your inside connections". All of which we have seen unfold like clockwork in Winnipeg. All straight from the Vancouver bike lobby handbook.
And the elected officials of Winnipeg all got played, just like the ones in Vancouver did.
*****************
You can send a message to the elected representatives who got played by the bike lobby and the city staff, to the ones who want to raise your taxes to fix their mistakes, and to the special interest groups who had secret meetings in advance with the staff and then packed the Open Houses just like the Vancouver Guide instructs.
You Have the Power on October 27th.
Today we start at a special time of 3.45 PM.
At 4 PM -- a 30 minute interview with Mayor Sam Katz you will not want to miss.
PS - Downtown Traffic Warning (edit: CJOB reporting this is temporary for repaving to be done)
From a listener:
