He’s got a lot of ideas to improve how City Hall spends the taxpayer’s money and delivers services, and in Episode 35 Adam Dudek takes his case to the voters of Elmwood-East Kildonan.
Part 1– A brief update of the Season 7 Funding Drive and our latest columns in the Winnipeg Sun- the links are below, at the end of the episode description.
5.57 Part 2– Adam Dudek was born and raised on Polson Avenue near Main Street and his father was head of Training and Development for the City of Winnipeg for almost 30 years. He explains how his upbringing instilled the values that would guide his representing the EK ward where he’s lived for about a decade.
A plumber by trade, “being able to visualize the problem and being able to explain it properly to the people that need to hear it” is key to earning the trust of his customers- and taxpayers. He has an insider’s view of the deteriorating civic infrastructure – from seized and stripped water valves to the combined sewers that “we have to get rid of.”
Getting City permits for construction can “be a headache” especially on the residential side which can be “incredibly slow”- citing staffing as an ongoing issue.
24.33 Part 3– Dudek addresses the theft of tools from trades workers – he was a victim himself. He says 98% of residents cite crime as the major issue locally, especially in Glen Elm.
“One resident told me he pays about a $1500-2000 ‘theft tax’ annually” and the Redwood Bridge seems to be the path to the area for criminals.
Dudek wants a camera system set up on the bridge to coordinate with neighbourhood security footage to help track and arrest them. “This has to stop – nobody is really fighting for this neighborhood.”
Dudek discusses how the incumbent council member, Emma Durand-Wood, instead pushes for bike lanes, reducing speed limits without consulting engineers, and “unpopular” traffic calming curbs costing $8000 apiece.
36.45- He is critical of school zones set up with minimal signage and predatory enforcement. If elected to Council, “I want those vehicles with blinking lights, I want them brightly lit… if there’s any fight against making it blatantly safety first, then you know it’s a cash grab.”
The feedback he got in the area Facebook groups – “a perfect place to test out ideas” was largely negative towards the current practices, except for “the pro-bike lobby” who Dudek says also post regular statements favoring Durand-Wood.
43.32 Part 4– The Watt Street corridor continues to have problem properties, derelict buildings, arsons and drug dealing making life unsafe. “Some of these properties, the police have raided multiple times. The judicial system keeps letting people out.”
Dudek mentions an assault victim who called the cops, and that night the perp tried to burn down her house – and was then released again.
“City Hall should not be spending money on anything,” pointing at the dubiously named Human Rights Committee, “until people are safe.”
Dudek also discusses his idea for extending yellow and red light that he’s seen in other cities, to collisions involving pedestrians, noting “you can never have zero accidents.”
He favours the Chief Peguis extension and twinning Dugald Rd. and Panet – unlike Durand-Wood – to improve vehicle movement and safety.
59.57– Regarding homelessness and encampments, he supports transitional housing, managed encampments – “Halifax has proven that it works”- and insists the danger facing transit users and employees is unacceptable: “Why are these people on the bus in the first place… … safety on buses has to be addressed.””
Links to the latest Winnipeg Sun columns:
Transcona boy hopes summer lemonade stand will fulfill his winter goal
Ward contests voice common themes about City Hall failures
Omand’s Creek encampment compromises safety of elderly homeowners
See the Frontier Centre panel discussion with Marty Gold: Canada’s Bike Lane Obsession, Is It a Waste?
