The more we asked the businesses in St. Boniface about the ‘Moving on Marion’ roadway changes planned for outside their front doors, the worse it got.
In Part 3 of our series, Marty explains how he continued to knock on doors and canvas Marion Street stakeholders asking what they did – and did not – know about the plan.
“What Open House ??”
He describes the mix of enterprises on just one block between Tache and Kenny, that without exception, consider the city plan as a deadly risk to their success. And we add those findings to the Scotiabank branch and The Dog Loft a block east also being left in the dark.
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How did we get here? Well, as Marty clarifies, the public consultation and Open House was conducted not by city staff as he had thought
– but by outside consultants – meaning this is a redux of the 2010 battle of the bike lanes and one-sided public processes such as the Marion Freeway debacle in 2015.
– How many businesses had no idea about the bike lane proposed on their street? Or about the loss of scarce parking spots for customers? We tally the scorecard and it’s shocking. Hear their valid concerns and complaints about a biased and slanted system that caters to the self-centred bike lobby and has no interest in the viability of services in the area. –
Marty also tells of a brief, surprising conversation with the new director of the Norwood Grove Biz. She revealed that she ALSO had no idea about many of the plan details – and she first saw them at the March 18 event! She said the Biz has been in disarray – and none of the member businesses were notified of the Open House by her. But but but… the consultants told the open house gathering that “The biz wants this”?
Well… maybe the public was… lied to? Spirited Kenny suggests “If this isn’t incompetence, it’s almost sinister.”
And listen for the name of the one BIZ board member who could have taken action to inform the Biz members- but chose not to.
The City of Winnipeg is no stranger to rigged public consultations influencing urban planning. The Facebook comments from the affected St. B neighborhoods about our illustrated YouTube summaries point to a slanted Open House process- even before the March 18 session. There’s a severe disconnect between the ‘climate crisis’ proponents steering bike lane and AT policy and the hundreds of businesses and residents impacted by their agenda – and it’s widening. –
Local councilor Matt Allard gets pointed criticism in “Comment of the Week.” – Hear why all of Winnipeg city council, from Mayor Gillingham on down, should be concerned with what citizen journalism has uncovered about bike lanes- again.
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