Shrink roads? And then what?
Typical of bureaucrats' plans, Vernon's public servants have recommended a novel way of saving road maintenance costs.
Today's Morning Star story entitled "Vernon Roads to Shrink", Vernon's CAO Will Pearce gushed effusively at the concept. "In my 30 years of experience, this is the most comprehensive, forward-thinking plan to protect publicly owned assets."
Forward-thinking?
Ahem.
Let's see ...
The article continues: "To find savings, a number of initiatives are planned, including reducing road lane widths from 3.5 to 3.25 metres." Just as excited as Pearce, public servant and colleague Mark Dowhaniuk, Infrastructure Engineer, has found a new honeypot by planning to charge large trucks with permits if they regularly travel along 27th Street, "our busiest and most expensive road", as he calls it.
Huh?
Apparently decreasing road widths alone could save $0.3 million a year.
Sounds like a lot.
But it's only $300,000.
"That's probably equal to the annual salary of Pearce and Dowhaniuk," sniffs Kia.
Anyone who grew up in Vancouver, or indeed still lives and works there, is familiar with the Pattullo Bridge, an old span whose narrow lanes have historically been responsible for thousands of crashes, up 32 per cent last year alone. Today--with the new Port Mann Bridge and its tolls--traffic over the Pattullo Bridge continues to increase. Big trucks, small trucks, commuters in vehicles travel the span daily.
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| Pattullo Bridge, built in 1936-37 |
Wonder how narrow Pattullo's lanes are.
Maybe 3.25 metres.
Wonder how ICBC feels about the proposed lane narrowing on 27th Street.
Maybe it's a cash cow to raise rates.
Wonder how Roko Service's owner feels when businessowners on 43rd Avenue successfully opposed the plan to reduce their street's number of lanes several years ago. At that time it was called a "road diet".
Business owners told Vernon's bureaucrats what they could do with their Diet.
Wonder how Tolko's logging truck drivers feel about the planned "issuing permits to large trucks that cause wear on 27th Street" (link is to a Kamloops accident, but note width of the road...).
Maybe truckers will feel another impact on their wallets.
So, shrinking roads is what Pearce and Dowhaniuk feel is forward-thinking.
But what about when the $300,000 savings is gone?
Then what?
Bureaucrats will have to don some long-range glasses.
Good old Vernon, the city is run by staff that has its many pet projects and ideas, council needs to take control
ReplyDeleteMaybe the CAOs's contract should be written in such s way as to provide a probationary window for the arrival of a new mayor and council. The new council should not be burdened with a huge financial penalty for dismissal of someone who is leading you in the wrong direction. Perhaps there is merit to a "slate" concept that provides clarity to a voter as to how a new council will deal with issues once elected, including retention of staff. The "tail wagging the dog " concept is also a huge problem at Coldstream and RDNO; occasionally someone has the balls to correct it by letting a CAO go, but usually the financial penalty is a deterrent.
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