Nelson: Plop-Art Plopping! (Part 3)

Here continuing from Part 2: immediately below - and Part 1: second post below that.

Part 1
looks at  t h e  opportunity missed by Nelson to definitively get itself on the map as a tourist focus/destination, with allowing the Co-op project to go forward as unimaginatively, disconnectedly planned: an only self-serving waste of  t h e  location - the heart of Nelson. The Co-op's sole motivating factor: paying-off debts incurred by acquiring this space it didn't need to begin with. The faster they go - the behinder they get. Shape-shifters.
City Council's giving-the-store-away approval is locking-in/down Nelson's future. In terms of progress: before this deal going nowhere particular - they now decidedly have nowhere left to go. Or park.

While an exceptional building-complex - a collaborative effort between Co-op + City - could have given this heart blood to pump - energizing Nelson. Example: Bilbao, Spain transforming/defining itself with a single audacious building. Turning Bilbao from incidental stopover into preferred destination. Tourists - and their money! - keep on coming!

Part 2
looks at how resources - and Nelson does have resources don't be fooled! - instead of bundled for one large statement of vision and quality are thrown at awkward, unconnected bits and pieces. By a single group: the Cultural Development Committee (CDC). Holding back healthy, self-sustaining cultural development with their embarrassing lack of overall vision, scope and cultural development in-house.

Part 3
looks at the CDC, and how it was recently (inadvertently?) placed by Council as decision-maker over just about anything Nelson. Just like that - like this:

Smallishtown
The present-future of Nelson depend on tourism. There's nothing else - period. So we have the tourism group, the economic group, the Chamber of Commerce, the merchants group, the CDC, the mayor and Council. They all know this - separately. They may connect here and there - but as there's no universal game-plan because there's no vision (and everybody has an all-overriding personal agenda to nurture along) - their talk comes down to rewrapping the topic in more-and-more over-the-top adjectives only: touting now way more than there actually is.

In reality nothing of tangible consequence is produced; nothing changes to move Nelson forward; nothing entices more tourists to come. And why should they now? We can't even get the welcome-signs right!
Nelson is a pleasant town, at a pleasant lake, with pleasant mountains and pleasant shopping. Yet there are other places like that in BC - so Nelson generally has been a pleasant stopover from somewhere to somewhere else. Except in winter, when snow-people come - but not to shop.
During the rest of the year the tourist-trade just sort-of hangs-in there. Lots of vacant stores - with fake-movement when one store closes for good, and someone with hope moves into that location from another less desirable, and someone else... A domino-effect: mostly horizontal - little vertical.

 

Smallish Culture
The Cultural Development Committee should be instrumental in nudging Nelson into economic bliss - after all: there is the expensive paper on the Cultural Tourist filed somewhere at City Hall, and culture supposedly is the CDC's mission. While the City - for lack of an identity - hangs on to fool's gold of past local artiness. Via the CDC's modus operandi - never having come to terms with the term culture, thus bypassing various cultures which made this town - turning culture as such into monosyllabic art. Nelson's monosyllabic art.

Never a word from them on the Nelson Commons - initially seen as the cultural center of the universe. With a possibility of becoming a tourist-destination, moving Nelson towards sustainability. And even once it becomes clear that the Commons will be no more than a rather common condo-block: the CDC could have - totally appropriately - stepped-up to talk about a vision. If it had one!
With Councillor/CDC-rep Macdonald in a Co-op "update" to Council some time ago - while mildly curious - saying little about the then presented - even less appealing than now - design of the building.

One World Trade Centre is a non-event. It's vanilla. It's like something they would build in Canada.
                                                                             Banksy

On with Nelson. While the excuse from City Hall is: we've no control over design of private developments - it consistently controls away from downtown, sheltered by trees, with little traffic. But it can't have - at least - input into a very large, in-your-face development in the center of downtown? Not even on an aesthetic level hello CDC?

Smallish Mindscapes
The absence of CDC involvement here could be forgiven as limited cognitive ability - if it weren't for Nelson's persistent hunger to be bigger, better, more than it is. So there's cognition of sorts: but producing a thin layer of DOA artiness only. No grand gesture, no human-connect! The Council model!
The depth of the CDC's cognitive faculties made clear by Macdonald when she - flying without the CDC - calls Nelson's first piece of plop - the heron-post - a world-class piece of art. Without having seen it. Swallowed by Council without a hiccup: like due process within the CDC. Macdonald later modifying her expert assessment to a major piece of art. Still not having seen it. Kelowna's corporate condo-art plopped at the lake. Free and costing the taxpayer $10.000.

I was a member of the CDC for a bit but left at that time because of unattended to leadership-issues. As Joan Rivers used to say: Can we talk?

 

Smallish Pond
Everything the CDC does must ultimately be of economic benefit: bring more tourists to Nelson. Yet because the City does not have a bold vision, and the CDC - largely deferred to as Nelson's only possibility - is not ready to encourage formulating one: all we have is solicited outside-advise and arty local silliness. Costly! But then - the CDC receives if I recall correctly a 40% increase in funding this year, while other organizations receive no increase at all. Some natives are restless.

The increase because Councillor Macdonald in effect being the CDC - while having positioned herself smoothly as Nelson's go-to-for-whatever-else as well. Juggling 2 spheres with aplomb: a sluggish Council and compliant CDC. With nobody else standing up or by: she may well be as good as it gets.
And might even be to the Queen. During the Diamond Jubilee Mum gives a special pin to those who do lots of good on some level. Councillor Batycki - alternate Council-rep to the CDC - nominates Macdonald for the pin to the RDCK, handling this in Nelson. And of which Macdonald - be still poor heart! - is alternate City-rep/member! This makes even Bob Hall - a great fan of Macdonald and usually as decaf as can be - shift uncomfortably. I forget whether or not she's got it. The pin.

Smallish Future
Suppose Macdonald next year becomes mayor. If she runs - a done deal. And suppose Stephanie Fischer - now CDC Chair - becomes a Council member. If she runs - a done deal also, backed strategically by Macdonald's machine. So then - with Macdonald as arty mayor; Stephanie Fischer as arty Council-rep to the Committee; David Dobie - now CDC member and professional designer (as such now involved in the Co-op project!) - the arty CDC Chair: funds will keep on coming and plopping will never cease. Up and down Hall, all over the Co-op parking-lot, Baker, Railtown - you name it! Castlegar's bargain-basement.


But tourists?

  




If we can't have Goldsworthy - we should just plop rocks.

                    Jan Fraser, on Part 2   










I agree. The comfort of rocks.





Rocks: Caspar David Friedrich

Nelson: Plop-Art Plopping (Part 2)

Here continuing from Nelson: Plop-Art Plopping (Part 1): 2 posts down.

Plop-art - the term not an invention of mine though I wish it were - described by Wikipedia: Plop-art is a pejorative slang term for public art... made for parks and other venues. The term connotes that the work is unattractive or inappropriate to the surroundings - that is, it has been thoughtlessly "plopped" where it lies.
Several currents or movements in contemporary art, such as environmental sculpture, site-specific art and land art counterpose themselves to "plop-art"...
There's more - but this is the gist, I don't want to overwhelm. I also don't want to get into art vs. artsy (though tempted): plopping is of the essence. So I'll go with art. For now.

All images are of Andy Goldsworthy's art: just ideas how Nelson possibly could simply and cleanly connect with its own setting - instead of aspiring to be Never-Neverland-Downtown.

The Art Squad
Compulsive-obsessive really: Nelson has been densely, most thoughtlessly and highly inappropriately plopping - that's as far as public art here goes, may ever go - and official ploppers: the Cultural Development Committee (CDC), with money to burn and a professional designer in its motley crew at least he should know better - are itching to next get their hands (or gently used sculptures) on the proposed Hall St. redo and the Co-op's Villa Kelowna parking-lot.
The Co-op will love being plopped on all over the more the better: to put a bit of a cultural sheen on this project - after having unceremoniously morphed from regional cultural Mecca into unassisted-condo-living functional. Close one! Redemption does await!
Plop!

The Plop-Art Walk
From Baker into Railtown - starting at Hall. With the Baker "amenities" the most egregious examples of local plop-art: disregarding purpose, context and spatial relationships. No vision. Instead posing with self-glorifying statements anyplace.
There are 5 sculptures altogether in a suffocatingly small area - 4 on Baker and 1 on Ward. Giving the CDC some credit: the one on Ward sort-of works - next to Touchstones there is context; placed in a corner it could work spatially - if it weren't hemmed-in by a distractingly loud-clunky bench on a serious slant. The 4 on Baker are total placement disasters.
Plopped!
Solution:
Think!

The Baker/Hall Bench Bench
There's a bit of wall, a tree, a waste-bin - very large in relation to the size of the space - plus a basic bench. And a faux bronze sculpture of 2 people sitting side-by-side on/forming a fantasy-bench. The idea not originated here - this smaller bench-sculpture is awkwardly placed next to the real bench: possible magic choked-off by forced comparison.
Plopped!
Solution:
While it can only work if placed by itself - say under a tree as a matter-of-fact - and no tactile human reality anywhere near.

The Baker/Ward-East Amenity
A tiny-dingy deadzone - really just a dent on the grey sidewalk: delineated by a bit of grey wall; a small, empty triangular grey flower-bed. Containing a grey-black waste-bin too large for the space; 2 black/white No Smoking signs; a grey bench in need of a lively paint-job - and a sculpture straining against HERE being screwed to a temporary base screwed to the ground.
Plopped!
Solution:
Remove this sculpture - it needs more space, a more conscious space of its own!

The Baker/Ward-West Amenities
Both amenities are long and narrow: simplistically placing a sculpture in the center not only cuts the space in half - making it useless for any previously announced-as-being-planned activities - sculptures clearly are not an integral part of the space: they look/feel temporary. The woman-cello shape of one of them has been done before and before. Both sculptures screwed down for easy removal on clunky one-size-fits-all concrete bases. Adding to awkwardness in placement: restaurants using much of the amenities' space during warm season - then having sculptures very much in-your-face warts-and-all - no contemplating here! And indeed - being on Baker almost daily - I have never seen anyone stop and do that - contemplate them.
And they are temporary: to be swapped for new ones every so often - all actually re-runs from the Castlegar Sculpture Walk. The rationale here that almost fresh batches guaranteed on loan are ever so convenient, an ever such lovely change and cheaper-by-the-dozen - instead of having to be bought individually. What a deal!
Plop-Plopped!
Solution:
Place 1 sculpture on the raised space under 1 of the trees - those at either end of amenities - facing half-amenity/half-sidewalk. Only 1 - not under both trees just because there are 2! This would give sculptures more of an appropriate and interesting space - their own - particularly with the base sunk into the ground; it would allow for easier viewing of sculptures with different proportions. And it would free the amenity-spaces for possibilities - some breathing-room if nothing else.

The Ikea Shower-Curtains
To curtain-off the gas-station lot at Baker/Fall. Although nothing offensive here: a potentially interesting terraced space - part earth/part concrete; some weeds/some wildflowers what's the difference; fauna and colors quite within Nelson's palette; clean - no garbage. BUT!
The CDC decides to block-off this visually-offensive-to-its-artistic-sensitivities urban blight. It commissions an artiste to design the what we have now forced on our senses silliness of endless Ikea shower-curtains along 2 sides. Inappropriate and how long can they-as-are possibly last!
The lot previously unobtrusive - now blaring at one! Drawing attention to what's behind: clearly still visible through the curtains, the uncurtained left side and back of the lot so what's the point! The gate on Fall now is usually open wide: the usual 3 cars parked inside - now one can actually walk in!
Plopped!
Solution 1:
No parking - keep gate closed! Put basic flower-boxes along the inside of the fence all around and seed morning-glories. After a modicum of initial attention - like watering - robust and totally self-sufficient, colorful, quick climbers - in no time covering the cyclone-fence profusely and self-seeding year after year. Art alive!
Solution 2:
No parking - keep gate closed! Construct a large piece of environmental sculpture, site-specific/land art - an installation - in the center of the lot. And let it live and die on its own!
Solution 3:
No parking - keep gate closed! Basic rule: If you can't disappear it - emphasize it! So dump a few truck-loads of earth, spread it around haphazardly and just as haphazardly strew wildflowerish Johnny Appleseeds! A field of flowers downtown! Living art!

There might be a combination of any 2 or all the above. All 3 solutions guaranteeing immeasurably high return - while low-cost/maintenance.

The Not There There Banners
These vertical banners initially were to welcome visitors to Nelson. Suspended from lamp-posts at all 4 corners of the Baker/Highway intersection - visible from all 4 directions. What's simple enough - make them easily visible from 4 directions; make their contents easily identifiable - has been completely lost in CDC-procedural. And thoughtlessness. 
What with 4-way stop-signs - thus all drivers' attention having to be on who moves next - the banners are way too small for the too difficult to make out quickly content - except for the ones saying Nelson. Busy-tiny design and lack of color-contrast.
And their placement is bizarre. 
Plopped!
Solution: 
For all to be visible from all 4 directions they reasonably must face drivers straight-on - on both sides in the driving-direction: 2 double-sided banners attached to 1 lamp-post in a right angle to each other. Simple! But here they aren't: in 2s attached obliquely and side-by-side - they essentially aren't there there for/from any direction! No welcome to Nelson!

 

The Inside-Out Bridge
Once having made it past the intersection, one may cross the Baker/Cottonwood-Falls Bridge. The design of its hand-rails could be fun: waves of industrial metal-wheels attached to industrial metal-mesh. The problem here: these waves are not facing inward: the bridge - but outward: the creek. So they are only indistinctly visible through the mesh. The reason given after the fact: there's a rule-bylaw-whatever which forbids these wheel-waves facing inward. True or not - the obvious question presenting itself: CDC - Hello?!?
Plopped!
Solution:
Think!

The Restive Bench
Once across the same intersection on its left side and before the bridge: a path off to the left - along Cottonwood Creek - with a prodigious amount of plop-plop-plopping in short order.
The bench: 2 massive wooden beams with splintery cracks - held together with industrial-strength-but-obviously-not metal-bands. The back: some uncomfortable-to-lean-against metal-work depicting jumping fish. Seat and back thoughtlessly out of sync.
The bench is placed on a sliver of open ground between path and creek. The view is of some foliage and thank heaven for that; a bit of creek down below; lots of car/truck-traffic on the other side; A3 Plumbers, Nelson Farmers' Supply, Benjamin Moore and - A & W! And much more of that once all foliage is gone!
Plopped!
Solution:
Think!                                                               

The No-Fish-Today! Billboard

A couple of meters from the bench - way too close: by intention an informative plaque - in execution an overboard billboard. About no salmon in the creek and what if - framed in heavy-duty giant more-jumping-fish metal-work. On 2 stubby metal-posts screwed to a concrete base - nothing graceful in any of it. Form-Over-Content 101.

Fish are jumpin' - elsewhere!

Plopped!

Solution:

Think!

The QR

Another few meters down the path: a large sculpture, consisting of 2 vertical rusty about a meter in diameter metal-pipe pieces one on top of the other a square cut-out here a square cut-out there the whole thing topped with an irregular Roman tonsure of same-metal bits.

By its maker mysteriously called QR - the only mystery in this - actually bought by the CDC for 6000 I believe it was smackers. QR - WTF!

Plopped!

Solution:

Some swooshy day-glow tagging to give it life!

This got to be rather longer than I expected but there you have it: a list of the CDC's sometimes not so much thoughtless but mindless as in not mindful accomplishments - all inappropriate - over about a year. To what end: there is no - can't be - economic benefit without a clear vision then game-plan. The CDC obviously has neither. It does have ample tax-payered funding though.

An exploration of the CDC-as-is - shorter than this Part 2 and Part 1 - coming-up in Nelson: Plop-Art Plopping (Part 3).

                                                                                      Plop!
Enough already...


                                      
                                                    
                                           Plop!

                                ... of with from the CDC!




                                                       

                                                             Plop! Plop! Plop!



All images of Andy Goldsworthy's work
 

The Villa Kelowna Reality Show!

Nudging me in the early morning hours of my Park ritual - on one cup of instant, milk and sugar: highlights of the foregone-conclusion approval-performance in Council.

Heeere's Dave!
The necessary 190 parking-spaces are just like that whittled down to 100 and in individual size too by Dave Wahn, City Master Organizer. Prior to the Council presentation. Kapow - one variance down! Two to go - pow, pow! Done!
Reasoning away the whittling with: the Co-op will supply bus-vouchers to employees, and people will just have to start driving smaller cars. During this approval-charade - according to the Star - voicing another gem: When you live downtown, you don't need a car - you're already where you need to be. 
Let's give our Dave a big hand! He already is where he is!

And not the first either - a director of the Co-op Board says in their recent AGM: an advantage of living in Villa Kelowna (don't you just love that name!) will be not having to use one's car so much. 
A well-deserved hand for our Co-op!

All that topped by the Co-op's feel-good gesture: increasing bike-storage and adding a dedicated (sic) longterm parking-space for a Kootenay Carshare vehicle will compensate for the loss of parking spaces. 
Our Dave now working on fitting a car into a bike-rack. If anyone can - it's our Dave! Let's hear it for our Dave!

Heeere's Russell!
And Russell Precious runs a bit of emotional blackmail with the project not feasible financially if the Co-op had to come up with an additional 2 mill for another underground parking-level. (We certainly wouldn't want that - seeing that the ground has been declared contaminated in the area, and who knows what lurks still deeper down...!). About feasible: the whole thing never was from the beginning. That's why the condos and for no other reason! So now - feasibly between 25 and 27 mill - they're talking about with an additional 2 mill the project not being feasible any longer? Not to forget - as repeatedly mentioned here before - this project being feasible or not means absolutely nothing to any of us (including even basic Co-op members) except the Co-op's decision-makers: they got themselves into this and now must put something there - even if it's not condos and heaven forbid cheaper. Like a store! 
A warm round of applause for their Russell!

Heeere's Donna!
And Donna Macdonald, Mayor-Presumptive - as usual puts her only-me-stamp on things. Again according to the Star: The only place for them to add more parking without added cost would be on top of that beautiful green space. A little more emotional blackmail here: THAT BEAUTIFUL green space implies she comes from personal knowledge of definitive factual info - THAT beautiful green plan. How would she alone know what nobody else seems to? Right now it's all parking-lot, and even if: how beautiful and green - most of all practical-useable - will it be during most of the year? Particularly during winter when snow - in the parking-lot then next to it - has to be pushed/piled somewhere close RIGHT NOW: like RIGHT THERE! Because otherwise a whole lot of parking-lot will be buried under snow for possibly months.
Cheers for our Donna!

Heeere's The Tourist!
Parking-overflow at Villa Kelowna will spill farther into the downtown-core, making current difficulties even more current and more difficult.
Seeing that Nelson's future is tied to the cultural tourist (remember the costly cultural-tourist paper - and nothing?) and this tourist finding finding parking unpleasant at best already: if there ever should be more of him in the future - while even less parking than now! - won't he just keep on driving?
Let's wave good-bye to our could-have-been tourist!

Heeere's The Public!
Nelson Star, Oct. 4, opinion poll:
Do you like the proposed look of Nelson Commons?
Yes - 33 votes (33%)
No - 68 votes (67%)
Let's hear it from our voices!

Heeere's City Hall!
Anyway - the taylor-made pro-condo parking-variance is approved without a hitch - as is the project as a whole - by the mayor and his council of the wise - who all have any-time-any-length-of-time free parking in acres of privilege behind City Hall. Our Dave, too.
A round of applause for our administration! Well done! Well done!

It never fails to astound how narrow City Hall's focus is, but then:

Heeere's Smallishtown!




All images: Avalisa     

Nelson: Plop-Art Plopping! (Part 1)

How It's Done!
When Bilbao, Basque Country (Spain) - not known for much and not really a must-see on most tourists' itinerary - decides to rejuvenate, reinvent itself, it starts on/with some dilapidated, largely bygone river-front property.
And puts a very high-brow, nowhere near the local mindset and very expensive museum there. The Guggenheim. Breathtakingly audacious in design by Frank Gehry, a Canadian-American way-out-of-the-box architect: definitely not safe! - and simply unthinkable in that location in that city - it is an immediate hit, quickly to be called one of the world's best pieces of modern architecture just like that!

 

Opening in 1997, it attracts close to 4 million visitors from all over the globe in its first 3 years - generating about 500 million euros in museum-connected transactions. This - with hotels, restaurants, shops, transportation and other tourism-related services - translates into roughly 100 million euros in taxes. Which more than cover construction-costs of the museum. In 3 years!

Totally blown away by what this single building does for the city - individuals there step-up with: I want some of it - and I CAN make it happen! Bilbao as a whole blossoms.

And this process has become known internationally as the Bilbao-effect.

                                                                    

How It Could Be Done!

Now imagine we were doing something like that in Nelson - smaller all-around but with similar intent. And audacious!

And that goes like this: When the Co-op buys the Extra-property - for a little while it floats a multifacet vision for this centrally located piece of also bygone - to possibly inject much-needed life-force into Nelson and area. This vision getting many people hooked.

The property is bought too hastily - based on looking-for-a-larger-space-and-not-finding-it fatigue. It is too large and too expensive for practical purposes: only a roomier store. The life-force swoon promptly quashed, Sunday morning coming down: how to pay for the lot! Fear of this so strong that pursuing/developing the vision: starting with the store and adding component after component over time - is not an option. Big-time debt-relief becomes the sole motivator. And big-time money must roll in immediately - the store alone won't do that!

So instead of co-opping with the membership and City Hall over this possible benefit-for-all vision - it is unilaterally dropped by management and replaced with a single condo-block: totally without forward-propelling Nelson-context, devoid of individuality, little aesthetic value but with loudly echoing dissonance locally. 

And absolutely no consequence to the tourism-dollar.

 

In a parallel reality, there's City Hall with its unarticulated low-voltage desire to be bigger and better - but not knowing how. Usually not coming from Nelson's economic need. If coming at all. And then not based on over time accumulated - and promptly disregarded - expensive outside-consultant-produced remedies for what may ail or be missing. 

One thing though clear to City Hall, even on its own - generally a plodding, insensitive and uncreative lot: this property's location as the potential heart of Nelson. In an odd twist-maybe-not - because of a lack of creativity finding nothing with which to substantiate its own existence - aside from the winter-angle - the City consistently flogs creativity-as-such in bits and pieces as the big Nelson-thing. Only. Go figure! 

These bits and pieces only the overall topic of Part 2, following shortly and next.

So there could have been a marriage made in heaven: The supposedly somewhat more aware Co-op with location-location-location, a vague vision and needing someone to have its back in actualizing it. Coupling with the City - looking for a similar vision to manifest thus get itself on the map in a big way.

Both: at the heart of the matter.

How It Should Be Done!

This is not to compare Nelson to Bilbao - but the dynamics could be the same: here creating an exceptionally attractive multifunctional complex - not only to bring locals together - morning to late evening - but tourists to Nelson as a destination, not just a stop-over. This stimulating locals' aspirations: growth thus more money - investment and taxes - entering the local economy. Nelson getting there!

 

How It's Not Done!

But the Co-op - now frightened by real-estate-development vagaries of its own making and stuck down the rabbit-hole - is not ready to talk to anyone but itself - not even those with similar interests.

And Council - never known as a group of individual voices to begin with and now fitfully snoozing towards the next election - have been in a holding-pattern on this opportunity and totally ready to sign-off on the condo-thing - warts and all - when given the signal.

Clearly - Nelson is not ready for its Gehry-moment. Still not realizing a basic fact: To make money - you spend money first! Called investing in your future.

While with Co-op and City acknowledging need, followed by willingness and inspiration - a confluence could have presented Nelson with its own Bilbao-effect. 

Could have would have.

Now probably never will!

Part 2 - getting down to plop-art plopping - will give an overview, with examples of City Hall - its Cultural Development Committee in charge of absolutely everything - in an ungainly shamble towards Nelson's future whatever.

Without a heart!

To be continued

All images are of Frank Gehry's work  

Granite Manor - Let 'em Walk!

Seniors living in Granite Manor bring an issue to the Committee Of The Whole (COW), Sep. 30, which drives home several points. Among them: seniors haven't been part of this Whole, and Councilor Macdonald - she of the Regional Transit Committee having helped fashion the BC Transit area-redo - what with seemingly strategizing mayoral ambitions has blown it big-time oops!

And so expressed by several of these seniors in the hallway, after their presentation.

The Issue
As part of refashioning, the bus-stop at/for Granite Manor was cancelled unannounced to them - after this bus-service of many years. A big one for most tenants of the Manor - many in their 80s, 90s: used to moving about freely and independently - many with and in spite of particular age-related issues. Getting out and anywhere for any reason! Theirs! Just like Donna Macdonald - but without a car. Which one elderly tenant gave up because of the bus-stop there and that getting her about sufficiently.

Different bus-lines - including Handy Dart - and other modes of transportation are not an option: suddenly curtailing their autonomy and expensive.

and communicating it
So they present a petition with 157 signatures to Council, and several make a clear and convincing case. Even suggesting an alternative stop at the Morgan St. stop-sign.

to Council
Who go into warm-fuzzy clucking-mode, and Councilor Macdonald explains that routes will not be changed again for at least a year, so that those behind it all can find out what works and doesn't. A year! Right! Those behind it all led by a new guy - new in this particular position but oh no not in this kind of work he is very experienced. So what (she and) the Transit folk could possibly look at is a Dart subscription-service on specific (not all!) days at specific (not all!) times: with these residents signing-up in certain slots (what about more demand than seats and lining-up and dignity?). Macdonald thinks this a helpful idea because it allows subscribers to arrange  their doctor's appointments and stuff around subscription-days and subscription-times. Won't their doctors and other contacts just love that!

and (very soon also) old Macdonald
She clearly is not yet cognizant of seniors' needs - particularly that of having to retain autonomy as long as possible: the motivating, energizing factor. Neither was she paying attention to bus-users in the local redo. Ring a bell? Just the big picture please - hold the small stuff!
But now she promises these seniors (tax-payers and soon voters oops again hadn't thought of that!): the new Transit guy will be in town and go talk to them. Specifically.

 




KICK BUTT NOW!!!






Image: Simon Cook