At Monday night's Park Board meeting the Board finally approved the demolition of the Jericho Marginal Wharf. The decision--or lack thereof--has been in the works since before this Board was elected. In the summer of 2008 staff recommended the wharf be removed for safety and environmental reasons. The wharf was deemed unsafe and had been fenced off. The newly elected Board overturned that recommendation and sent the whole thing out for further public input. I felt at the time that the public process already done was adequate and that the staff recommendation was correct.
At the end of the day, the new public process could not come to any consensus and the Board was met again with a staff recommendation to tear down the wharf and return the area to its natural state. This time the recommendation passed unanimously. A long and twisting path that end up right where it started from. It prolonged the community angst and kept an area of our foreshore fenced off far longer than necessary. It was the right decision on Monday night, just as it was the right decision two years ago. All's well that ends well I suppose.
Typical Vision incompetance. I have to admit, I had initially had high hopes for the Vision team when they were first elected. However, it's become really apparent to me that their decisions and their so called "public processes" are only for show. It's Visions strategy to delay making unpopular decisions or to pass the responsibility to another party or better yet previous board. Do they seriously think that we are that naive?
ReplyDeleteAnd don't get me started on the trial bike lanes. Bike lanes, sure didn't receive the same type of public consultation and boy did they ever show up quickly around the city. Really with large planters down the middle and large cement street dividers? how can they be trial? If budgets are cut for park maintanence, will the bike lane planters be maintained? where's THAT money coming from? Maybe it's the savings from the reduced street tree budget or maybe the money they're recovering from the toddlers paying to use the community centers? Absurdity! Vision majority = lying bullies