When news that B-Line express bus service from Phibbs Exchange to Dundarave would require bus priority lanes and a loss of parking spots reached West Vancouver, more than a few people lost their tempers. “Why weren’t we consulted?” came the hue and cry from opponents of the plan.
But now council seems poised to make its decision without even benefit of a final report on its consultation process.
A motion from Coun. Peter Lambur going to council next week would halt the B-Line at Park Royal, even though district staff haven’t yet submitted their final report summarizing all of the input the district received. We cannot find any reason to justify undermining the district’s process, other than political expedience for those who have already made up their minds. It is especially galling that the motion came from Lambur and was seconded by Coun. Bill Soprovich, two of council’s biggest proponents of greater public consultation.
Any major decision of council needs to take into account more than an observation of which way the political windsock is blowing.
Beyond public engagement, it is standard for district staff reports to spell out the financial implications a decision would have for the municipality, its environmental impacts and how it fits within the official community plan – which by the way is less than a year old and is heavily predicated on having B-Line bus service.
If council wants to serve their residents well, they’d deliberate not just on the volume of the opinion they’ve heard but also the quality of those comments. And, don’t vote until you see the whites of their eyes.
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