[calculoso]

Originally Posted by Muta

To the opposition of this proposed one-day half-road closing: I didn't know you were planning on driving down eastbound Memorial Drive in the afternoon of August 16th. Plans must be cancelled, because there's obviously no other alternative routes to go in this city, nuh uh. Might as well just cancel Christmas now, because this year is now a lost cause.

To those who like the idea: Funny how this started off with "part of the summer" then went to "5 sundays in August" and is now "August 16th".

It's the lack of planning, the lack of consultation, the "my way or else" approach that was taken with this that I personally hate. As Michael Platt of the Calgary Sun put it:

http://www.calgarysun.com/news/colum...30161-sun.html

Instead of bringing the idea to city council, a path followed by most aldermen wanting to try something new, Farrell just decided Memorial would close. She then discussed the street party with journalists, including this columnist, but not with city council -- which is why the debate blew up in the pages of the press, rather than council chambers.

Self-appointed poet Bob Hawkesworth can blame the media for doing its job, but asking for the opinion of both sides of an issue is what reporters do in a democracy. Sorry, Bob.

And democracies, usually, are where controversial ideas are debated, no matter how small and trivial they may seem.

In this case, there was no discussion, no vote and no possibility to hear opposing viewpoints in a public forum -- all things that would have kept tempers cool and perhaps helped to improve a good, but flawed, idea.

Not one person has argued against closing a road for a party -- it's the choice of road that has many Calgarians and a handful of politicians upset.

A city council debate, complete with input from traffic experts and the neighbouring community, would have answered all outstanding questions and made it clear whether Memorial Drive was a suitable choice.

Instead, we have a decision that was undemocratic and a city council that may now be incapable of governing without personal feelings and bitterness tainting the proceedings.