Tuesday, January 6, 2009

City says it has the support of people, considers opening Transitway to traffic

Earlier today, the City released a poll that suggested Ottawans don't support ATU 279 and are largely siding with management:

The City of Ottawa says it has the support of the public in its labour dispute with its transit workers.

The city on Tuesday released a poll of 816 residents and said 63 per cent support the city in the strike, while 14 per cent support the Amalgamated Transit Union, which has been on strike since Dec. 10.

Jeff Walker, vice-president of Harris-Decima, said 89 per cent of residents say the city's offer is reasonable and 72 per cent said the city should hold firm.

The Ottawa Sun added that at today's council meeting, councillors "also voted in favour of directing staff to review opening the bus Transitway to vehicular traffic."

The Ottawa Citizen ran a story soundly rejecting that proposal on Dec. 14.

While it might seem like common sense to open up the Transitway in particular, the city is adamant that doing so would be a mistake. Officials say the Transitway was not built for cars and for safety reasons, its use is being limited to emergency services. Some transit advocates agree.

Tim Lane, a member of the public transportation group Transport 2000, says parts of the Transitway have such sudden sharp curves and steep hills that motorists who are unfamiliar with the busway could cause accidents. As well, when buses enter some stations like Hurdman, they travel on the "wrong" side of the street. Commuters who are not familiar with the lie of the road could easily run into other cars, he says.

The Sun story added that the City is also looking at additional measures to help drivers:
"Staff will also investigate providing taxi chits to vulnerable members of the community, providing additional parking spots, reviewing on-street parking rates and lifting some no-stopping restrictions."

1 comment:

pookzilla said...

"Staff will also investigate providing taxi chits to vulnerable members of the community, providing additional parking spots, reviewing on-street parking rates and lifting some no-stopping restrictions."

It seems like there's no limit to how far this city will go to prolong this strike. How much damage has already been done to the poor, the elderly, and our businesses? Instead of propping people up with these patchwork solutions take the easier, more sensible way out:

GIVE THE UNION WHAT IT WANTS. BRING THE BUSSES BACK.