Look around and the symptoms are there: report after report calling for this or that project, artists’ conceptions that are likely to remain just that — a concept.
It’s clear what’s ailing the city. The diagnosis is simple: Ottawa has vision problems.
Our first case: the National Capital Commission. Ah, yes, a frequent patient. In fact, all we seem to get from the NCC is vision after vision after vision.
The latest is the recently released Canada’s Capital Core Area Sector Plan, the final document in a process that was preceded by other reports in 1998 and 2000. This massive collection of paper is aimed at revitalizing parts of Ottawa’s core, including Sparks Street and parts of the parliamentary district.
We’ve heard this tune before with Sparks Street and other NCC projects. Remember the NCC’s numerous visions for LeBreton Flats? Those only took a few decades to finally materialize into something tangible and then only after incredible bureaucratic and political wrangling.
The NCC has bombarded us with visions, and while the latest does make commendable, concrete recommendations, it’s anybody’s guess when they will actually be implemented.
Next: City Council. The light-rail vision has been dragging on for the better part of seven years, but only now is serious opposition throwing the entire plan into question.
Hubs, spokes, north-south rail lines; these are familiar terms. We’ve seen the drawing of a train on Albert Street — when will we see it for real?
There’s no doubt something as vital to Ottawa’s future as transportation needs thorough study. But after repeated city reports and studies, each advocating different visions, we now seem farther from any tangible action than we did before.
And our final patient: the police, a bad case of fuzzy far-sighted vision if ever there was one. The police are looking so far ahead, they’ve asked for a 25 per cent increase in the number of officers over the next 10 years.
How are they justifying the request? They base it on growth statistics, saying the city’s projected population over the next decade demands an infusion of officers.
More people in the city can certainly translate into a need for more police. After all, more people likely mean more traffic violations, break-ins and perhaps violence. But why should we be asked to support numbers based on unproven statistics that stretch out over a decade? The city should not grant a request that has as much legitimacy as a prediction from a crystal ball.
There’s only one clear prescription for the vision problems plaguing the city: tangible action. But any visionary could tell you that likely won’t be seen anytime soon.
— Joel Kom