[GREN-Exec] LRT - Important Next Steps?

Thu Mar 31 13:04:29 EDT 2011

No Greg, you haven't really missed anything. Kevin, John and I were running
a separate email discussion re the LRT and our meeting with Regional staff
and I had forwarded both of them my op/ed piece for feedback - we were the
members of GREN that were running with the LRT issue so we didn't involve
the full GREN exec in the email discussion, until now when it requires a
next step position or action that concerns all of GREN. 

I truly don't think most people have any idea that the proposed system
includes supportive BRT's that feed into the main line, nor have they
actually looked at how relatively little it financially impacts them. All
they hear is that millions of tax dollars are going to be spent on some
glorified "streetcar". As you note, most people can't think/see beyond what
affects them personally and directly, so we have to frame this issue so that
it does. I've tried to do that in this op/ed piece and I hope it will help
to at least persuade some of them.  Good facts and figures, well-thought out
arguments and logic work for you, Greg - they have little impact on many,
many people. 

Susan K 

From: executive-bounces at gren.ca [mailto:executive-bounces at gren.ca] On Behalf
Of Gregory C. Michalenko
Sent: March-31-11 10:29 AM
To: Kevin Thomason; GREN Executive
Subject: Re: [GREN-Exec] LRT - Important Next Steps?

Dear GRENling Execs: 

First off, I don't seem to be getting much of these conversations until they
have been running for several exchanges.  Or was this one just between Kevin
and Susan and forwarded to the rest later?  On a couple of occasions I think
I was left out completely and only learned of a conversation later.  Maybe
there is something jinxed in the email process.

I have just come across a depressing social psychology research paper
"Education, politics and opinions about climate change - evidence for
interaction effects."  Two surveys were done, one in New Hampshire and the
other in Michigan.  In both respondents were asked to identify themselves on
a scale stretching from "strong democrat" to "strong republican", provide
their level of education, and then state how well they thought they
understood the issue of climate warming, and finally "Do you think that
global warming will pose a serious threat to you or your way of life in your
lifetime, or not."  The results were a big surprise.  Of those  democrats
who felt they were well-informed of the issue, 64% answered "yes" to that
last question, while only 14% of republicans who felt they were well
informed answered yes.

Their conclusions:  "Ideological predispositions can affect how people
process information.  The Internet and cable television news make it easier
for us not only to process information selectively ourselves, but to
selectively acquire information that has been processed already, when we
only tune in to ideologically compatible Web sites, cable new shows and so
forth.  The bias or selectivity of our sources can be higher than the
newspapers, magazines or broadcast news that formerly supplied most
current-events information.  Narrowcast media, including many Web sites
devoted to discrediting climate-change concerns, provide ideal conduits for
channeling politically inspired but scientific sounding arguments to an
audience predisposed to retain and repeat them.  The power to repeat favored
arguments has been vastly expanded as well, through forwarding emails or
posting links and content online, in a process that can become "viral" as it
motivates new readers to do the same.  The pace of normal scientific
communication is glacial by comparison." 

How much of this phenomenon are we facing with the transit debate?  I
suspect quite a lot and it's further complicated by there being so many
choices and the way municipal politics seems increasingly to be dominated by
viewing expenditures as expenses and not as long-term investments that will
eventually pay off handsomely.

When I went to a City of Waterloo public session about the City's strategic
plan some of the conversation at my table turned to the transit proposal.  I
found it interesting that the participants from the suburbs, who came across
as reasonable people, who shared pretty well the same values as inner-city
environmentally concerned Greg, expressed an overriding concern about "But
what's in the LRT proposal for me/us?"  I'm afraid we're pretty stuck in
thinking small - about our family, our budget, our immediate neighbourhood
and the short term --  and not about the KWC of even 20 years from now, the
welfare of the cities as a whole, the institutions we will need.  In other
words, about the Common Good and our collective welfare.  

I think we should concentrate on the council, both in approaching individual
councillors, and going as delegates to the meeting.  Kevin, who is the "etc"
in your list above?  Is Jeff Cosello going?  

I know I said at a GREN meeting that I wasn't sure myself what the best
option was.  This was because I hadn't had the chance to find the
information I needed to come to a decision.  I've been trying to be as
conscientious as possible to locate the most objective and accurate
information about environmental issues in the last year or so, whether it is
green belts, fluoridation, GM, or the LRT.  I had to be away when Cosello
spoke to GREN, but Susan B made the point of circulating C's slides and I
thought "finally I've got what I need to make up my mind."  Let's persuade
Cosello to be a delegate at the April Council meeting. And send at least one
GREN delegate as well.

- Greg

  _____  

From: executive-bounces at gren.ca [executive-bounces at gren.ca] on behalf of
Kevin Thomason [kevinthomason at mac.com]
Sent: Wednesday, March 30, 2011 8:27 PM
To: GREN Executive
Subject: [GREN-Exec] LRT - Important Next Steps?

Hi folks, 

I have found myself in a couple of meetings so far this week with the
Barnraiser's and Sustainable Waterloo where the issue of ensure the LRT
succeeds has arisen. 

Currently both these groups are very concerned about the situation and I
would agree.  There are still such mixed messages out there about the LRT.
Thankfully, most people who have taken the time to learn about the issue are
in support of the LRT but unfortunately the vast majority of the population
has not attended the open houses or researched the transit options to any
degree and are hung up solely on costs taken often out of context.

On April 20th Regional Council will be narrowing things down to just one of
the alternatives which will then be opened to further dialog until a final
decision in June.  It would seem to me that we can't be distracted by the
June date because the decision just three weeks from now is going to be the
most important one.  

I'm still not sure of the best approach - whether we need to try to educate
and influence 548,000 people or just 15 Regional Councillors.  Really it
seems to boil down to just a few Councillors that no one is sure about -
Brenda Halloran, Todd Cowan, etc.  

I am wondering if GREN should be updating our LRT support letter and
ensuring that it is circulated to the Councillors and the media.  I think
that the more the public is seen to be supporting the LRT the easier it will
be to sway these fence-sitting politicians.

I know that this can even be a touchy topic within GREN as there are a
variety of opinions but face it - at this point an Aerobus or redesigned LRT
on a different route is not going to happen.  We have 11 options to choose
from of which the most likely is looking like the do nothing and live with
sprawl, gridlock and a failed Regional Official Plan, perhaps one of 10
different LRT options if we are lucky, or a BRT region-wide if Doug Craig
gets his way.  

I fear if we don't have strong support for the LRT now there will be nothing
happen for at least a generation.  Other levels of government have made it
clear that their money is off the table soon and other cities such as
Hamilton are already clamouring for it.  As Susan has pointed out the cost
differential between the top-of-the-line plan and doing nothing is only
about the cost of half of a tank of gas per year!

Please let me know any thoughts on updating and circulating our GREN transit
support letter or any other ideas as soon as possible.

Thanks,

Kevin.

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