VOTE JOHN DACOMBE FOR COURTENAY COUNCIL

Reducing costs of some capital projects, and how the Back Road roundabout is a good example of how not to do infrastructure

The Back Road roundabout was an expensive non-solution to a simple problem.

Stop signs on Back Road would have done a better job at slowing down traffic on Back Road, at a fraction of the cost. What we have now, an estimated $1M later, is a roundabout that does not slow down traffic heading east towards Comox, and makes the area less safe for all users.

When area residents heard this project was going to happen, they were ignored. There was no public consultation before or during construction with residents of the affected neighbourhood, Valley View. (City claims of “a formal request from area residents” involved presentations and a petition from residents of Back Road who were asking for “speed humps” and “stop signs” – not a traffic circle.)

This project is a sunk cost – lost money - but what are the solutions, so we don’t waste more money on future projects like this?

  • Real public consultation with local residents is vital on neighbourhood projects like road and neighbourhood park infrastructure. Because who knows the area best? Local residents. There was none with this project, and it shows. In fact, the wishes of residents were explicitly ignored;

  • Council isn’t just there to approve whatever Staff recommends. Council is there to ask tough questions, challenge questionable recommendations, and make the ultimate decisions in the best interests of residents and taxpayers. In this case, Council rubber-stamped a poorly planned, expensive project where $200 in stop signs – or even the status quo - would have done a better job. Council members must understand their responsibilities, and it is not to be a rubber stamp for anything Staff recommends. Council is in charge of decisions like this. Act like it;

  • Staff Reports must include realistic, low-cost alternatives. Don’t always default to the most expensive option.

We could have saved $1M on Back Road. I’m confident we can find savings like that on capital projects every year, by exploring low-cost alternatives, but it takes leadership from Council.