The price is not right
Ah, money. You can’t live with it – you can’t live without it. In the case of Guelph, you can’t do anything without first consulting it. That, my friends, is a sad, sad thing.
Of course, it isn’t just Guelph that uses finances as the major determinant of decisions in its operations. Virtually every organization or government will focus on the financial impact of all possible avenues before undergoing any changes to operations. Yet I cannot read the community newspaper without countless disappointing reminders that this city has become built not around what is best for its citizens, but around what is best for their wallets.
Exhibit A: At the corner of Edinburgh Road South and Kortright, there is the old St. Matthias church, no longer used as a place of worship. According to The Guelph Tribune, the property was bought by a development company and will be used for a six-storey student residence. The development company is currently seeking re-zoning to continue with construction. The issue of the university accepting students in bloating numbers for its own financial gain is another issue entirely, and I will avoid that hornet’s nest for now. What blew my mind was the following sentence in The Tribune: “There were bids from other churches to buy the site, but the Anglican Diocese of Niagara decided to sell to the developers, who bid higher.”
Here, we have a nice, well-kept community building, in great shape and in a location lacking other similar venues. Yet instead of cooperating with those who seek to reinstate the building to a community-oriented setting, the property owners grab the fattest cheque and run. I cannot fathom how anyone would view another commercialized, corporate-run housing centre as more beneficial to the neighbourhood than some variation of a community centre, where folks of all demographics can find a place of belonging. It’s a shame.
Exhibit B: Sunday bus service cuts (proposed). Need I say more? For anyone unfamiliar, I’ll sum it up nicely: 50 per cent reduction in Sunday and holiday bus service in exchange for $327, 000 in savings. With a proposal like that, you’d be glad our taxes don’t help pay for transit – oh wait.
Guelph in particular is renowned for its environmental initiative. I am proud to be a citizen of a green city, one with innovative garbage-collection systems and countless programs that help citizens reduce their carbon footprints. We have the ever-so-helpful bureaucrats – who, I might add, very likely have their own personal vehicles – preaching environmental awareness and heaping praise upon themselves for our city’s reputation. How easy it must be for them to declare frugality in the name of savings, when the sacrifices to do so will not affect them.
These councillors and city staff are not the ones with jobs that require work on Sundays, or shopping that must be done on said days. They are not people (such as myself) who will avoid using their own vehicles when possible in favour of cheaper and greener public transport. Saddest of all, they are not people who will genuinely reflect on why, even in the name of savings, such cuts may do more harm than good.
I did the math. Including peak hours, the average Guelph route will make a total of 47 trips per day during the week, and 20 trips on Sundays. With respective average riderships of 22, 281 and 8, 091, there is a difference of less than 70 people total using Guelph transit at any given time. With well over 115, 000 citizens in the city, that is not a significant difference.
My purpose here is not to give a lesson in statistics. What I’m really trying to say is stop. Stop letting the dollar make all our decisions. Stop thinking that all citizens care more about saving a few dollars than they do about their neighbours being able to get to work in decent time. Stop blocking out alternative options in the name of accepting the most lucrative opportunity. For goodness’ sake, stop trying to make sense with dollars and cents.
If money is the root of all evil, we’re planting ourselves a pretty big garden. Hopefully, one that will at least offset the carbon footprint of increased Sunday traffic.