08-19-2020, 01:54 PM
(08-19-2020, 09:05 AM)danbrotherston Wrote: I'm not against the data being public (and indeed, it is, when the tender is issued), but I really don't believe there should be any public comment. The fact is, for every 100 people who have the knowledge and understanding to comment thoughtfully, 99.9 of them will not be interested and have better things to do, and then there are 1,000,000 cranks who don't understand the thing one bit, but have more than enough to say. All it really would be is a make work project for the city to listen to people who don't know anything but are convinced they are experts.
Lots of good points, I think I see better what you’re saying. You are definitely correct that detailed design goes way beyond stuff most people care about, and indeed includes all sorts of completely invisible things. In my mind I was thinking of stuff like “just where exactly will this curb go?” which I think could use some extra eyes but I agree that the aggregate size or wire conduit routing does not need public comment.
I’m also thinking of things like the platform access at Northfield station, where members of the public most likely would have complained if they had been made aware of the plans before construction. Even with better engineers, there would still be occasional layout issues that might be missed.