04-14-2017, 05:31 PM
I just noticed that the now closed public consultation about the central promenade in Waterloo Park generated a total of...6 responses; I don't know if the in person session was well attended or generated a lot of responses or not.
I suspect that frequenters of this site are likely more engaged in their community than average so this forum is a bit of a skewed baseline to draw comparisons from, but to me the lack of engagement is really sad.
Waterloo Park is such a central feature for the whole city. Its final layout will determine how the community interacts with the space and each other in that space, or passing through that space (as a transportation feature/destination), for generations.
It is a bit disappointing that the final layout and features will largely be determined by a private consultant with some direction from city staff and that community concerns or ideas will not be a part of the process. I think it is huge leap to assume that lack of feedback is equivalent to consenting to the plans as is; most probably haven't even heard of the plans let alone thought deeply about them.
What are staff going to do with the information that was collected? It is hardly a large enough sample to alter the original proposals, but they can't just ignore the input either.
I suspect that frequenters of this site are likely more engaged in their community than average so this forum is a bit of a skewed baseline to draw comparisons from, but to me the lack of engagement is really sad.
Waterloo Park is such a central feature for the whole city. Its final layout will determine how the community interacts with the space and each other in that space, or passing through that space (as a transportation feature/destination), for generations.
It is a bit disappointing that the final layout and features will largely be determined by a private consultant with some direction from city staff and that community concerns or ideas will not be a part of the process. I think it is huge leap to assume that lack of feedback is equivalent to consenting to the plans as is; most probably haven't even heard of the plans let alone thought deeply about them.
What are staff going to do with the information that was collected? It is hardly a large enough sample to alter the original proposals, but they can't just ignore the input either.
Everyone move to the back of the bus and we all get home faster.