The City of Kingston has secured the services of Rob Wood of 8020 Info Inc., working closely with City of Kingston staff, to provide various services in delivering an effective outcome through transparent and open consultation with the above described key stakeholders as outlined in the 'Repurposing stakeholder Consultation Plan'. The Communications Division and its staff are also providing key guidance and support throughout the process.

The Downtown BIA was already over-influential beyond reason in matters of municipal recreation services. And now this.

Bruce Todd sent this letter to The Whig Standard which was published today.

Therein:

The Whig had its chance to challenge the details of an LVEC but buried its head in the sand. I know for a fact that The Whig was sent hundreds of articles expressing concern about this venture, but show me one article the newspaper put together voicing these concerns.

Also related to the City of Kingston's complete disregard for traffic planning and the LVEC, another article in today's paper titled No way out for condo owners which emphasises how dysfunctional the North Block site really is.

Douglas Fluhrer Park has rarely looked more neglected than it does today which, as our Flickr photo set shows, is saying something.

Meanwhile, the Douglas Fluhrer Park sign was missing a slat over two years ago, and it still isn't repaired.

The sign proclaiming it as a permit-only parking lot, on the other hand, is new.

In a stunning display of hypocrisy, today's Whig Standard editorial poses questions about traffic and parking that have been evident to many, and known to Whig editors, since April 2005 (see also here and here and here and here).

Why isn't there a separate traffic study of the North Block? The need for one is obvious.

The Whig Standard should be ashamed to be posing such questions now that it's far too late.

The Whig has also been silent about the quality of the City's LVEC-related communications with its citizens, including traffic and parking, which have been borderline unethical (see also here and here) and saying nothing about the ethics of some arena supporters and the systemic influence of Downtown Kingston BIA in the so-called LVEC "process" (see also here).

Kingstonians are understandably concerned about traffic flowing in and out of the new civic centre. The irony is that given the experience of other cities, whose debt-ridden centres lie empty most of the week, Kingstonians should be more concerned about traffic not flowing in and out of ours.

Shame on the Whig.