As mayors and councils settle into their roles following Saturday鈥檚 elections, issues peculiar to their own municipalities will demand much of their attention, but they cannot afford to overlook important issues that transcend municipal boundaries.
The strong support across most of the capital region for exploring amalgamation indicates people favour a regional approach to the issues that affect our quality of life and determine the level of our taxes.
Eight communities included an amalgamation question on the ballot. In Oak Bay, 62 per cent of voters rejected the idea, and in Langford, the question was approved by a margin of only 13 votes. Elsewhere, the proposal to study amalgamation received wide support.
Community Minister Coralee Oakes has announced that the province will fund and conduct a study on amalgamation for Greater Victoria. It will be a long and complex process to gather information, calculate costs and benefits, and draft different amalgamation scenarios. The election results move the region in the direction of amalgamation, but it鈥檚 only a tentative move and will not affect how municipalities are governed for several years, at least.
Important regional issues can鈥檛 wait for the outcome.
The first and foremost is sewage treatment, a kind of panting, glaring monster that sits stubbornly in the middle of the living room. Ignoring it is not an option 鈥� the provincial and federal governments have already decreed it must happen, and hundreds of millions of dollars of senior government funding hangs in the balance.
Deadlines are not likely to change substantially. The province won鈥檛 interfere on zoning or siting issues. And if some municipalities choose to pursue an arrangement separate from that proposed by the Capital Regional District, they will still have to act with the permission of and under the direction of the CRD.
Regional co-operation is still a necessity.
Transit and traffic challenges continue to grow and are not amenable to piecemeal solutions. What might appear to be a solution in one municipality could easily push the problem down the road, creating a headache for someone else. Colwood can鈥檛 solve the Colwood Crawl alone, for example, nor should it be expected to. Langford must accommodate traffic headed to the big box stores. Traffic from all over the region funnels into Victoria.
Ideally, we should have a regional transportation authority to deal with public transit, roads, bike lanes and everything else to do with moving people around. Planning for such projects as new interchanges or improved corridors should consider the welfare of the entire region, and would ensure better value for public dollars.
Policing is still fractured. Politics should be set aside and serious study undertaken for a regional police service that serves the public interest.
The handling of garbage and homelessness are other subjects that should not be handled in isolation.
An underlying issue in this election was engagement with the public 鈥� people want to feel they have been heard. An encouraging sign is the small but significant increase in voter turnout 鈥� an average of 35 per cent in the capital region for this election, compared to 31.4 per cent in 2011.
Big-ticket items 鈥� sewage, the Johnson Street Bridge and composting 鈥� helped boost turnout and were likely major factors in the defeat of the mayors of Victoria and Saanich.
It鈥檚 a little saddening to think that angry people are more likely to vote than those who are complacent, but let that be a lesson to mayors and councils 鈥� stay in touch with the people, communicate clearly, listen carefully.
Regardless of the patchwork that shows on the map, Greater Victoria is one region. It鈥檚 a great place; the challenge of making it better is best met with co-operation and understanding.
