Municipal Government

Police have been so vigilant in cracking down on taxis temporarily occupying no-parking and loading zones at night in front of bars that the taxi industry nearly boycotted downtown service last weekend. This type of frivolous enforcement flies in the face of common sense. Taxi drivers provide a valuable public service. They help people get where they need, and they keep drunk drivers off the road. There is no possible argument that cracking down on taxis for minor parking infractions makes people safer.

Toronto City Council voted last year to contract out a large percentage of the city’s garbage collection. Private collection began this August. In preparation, CUPE Local 416 created a complaints hotline for disgruntled customers in an attempt to undermine the private service.

Determining the optimal speed limit is difficult. But it needs to be a limit that most people can actually follow. Our current set of speed limits does not conform to social norms, and, hence, results in minimal and arbitrary enforcement.

Residents of Sandy Springs, Georgia have tested the limits of municipal outsourcing. Incorportated in 2005, the city has contracted out virtually everything. The only two services that are delivered by the city are police and fire services, because the insurance premiums that would be required of private companies would be prohibitive. Everything else, even licensing, has been contracted out. The sky hasn’t fallen.

Regina city council has voted to allow one lane (westbound) of traffic to flow through City Square Plaza at 20km/h. While this is an improvement over leaving it closed to vehicular traffic, it is insufficient. City Square Plaza was renovated with the understanding that it would be re-opened to two way traffic. That is why local businesses were willing to support the project.