Dr G vs The City Of Winnipeg
As this Rant is based on several e-mail messages, I have kept it in a chronological order.
—–Original Message—–
From: Dr Gonzo [mailto:drgonzo@ourrant.ca]
Sent: Thursday, March 21, 2002 3:58 PM
To: transit@city.winnipeg.mb.ca; gmurray@city.winnipeg.mb.ca
Subject: My perception of a lack of consideration for it’s customers/constituents on the part of Winnipeg Transit and the City itself.
To Whom this concerns at Winnipeg Transit and His Worship Mayor Glen Murray,
Today marks a wondrous occasion that I feel I must share with you, the one week anniversary of the felling of a Winnipeg Transit bus stop sign #40241 (Keenleyside St & Prevette). The most likely culprit of the felling; snow removal crews.
Of this fallen sign I have a singular concern that I would like addressed; Why is the sign still on it’s side so long so that it has partially melted into the ice? Now overlooking the obvious oversight of the snow removal crew which downed the sign and I would have to assume failed to notice it and therefore report it, I can’t seem to guess at any justifiable reason for the sign’s current lack of “loft”. However, with your permission of course, I would like to illustrate briefly my reason why I can’t guess at the sign’s lack of “loft”. I will then try to formulate a few of my own hypotheses with you today. I urge you to read on.
Reason why I can’t see justification for the sign’s lack of “loft”:
This stop is passed by buses and their drivers a total of 75 times each day; excluding Saturdays & Sundays and buses passing on the other side of the road. Based on this model, this stop has been passed a total of 375 times. I find it inconceivable that an employee of Winnipeg Transit who is supposed to be alert and watchful of their surroundings (they are driving 45 ft vehicles after all, at least I hope that they’re alert) could miss something like a fallen bus stop sign; the numbers wouldn’t support that excuse if ever it was given.
My current hypotheses as to why this sign remains fallen:
Due to the number of times this fallen sign has been passed in the past 5 business days (as mentioned above I am at this time excluding Saturday & Sunday) I can only conclude that the Winnipeg Transit employees driving the buses that have passed the sign that many times (375) are in fact not as alert or watchful as they should be. Thus they are a danger to themselves and to others on the road.
Or…
Due to the number of times the fallen sign has been passed I can only conclude that the Winnipeg Transit employees driving the buses are overpaid and have become complacent with their duties due to the protection their union seems to offer them. They see the sign, note that it has fallen, but then quickly don’t care.
Or…
The snow removal crew did notice the sign had been hit and fallen and did report it immediately, and the Winnipeg Transit employees who have passed the sign at least 375 times have been attentive and have been reporting it to their superiors. In this third possible hypothesis, the superiors at Winnipeg Transit possibly in concert with the City of Winnipeg itself have noted the reports of the fallen sign (#40241) and have decided to ignore their responsibilities in quickly repairing it. The reason in this scenario? Because the sign is located in an area of the city which does not command as high attention as it would if it were located in an area of the city that is as financially successful as say The Maples.
Please choose which one of these three scenarios is closest to the facts and get back to me.
Irregardless of any of these facts, you are now aware of the fallen sign. Please have the sign fixed as soon as possible.
Dr. Gonzo
“I hate to say this,” said my attorney as we sat down at the Merry-Go-Round Bar on the second balcony, “but this place is getting to me. I think I’m getting the Fear.”
Update Mar 22, 2002: The sign has been temporarily placed upright sometime between the hours of 7.30a and 10p.
—–Original Message—–
From: Pelletier, Bev [mailto:BPelleti@city.winnipeg.mb.ca]
Sent: March 26, 2002 2:21 PM
To: ‘drgonzo@ourrant.ca’
Subject:
Dr. Gonzo:
Thank you for contacting Winnipeg Transit regarding the bus stop at stop
#40241.
Your concern was directed to Stops and Loops, they recall picking up the bus
stop sign in question one month ago, however Traffic Services was notified
and your request will be investigated.
Thank you once again for taking the time to notify us regarding your
concern.
Yours truly,
Beverley Pelletier
Customer Service Representative
—–Original Message—–
From: Murray, Glen
Sent: Wednesday, March 27, 2002 4:04 PM
To: Borland, Rick
Cc: Passante, Rose
Subject: FW: My perception of a lack of consideration for it’s customers/constituents on the part of Winnipeg Transit and the City itself.
Rick
Can you respond to this person?
Glen
—–Original Message—–
From: Borland, Rick [mailto:RBorland@city.winnipeg.mb.ca]
Sent: March 28, 2002 2:16 PM
To: drgonzo@ourrant.ca
Cc: Murray, Glen
Subject: Bus stop marker at Keenleyside and Prevette
Dear Sir:
Mayor Murray has asked that I respond to your email of March 21st.
The bus stop at Keenleyside and Prevette was knocked down in a traffic accident on Saturday, March 16th (freezing rain all the previous night) and was reported to the Transit Control Centre at 12:07 that same day. This information was e-mailed to Traffic Services on Monday morning, March 18th at 06:36 AM (Traffic Services of the City’s Public Works Department is responsible for all on-street signage, including bus stop markers).
Monday, March 18th was the day that Traffic Services started to install their annual “Weight Restriction” signs throughout the City. This is a huge undertaking which takes priority over all other signage problems except “Stop” signs. Consequently, the crew did not get around to the Keenleyside/Prevette location until Friday, March 22nd. At that time it was found that the base of the unit was damaged and could not be repaired until the frost is out of the ground this spring. In the interim, the crew removed the regular bus stop head and placed it on a portable base (normal winter procedure). This sign will quite likely remain like this until early in the summer as Traffic Services has quite literally thousands of downed signs every winter season and it take some time to replace all of these in the spring.
I hope that this explanation is satisfactory, and I apologize if you have been inconvenienced.
Rick Borland
Director of Transit
—–Original Message—–
From: Dr Gonzo [mailto:drgonzo@ourrant.ca]
Sent: Saturday, April 13, 2002 7:36 PM
To: ‘Borland, Rick’
Cc: ‘Murray, Glen’; ‘Pelletier, Bev’
Subject: RE: Bus stop marker at Keenleyside and Prevette
Dear Sirs & Madame,
Mr Borland I must start by apologizing for not replying to you earlier; I have been rather pre-occupied with personal/business matters and only downloaded it the other day. Please take note that most if not all of this email will be directed to yourself as well.
I have read your reply in full several times now to be certain that I haven’t missed anything of importance. After doing so, I am concerned that your explanation might contain information that may not be 100% accurate, and I’ll explain why.
You mention that the sign had been apparently knocked down as a result of a traffic accident on Saturday March 16; cause of accident: freezing rain all night March 15. Allow me to very adamant on my position here, this sign was down before this date. My justification for this position is simple at least to me; I noticed the sign was down on a weekday (before Saturday March 16) when like myself the rest of the neighbourhood “rats” were milling about the stop waiting to board the next available bus to be transported to their respective rat races. I also remember quite clearly cursing to myself that weekend that Winnipeg Transit hadn’t yet attended to the sign (and probably wouldn’t until at least that Monday) despite its being down already for a few days. I have also checked the weather archive at www.canadianweather.com for March 15 2002, and according to their records there were no weather events other than it being cold out. Their archive does show however that snow was reported for the city on both March 13 & 14 (I am currently awaiting on a confirmation of this information from Environment Canada). Perhaps you were misinformed on the date of the date of this traffic accident, or perhaps the accident had nothing to do with the downing of the sign at all?
While still on the subject of misinformation, for your review I have included the response that I received from Beverly Pelletier:
—–Original Message—–
From: Pelletier, Bev [mailto:BPelleti@city.winnipeg.mb.ca]
Sent: March 26, 2002 2:21 PM
To: ‘drgonzo@ourrant.ca’
Subject:
Dr. Gonzo:
Thank you for contacting Winnipeg Transit regarding the bus stop at stop
#40241.
Your concern was directed to Stops and Loops, they recall picking up the bus
stop sign in question one month ago, however Traffic Services was notified
and your request will be investigated.
Thank you once again for taking the time to notify us regarding your
concern.
Yours truly,
Beverley Pelletier
Customer Service Representative
Picked up the bus stop sign in question a month ago? Of this I am confused, the sign in question was still standing up properly until this incident in mid-March. Is perhaps this Stops and Loops department reporting incorrect or possibly altogether false information to you, and Beverley, the other departments within Winnipeg Transit, and the city as well? When you straighten out exactly what happened, let me know, I would be very interested in knowing the truth.
You apologize if I have been inconvenienced. Well I was, and so were you, and Beverley, and Mr Murray, and every other citizen of this city. Every day we are all inconvenienced by incidents such as these that make Winnipeg look like it belongs in a 3rd world country. You may think that I’m over-dramatizing here, but I’m not.
Back in the fall of last year a good friend of mine had the opportunity to meet with some investors from South America that were visiting cities in Canada looking for companies to bid on a contract; Winnipeg being one stop of many. These gentleman had nothing but praise for the amount of small businesses that they saw in Manitoba, but when asked their opinions of Winnipeg they said that they found it dirty, and grey, and depressing. To put their statement into proper context you should know that these investors travel the globe and visit real 3rd world countries on a regular basis. Now my friend lost their business to another firm based out of another province; did the investors choose this other firm because they felt it had a higher quality or work, or that their production costs were lower? We’ll never know the real truth of their decision, but if these investors wanted to take promotional pictures showing where components of their product(s) are manufactured, I don’t blame them for not choosing a company located in a city that they felt was dirty and depressing.
We are all inconvenienced when people who have lived their entire lives in Winnipeg leave looking for work (possibly as a result of Winnipeg businesses closing/moving after being passed over for so many times for firms in clean cities) in cities such as Toronto, Edmonton, Calgary and a host of others. We are all further inconvenienced when these same people repent their sins for ever living here in the first place and swear never to return to live (and pay taxes). Cleanliness and the modernization of the city which they now live beating out financial stability/gain as their chief reason for staying away.
So that you are aware Mr Borland, the bus stop sign in question was fully restored approximately 1 1/2 to 2 weeks ago. I am glad that it did not take until early summer to properly repair this sign as you had suggested it may. Some of the poor people in the area may have left for the chance at a better life in a cleaner city if it had actually taken that long.
Dr. Gonzo
He said he understood, but I could see in his eyes that he didn’t. He was lying to me.
P.S. One of the windows in the bus shelter at stop #40242 (opposite side of the road of the stop discussed here) is busted out with bits of the tempered glass laying all around it on the sidewalk. There are a lot of children that play in this area, and I am concerned that one of them could potentially injure themselves on this broken glass if they were to trip and fall on it. Could you pencil it into the repair roster? Thanks.