Maybe now they'll learn

Over the past few weeks, much ink has been spilled and air time devoted to the City of Montreal’s disastrous move to rename a venerated street after the late premier Robert Bourassa. And while the man’s worthiness was never disputed—in fact his memory was recently honoured by the Quebec Liberal Party—the fact that the City of Montreal tried to press ahead without public consultation has enraged thousands of potential voters.

The choice of Park Avenue was certainly ill-advised; as an old and major thoroughfare that bisects several old ethnic neighbourhoods, there is a sentimentality about the street and its name that cannot be replaced in the minds of those who grew up there or currently reside on or near it. The decision-makers at Montreal City Hall should have seen this coming, but instead they made all kinds of announcements about renaming Park Avenue—not to mention historic Bleury Street, which once upon a time was one of Montreal’s main commercial arteries.

Now, as city councillors change their minds and Mayor Tremblay and his advisors turn their attention to damage control, hoping to come up with a suitable alternative, maybe politicians at all levels of government will learn from this fiasco and maintain public consultation as a key factor in the preliminary stages of major decisions.

The City of Westmount, on the other hand, has the right idea when it comes to keeping its citizens informed about proposals and upcoming projects. The most recent issue—a highly controversial idea to cover the Westmount Park athletic field with artificial turf—is only in the discussion stage, but residents have already been invited to share their thoughts on the matter. And while a well-organized and very vocal group opposed to the project has stated its position in no uncertain terms, you can be sure that, once the issue is resolved one way or another, no one will come out looking as bad as the mega-mayor has over his ill-fated Park Avenue proposal.