For this reason Manitoba United, recognizing both public’s aspirations and diversification, is fully prepared to experiment with more local empowerment and will enact enabling legislation to facilitate such.
Wednesday 21 November 2012
Civic Engagement
Manitoba United recognizes that public common sense is often ahead of the typical central command of politics.
For this reason Manitoba United, recognizing both public’s aspirations and diversification, is fully prepared to experiment with more local empowerment and will enact enabling legislation to facilitate such.
For this reason Manitoba United, recognizing both public’s aspirations and diversification, is fully prepared to experiment with more local empowerment and will enact enabling legislation to facilitate such.
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For the average resident, looking at income tax, sales tax, user fees and real estate taxes, although there are many separate demands, there is only one taxpayer. Because of this it is incumbent on any political party to reach across jurisdictional lines and try to make government as practical and efficient as possible. There are a number of issues in which Manitoba United will likely act at a civic level. To give you an idea, the following is a potential for exactly such action.
ReplyDeleteThere is a populist theme throughout many of the Manitoba United policy initiatives that government should not micro manage but instead, trust the people to be able to decide some things for themselves.
For example, within Winnipeg there are several prominent neighbourhoods. Wolseley with the older houses and the big elms is certainly one. Corydon with the bustling sidewalk cafes is another. Tuxedo has the expensive houses and so on. People decide to live in a neighbourhood often for lifestyle reasons. Not all neighbourhoods are alike and the folks within them deserve an opportunity to have a lot of say about their uniqueness and function. What might empowerment mean?
There is a move to lower the speed limit on residential streets.
If a neighbourhood wanted to be proactive on particular residential streets they could get busy and draft a petition to ask for a pilot. (By the way, a similar process could be used to raise limits where appropriate) They should receive support on such a move with several caveats.
1) The identified streets must be purely residential not feeder streets
2) The residents of the street must show neigbourhood support for the change
3) The signage must be prominent
4) The snow clearing priority for such quiet streets must be lowered.
5) The maintenance priority and budget for such a quiet street must be lowered.
6) The local Councilor’s community committee must formally hear objections and approve or turn down a petition for change
Bicycle pathways would be good candidates for such a change. There would be a strict limit to how much change within any one ward until the new model can be evaluated.
Similarly a neighbourhood like Wolsely might petition for curbside flower gardens. Using a similar process this should work. Even such an item as backyard hen raising might see general acceptance in one neighbourhood yet not in others. Neighbourhood empowerment makes the city more interesting and diversified. As a bonus, the process of engagement
Ran out of space - As a bonus, the process of engagement to activate change is very healthy from a sociological and civic point of view.
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