CURBSIDE RECYCLING
The media has been reporting on the changes I have recently proposed to the City’s curbside recycling program. I want to make it very clear that I believe Calgary needs regular, curbside collection of recyclable materials, including organics (which will come later),and I don’t want this service delayed in any way. However, I do have some serious concerns about the program in its present form.
I have put forward a Notice of Motion which will be considered by Council on March 10, 2008 so by the time you read this it is likely that a decision will have already been made. Whether I am successful or not, I want to explain my motivation.
Before I ran for Alderman, I followed the previous Council’s debates on this issue and it did not seem to me as though enough consideration was given to the small companies that had been providing collection services to private homes, including my own, for many years.
After being elected, I started asking questions and had my assistant do extensive research. It seemed the more we found, the more questions we had and the more we were motivated to dig. Some of my Council colleagues told me they felt that the process was flawed, e.g., the City put together the Request for Proposals (RFP), submitted a bid and then awarded themselves the exclusive contract. This is just one of my many concerns. My biggest concern, however, is creating a monopoly situation for such an important service.
My view is that when Council made the decision to put out the RFP, they did not follow the recommendations included in reports that they had asked for. Studies done on major Canadian cities show that most cities limit the amount of collection they allow their own to bid on. Here are some facts that come from the Kelleher Environmental Report, commissioned by the City of Calgary in June 2006.
- Edmonton – 50/50 public/private split is mandatory
- Ottawa limits city to two zones
- Winnipeg, Mississauga, Brampton, Nanaimo – 100% private
- Toronto, Kingston, Hamilton – mix of public and private zones
Quoting from the same report, under the heading “General Trends”, “Over the past decade, the preference by cities to use city crews to provide all collection services has changed and now cities are increasingly contracting out services to the private sector, or dividing their cities into zones and using their own forces for some zones and the private sector for others.”
The Ward 3 website will be up and running on March 15, so please visit us at www.ward3calgary.ca for further comments and updates.
CALGARY TRANSIT SAFETY CAMPAIGN
Transit users will have noticed a new Transit safety campaign, “On Board Together – Calgary Transit and You”, launched in early March. Intended as a friendly reminder that Transit staff is always available to assist customers, over 2,000 posters have been placed inside CTrain cars and at LRT stations, on buses and at bus stops to let passengers know about the safety features that are in place. Watch for the posters to learn more.
TRAFFIC ADVISORY RADIO – 106.5 FM
Traffic Advisory Radio (TAR) service has gone city-wide! Previously available only in the south Calgary, the service was expanded as of February 20. TAR provides up-to-the-minute traffic advisory information including daily and long-term road construction projects, lane closures and detours, and traffic incidents such as collisions and stalled vehicles in the morning and afternoon peak driving periods.
My contact information is provided below. Please don’t hesitate to contact my office with any questions or concerns you may have.
Contact:
EAWARD3@calgary.ca 403-268-2530
MARCH 15TH – WARD 3 WEBSITE IS AVAILABLE – www.ward3calgary.ca
