Yeah, that article started off really well (calling for affordable housing) but fell flat after that.
In my opinion, NIMBYism often sucks because it is mostly based off of fear and ignorance of change, and simply delays projects rather than criticize and improve them. This adds extra time and money when it's unnecessary. This makes them annoying, and does impact the local economy in a small way.
I remember going to the Western LRT expansion Open House at City Hall, and I had to continually stifle laughter at how dumb, misinformed, and inane the vast majority of the comments and "concerns" were. Some of my absolute favourites were:
- "Children play around this area, and could easily lose a ball over the fence."
- "I live in a million dollar home, and this development will probably make my property worthless!"
- "I'm concerned because children could fall into the construction site."
- "What is the city going to do about the noise and the dust?"
I damn near died of having to prevent myself from bursting out laughing at those and several others. All the above is nothing more than fear or ignorance, as well as looking for something to complain about. Children lose playable projectiles all the time. Lost balls and Frisbees were a regular occurrence in the childhoods of my friends and I. It happens. The city is not responsible for a child's clumsiness and personal property. The woman who suggested a soon-to-be-worthless house has no basis for her exaggerated claim. No one can fall into a construction site because they are colourfully marked and blocked off from pedestrian traffic for pedestrian safety. Noise and dust are the side effects of construction. Little can be done to change that.
It's this kind of NIMBYism based on fear of change and simple ignorance that I have the greatest problem with. After all, very few people asked more relevant questions such as:
- "Why does/should the LRT route go through our neighbourhood?"
- "Can the city provide us with concrete benefits of having such a system in our neighbourhood?"
- "In exchange for letting this happen, can we at least feature local artists and/or a more 'traditional' architecture for the stations and route so it blends with the surroundings better?"
- "Which areas will be most affected by the construction and supply drop sites, and how will the city mitigate this?"
- "What is the NCC's role in this/What is the NCC's problem?"
- "Would/does such a system eliminate usable greenspace and/or impede pedestrian traffic and accessibility in any way?"
Nearly no pertinent, sharp, relevant, and topical questions such as the above were asked. Additionally, the whole damned affair went on far longer than it should have, costing people time and money and with nothing to show for it at the end.
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