Why not discuss removing Rideau Street bus shelters in January?

I ask those of you who might think that Ottawa City Councillor Georges Bedard's request to the City's transportation committee to remove bus shelters from Rideau Street is a good idea: 1) Do you take the bus? 2) Do you take the bus in the winter? 3) Do you ever wait for the bus on Rideau Street? 4) Do you want to wait 20 minutes on Rideau Street in January when it's -23 degrees outside with a 20km/h wind that just won't go away?

Just like it's easy to cut grass cutting from the budget in November in order to ensure that property taxes don't go up too much, I think that this close-minded "FIX THIS PROBLEM NOW" motion Councillor Bedard successfully attempted to get through committee yesterday is myopic and possibly irresponsible.

The shelters are there for a reason. They are there to shelter waiting passengers from the elements. These elements are a mere inconvenience at this time of year, but when the winds are howling and a driving snow storm is pounding people who sit there waiting forever for their bus to arrive, they'll want those shelters.

How much money are we going to spend taking the shelters down or removing the glass walls from the existing structures? How much will we spend to put them back in February when hundreds of people complain of the cold? How much will we spend at the conclusion of a negligence lawsuit if a senior or a disabled person needs to be carted away in an ambulance or dies because of a case of frost bite or exposure? Again, the shelters are there for a reason.

To members of City Council who will soon deal with the motion from transportation committee: THINK.