Windsor Gets a "P"arkway

Whew, from all of the talk and scare stories, I thought that DRIC was going to propose a monster, at-grade, multi-lane, border vehicle expressway that was going to cut a swath of land of millions of acres through Windsor destroying thousands of homes and businesses, displacing tens of thousands of residents and putting the health of all of our children at risk.

Instead we are getting a parkway. Not just a parkway mind you but a capital "P" Parkway. And not just a "Parkway" but an enhanced Parkway. Check out Page D4 in today's Star and the DRIC advertisement!

That has caused the ground to rumble in Michigan!

Rumour has it that the trade mark and copyright lawyers of the Bridge Co. have been contacted to provide an opinion about starting immediately an infringment action against DRIC. One of the best firms for that in Canada is Gowlings. The Bridge Co. might have used them since Gowlings acted for them but for the Estrin lawsuit that is under appeal in the US.

The Bridge Co. has to be fuming. Not only has DRIC maligned what their proposal is, not only is DRIC being used to try to force the Bridge Co. to sell out cheaply but now DRIC has taken the key words that the Bridge Co. has used.

You know about their Enhancement Project by now (over 12,500 Youtube.com hits and rising) but the parkway is what the road to the bridge was called years ago. (The news stories I saw did not use the capital "P" about the road so that must be a DRIC "enhancement" too!). I think I may know who may have told the DRIC about the "parkway" word but not the background.

Wait a minute. Perhaps this is a signal that the Bridge Co. has won. DRIC taking their language. Obviously the Star must have known that the DRIC ad was coming to reserve space for it . Does that explain the vicious anti-Eddie Editorial the other day? Gord Henderson had his chance to take a cheap shot at the Bridge Co. today over security in his column talking about Comartin and the dirty bomb but chose not to do so. Does the Star want to be on the winning side finally?

Naaaaaaaaaaaaaw..wishful thinking on my part. But the ad does signify that DRIC and all of the Governments are in disarry:

1. Transport Canada must be fuming. They pay for half of the ad but cannot even get a mention in the "contact" section. It must be a "Provincial ad" for Provincial purposes
2. It's buried in the Sports pages, and not well set out either, but it's out there so DRIC can claim the public was advised
3. It's over a month before the meeting and no location has been set which means the ad was hurriedly placed
4. Why was the ad placed so far in advance too or had the space been reserved for a July meeting that was cancelled to save Sandra from embarrassment
5. More taxpayer money needs to be wasted for another ad to set out the location
6. Transport Minister Cannon has just met with the Michigan Governor and a meeting now will only be held in August. The Republicans are anti-DRIC.
7. Wasn't the US meeting held in early June and weren't the US and Canada to act together
8. Sandra's nomination meeting has not been held yet
9. Didn't the Star suggest the other day that the meeting would be held in October
10. The design of the enhanced Parkway is quite descriptive...why it sounds so Schwartz-like
11. Nothing final will be determined before the Ontario election so Dwight and Sandra are safe and the Star Editors were told where to go when they said "With the provincial election slated for October, it is incumbent upon the DRIC to release its "solution" before voters go to the polls. The Liberal government has a responsibility to voters in this community to tell us before the election where it stands on the project that will define this community for generations to come. "
12. DRIC is encouraging "advanced purchase requests" to buy property along the corridor to solidify where the DRIC road is going. That means the route is NOT going to be changed.

What interests me though is what must be going on behind the scenes. Let's speculate.

Clearly the Feds and Province are feuding and they have been for a very long time. My view is that Windsor is their "test-case" for a number of other matters. Neither of them would dare fight in public, as an example, over the extended Toronto subway since it could mean political suicide for them in the upcoming elections. So they have an unstated "gentlemen's" agreement to use Windsor as the boxing ring and what is decided here will be their template for other infrastructure projects in Ontario.

The big fight is how much will Ontario get for these projects and will the Federal percentage be fixed at 50% of the cost as it was in the Federal Budget for the access road or go higher as Ontario is demanding.

We have an in-fight between Federal Government Departments to cope with now too. The Province has also decided that Transport Canada is irrelevant and that is why the Premier picked Michael Kergin as his border consultant. The former Ambassador has been using his friends in Foreign Affairs to support the Province's postion to the dismay of the Transport Canada bureaucrats. That explains why Minister Cannon went to Lansing...to try and regain turf..but why he did NOT speak with the Bridge Co. That is Ambassador Wilson's realm after Mackinac.

The Province thinks that THEY are in control of the timetable. Transport Canada has to be furious that the DRIC meeting was not held in June since it weakens their Minister's talks with Granholm to keep her onside on DRIC. He looks so powerless to even demand when the Canadian DRIC is to be held and it takes place 2 months after the DRIC US meeting. The Republicans must be very pleased too at the DRIC incompetence and will lay it right at the Governor's doorstep. She may have to kill DRIC now, as she did the Downriver crossings, to preserve her position given all of this waste of more taxpayer money in a time of fiscal restraint in Michigan!

Where is Eddie in all of these machinations. Clearly he is NOT just changing diapers while he is away supposedly from Council. I thought I saw his vehicle at his usual City Hall parking space when I was downtown earlier in the week but I may be wrong. It does not matter. He has his cell and Blackberry as he said on CKLW.

Clearly he is not talking any longer to the DRIC bureaucrats over the roadway. The Star stories with his negative comments about them make that very clear.

• "The two sides have had numerous discussions but remain at loggerheads. It means a long-anticipated decision expected this month on a border truck tunnel is not going to happen any time soon."

He has to be talking to someone, probably the Province rather than to the Feds. See if you can find the word "federal" in the next quotes. Sure it is a roadway conversation but the Feds are financing at least half and have already set aside $400M so you would think Eddie would be involving them too if he cannot get his way with the Province:

• "As the city and provincial officials on the Detroit River International Crossing team remain at loggerheads, it was announced Friday that a recommendation on the truck route, expected this month, is being delayed. The city several weeks ago rehired the former New York traffic engineer known as Gridlock Sam. He studied the planned border access route corridor between the end of Highway 401 and E.C. Row Expressway and offered possible tunnelling options to the province. But provincial officials on the DRIC team assigned to decide on the truck tunnel option are believed to be pushing for a cheaper at- grade highway solution."

Guess with whom he is speaking and at the political level? If you said our Provincial Cabinet Ministers you would be correct. But if I had to ask you which one of the two was the key Minister...well consider the following:

• "Local MPPs Dwight Duncan (L -- Windsor-Tecumseh) and Sandra Pupatello (L -- Windsor West) said Friday it was unfair to characterize the province and city as being at odds over a truck tunnel solution for Windsor.
  
  DRIC will only provide recommendations and final decisions on the access route and tunnelling will be made by the provincial government and its cabinet, they said.
  
  "We are anxious as anybody (to see DRIC's recommendations)," Duncan said.
  
  "My expectation is to have the province and city be on the same page on this and we are working towards that."
  
  Duncan said he has seen the options Schwartz offered to DRIC.
  
  "I thought they were fascinating," he said. "They show his insight and talent. I look forward to speaking with him and hearing more of what the city has to say."
  
  DRIC was scheduled to release its suggestions on the access route and border crossing locations this month, then nail down final preferred alternatives in December. Construction has been slated to begin next year and end in 2013 with completion of a new bridge somewhere off Ojibway Parkway in Sandwich.
  
  Pupatello called the delay announcement a "good sign" since it means serious discussions are taking place.
  
  "I think we are being respectful of the city because we all want the best solution," she said. "In my discussions with the mayor I feel we are very much of the same mind on what we would like to see.
  
  "If anything we are trying to hurry this up. I want (the recommendations) out. We can't afford to slow this up."

Did you note that only Dwight had seen Schwartz's Plan! That's because Eddie is holding Sandra hostage to get what he wants on the border and the Engineering complex downtown and whatever else he can think of between now and October. Why else do you think a story was written in the Star about Councillor Ron Jones not running for the NDP against Sandra. It's a warning that Sandra is at risk and Eddie holds the key to her re-election.

Dwight's deep involvement brings back to mind the rumour about an Eddie-Dwight deal before the last Municipal election to ensure that Eddie remained Mayor and that Dwight would have no serious competition for his seat provincially. I suspect that the negotiation are between Eddie, Dwight and McGuinty's office over the border once Eddie could not get DRIC onside.

Eddie wants a deal with McGuinty before Schwartz comes out so there will not be the confusion and disappointment when Schwartz was shot down as there was last time. The Star wants Schwartz out first to pressure McGuinty to give Eddie what he wants to save Sandra. Frankly, we all know now most of what Schwartz has said and that it is practically dead so both of their strategies were wrong.

There was a better way to do it but again, why should I offer that to Eddie at no cost when he is throwing millions at consultants. Heck the CAO can give me a CAO Approval for my Consulting arrangement so Council need not be bothered.

In the end, Sandra does not matter to McGuinty, nor does Windsor. He will use her and us to get as much as he can from the Feds for Toronto, the H2O Highway, the Ontario Gateway (competing with the Asian Gateway in BC) etc.

There is a lot more involved in this file than an enhanced Parkway. Our City's future is at risk but the feuders do not care about us. We are nothing more than a small pawn in their big Chess game. Surprisingly, Windsor only really has one ally that we should have joined with years ago but ego got in the way. You can figure out who I think that is by now I am sure.