From today’s Montreal Gazette:
Engineers, firefighters and city officials were at a loss today to explain how a seven-metre-long fissure opened in the city’s underground.
Call me cynical, but maybe it has something to do with the fact that the city cares more about beautification projects, cleanliness campaigns, and jaywalking crackdowns than its goddamn infrastructure. Morons…
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I, for one, believe that every city in the world can do all of that and more at the same time.
Why is it that they haven’t, then?
Why, just follow the money of course!
Take a sniff, follow the trail (and pray it doesn’t collapse beneath your feet).
Beautification and jay-walking tickets rake in cash for the city coffers… but spending on long-term, un-glamorous investments (like infrastructure, funding for higher education and other things that become self-sustaining over time) means that someone has to crack open the piggy bank at some point.
Obviously, they are unwilling to do so because those things aren’t very sexy to well-heeled tourists/yuppies/co-orporations that the city tries to woo with quick-fix candy.
Until they see beyond the tips of their noses we will ALWAYS be stuck in this situation which seems, to me, like bailing out water out of a rickety raft rather than sitting down and saying: “Fuck it! Let us build a sturdy ship, and not a prettier Port so much.”
After basking in undeserved glory for so many years, this city is finally getting what it deserves. The public is finally finding out about the real Montreal, a troubled, filthy and broken down city now known for potholes, collapsing overpasses, burst water mains, buildings that fall apart before they’re even completed, strikes, police who don’t take the trouble to catch serious criminals because they’re too busy handing tickets out to jaywalkers, and an administration that blames its citizens for the city’s ills and penalizes them with higher taxes.
The nightclubs, bagels and restaurants that still earn this city high marks on quality of life surveys mean nothing when the concrete Montrealers are standing on is cracked and on the verge of collapse, the aging pipes supplying their houses with water are rusting away and they can’t even step outside in winter without wondering whether they’ll end up in the ER with broken bones. The tourism industry Montreal was renowned for took a beating this year when the CEO in charge of it boldly showed the world what a filthy city Montreal became, a theft ring stole vehicles from Americans attending a softball tournament and Meeting Professionals International 2007 World Education Congress guests had their planned walking tour thwarted by roadwork and beach where they hoped to get a break from the July heat closed due to a blue collar strike.
This city is just as undeserving of its former reputation for hospitality. It became an abrasive, rude and angry place. This is a city where “Have a good day!” means “Drop dead!” Sales staff and other employees who serve the public are notorious for their lack of courtesy and lackadaisical attitudes towards their work. Most big cities are cold and uncaring places, but the language conflict, harsh climate and gulag-like living conditions endow Montreal with its own unique brand of hostility. The rudeness is so pervasive it’s a just matter of time before word about it gets out as well.
While one would hope the threats to this city’s image would serve as wake-up calls for the administration to rectify the very serious problems that are tarnishing that image, Montrealers can’t count on anything. When Tourism CEO Lapointe publicized the city’s filthy conditions, the administration responded with a cleanup campaign that turned out to be nothing but a sick joke. Instead of getting the real culprits, its lethargic blue collar workers, to shape up and do their jobs, it lay the entire blame on its citizens and slapped them with hefty fines.
This city can’t even count on rounding up activists to get it back on its feet. In the past many tried, but quickly realized they were fighting a losing battle and gave up. Those who were lucky enough to have the means even packed their bags and left. I certainly would if I could afford it.
Marla Comm