Sidewalks are a good thing...aren't they?

 

In a bizarre turn of events our councillor, King fights for NO sidewalks.

You cannot make this shit up.

Why? Likely the locals don't want people walking through their neighborhood...including those with disabilities...but they say "sidewalks will harm trees and are more urgently needed elsewhere on busier roads and near a local school."

Bottom line you see the impact of political expediency. In a wanton grab for Manor Park votes a DEI politician argues against accessibility.

It was stupid and lazy both intellectually, politically and ethically.

Wisely council shot down the motion in a 16-7 vote.

References:

More Information:

Manor Park sidewalks to go ahead after council vote

King failed in his bid to shorten planned sidewalks that have divided the Ottawa neighbourhood.  His sign in Manor Park urged people to reject a contentious plan to build sidewalks in the neighbourhood. (Francis Ferland/CBC).

Arthur White-Crummey · CBC News · Posted: Apr 08, 2026 5:29 PM EDT

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city policy is to add  to local roads in tandem with other work to save money and gradually build out a pedestrian services.

"If we don’t take the opportunity to put sidewalks in when we do the street rebuilds, we are not going to have that opportunity again for 70 or 80 or 90 years,"  said Lieper.

Alta Vista Coun. Marty Carr spoke of the importance of accessibility.

"We try to build things for everyone, so if we can build things that make a difference in one or two people’s lives, that is what is important here," she said. "I do think when there are people representing to us and telling us what their needs are, we need to listen."

In a bizarre twist of logic Mayor Mark Sutcliffe supported King’s motion seemingly in contradiction to his longstanding support of status quo administration. He called it a "difficult decision" and said he understands both sides of the debate. 

[If he found this difficult we have bigger fish to fry]

"I do understand the points that were made by my other colleagues on council who were saying, 'Look, we can't make an exception here, we have rules,'" he said. "We apply them universally and we don't want a situation where every neighborhood is different."

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Arthur White-Crummey is the municipal affairs reporter at CBC Ottawa. He grew up in Ottawa, spent years in Saskatchewan covering the courts, city hall and the provincial legislature.