Support for SWBRT is there, it just doesn’t carry pitchforks.

The fallacy of vocal dissent on the SW Transitway

In response to a town hall hosted by her and her alone (no City staff were present), Diane Colley-Urquhart has decided to bow to the will of a small collection of angry voters who she apparently feels forms a representative sample of her constituents (despite the fact that the opposition is spearheaded by residents of Eagle Ridge, which are in Councillor Pincott’s riding). She has decided to pull her support for the Southwest BRT project, despite campaigning on it in the previous election. Unfortunately, it appears Colley-Urqhuart has made a politician’s mistake of not realizing that loudness is not consensus.

I want to be clear: Dissent is important. We must listen to dissent, consider it, give it the time it deserves. Good ideas come from everywhere, and often a voice in dissent is the most valuable way to learn how projects can be improved. In this case, however, the dissent has become the only thing appearing in news stories and being vocalised by councillors. Since I’ve started following this issue, this dissent has caused a record-breaking-length committee meeting due to the number of people speaking, a city engagement session that included a police investigation and a hiatus on further SWBRT engagement sessions, and an open house with a direct ear to a councillor that looked like this:

Take a long look at the collection of people there, and ask yourself: Who is missing? Where are their voices? Why won’t they speak?

These are hard questions to answer. After all, if someone feels strongly in support of something, they have every right to come and speak at these meetings, and a handful have. There is evidence of support for the SWBRT across the city that represents a broad slice of demographics, but so far the media and discussion have been dominated by a vocal minority. Log on to Twitter and Reddit, however, and the support is there, but it’s not holding pitchforks.

One problem is that people who support a project like the SWBRT don’t feel a need to criticize the project or speak up. They see a project that will benefit them, and has so far progressed amicably, and they are looking forward to it’s arrival. If there’s little to criticize, there’s little to say. If there’s little to say, there’s little need to get loud. Good projects often have silent support. The trick is to find a way to show that it’s there.

Don’t forget, in 1980 there was opposition to the LRT Downtown and in Sunnyside by a small but vocal group. It’s hard to imagine what would have happened if the city had, after listening to them, caved to the will of a small group of people, but the LRT has been a success in almost every aspect of the word.

in 1980, Calgarians protested the downtown LRT line. A gem from the @calgaryherald archives. #yyc pic.twitter.com/mfp5uqDUbT — Jason Markusoff (@markusoff) May 19, 2015

I have a theory as to why this group has been so successful in promoting their agenda, and it has nothing to do with transit. As discussed in a previous article by Jennifer Burgess, it has to do with fear. Fear of speaking up and fear of political repercussions. This fear drives the very people who have the most to gain from these projects away from these meetings. Again, who isn’t being heard?

My hunch is that most councillors are on board with the idea of the SWBRT, especially since the BRT projects as a whole are still within budget, but we have to give them evidence that the support is there. Speak up at meetings, write letters, and tweet. The support is out there, it just needs to be made as obvious as the current dissent.