Think of the railway beyond the capitalRe: “Stop dreaming about returning trains to E&N corridor,” commentary, April 29.The original railway did not only run from downtown Victoria to the wilds of . . .
I worked in psychiatry in Victoria in the late 1980s and it was a revolving door for those who returned to the community without a stable and secure environment once their hospitalization ended. The victimization and criminality that is being experienced today had not materialized to today’s levels, but then, as now, it was inhuman to watch the never-ending cycle: hospitalize, stabilize and release. Governments and society must acknowledge that there are those among us who do not have the capacity to care for themselves and we as civil society must care for them. We have allowed this social experiment to continue over the last 40-plus years under the guise of self-determination and mitigation of structural costs.
Given the outpouring of outrage over plans to make Clover Point car-free, apparently because some folks insist they will no longer be able to get close to nature, it appears city planners are missing a golden opportunity. Despite the fact most Victorians would agree the prodigious (and increasing) numbers of automobiles on our streets are responsible for the fossil-fuelled, deplorably unhealthy environment in which we find ourselves today, let me humbly suggest a plan that is financially sound and within reach: How about an elevated, multi-level parkade, built in the shape of a four leaf clover, painted green and capped with a revolving restaurant?