Mayor’s comments suggest that council intends to proceed with Lansdowne Live whatever the public has to say

Listening to Mayor Larry O’Brien speak on CBC Radio this morning suggested to me what many have believed all along; that the city intends to proceed with the OSEG proposed plan in some form whatever the public have to say about it. Mayor O'Brien was commenting on the results of the Nanos Research survey on the Lansdowne Live proposal - see this morning’s article in the Ottawa Citizen (Stadium survey results tell council to “just do it").

This conclusion is reached by 23% of respondents in a poll of 1,000 residents conducted by Nanos Research on October 17 though 19, 2009. This means that 73% of respondents believe that the city should be doing something else, though exactly what is unclear.

This doesn’t sound like a strong mandate to proceed to me!

The article also summarizes a report by Nanos Research on a survey of 3,000 residents gathered from survey forms filled out at public meetings and on-line. Interestingly respondents were least favorably disposed to inclusion of the only elements of the plan that will likely make the project profitable to OSEG members (retail space, residential development, office space, movie theatres and a hotel).

Again, this doesn’t sound like a favorable public response to me!