City council excursions is a weekly column directed at disseminating to people all around the county the meat and potatoes of what happens Monday nights at City Hall, with a healthy grain of saltiness. One person will get the spotlight while the rest of the column will focus on the weekly issues.

Daryl Bennett is King of Peterborough

If Justin Trudeau justifies his cabinet selection by stating that it’s 2016, Daryl Bennett does the same for trill gold chain by retorting, “it’s actually 1473”. Daryl Bennett is a man who stands and sings for the national anthem, and is referred to as “your worship” when addressed. It’s hard to tell King Bennett’s age; his face suggests mortality but his demeanour is that of someone who has seen the rise and fall of many empires throughout history. He does not have patience for people who stray off topic and will not hesitate to remind those to stay on the path that he has set for city council.

People really care about the Handi-van

Several delegations (fancy word for “concerned citizen”) came out to discuss the lack of access that those with disabilities have with accessing the Handi-Van. The Handi-Van is a wheelchair-accessible transportation method for those with mobility issues that the city of Peterborough offers. The delegations decried the difficulty of booking a Handi-Van, stating that they would often have to book these vans two weeks in advance.

Teresa MacDonald stated powerfully that there is “no price tag on going where you want to go, when you want to go” after describing being stranded in the snow as a result of using conventional transit. Most of the delegations supported improving the Handi-Van service rather than the proposed community bus. The council voted to introduce the community bus next August which will run routes through high density areas such as shopping malls and senior homes.

Inaction on the Parkway is Killing People

Councilors Lesley Parnell, Andrew Beamer, and Dan McWilliams all bemoaned the lack of progress on the Parkway, a project that they stated has been in discussion for over 50 years. The Parkway is a highway that would, according to some, alleviate the traffic problems of Peterborough. According to Lesley Parnell, it could go as far as saving lives, citing the three pedestrian deaths over the past 3 weeks as evidence for a solution to Peterborough’s traffic.