Willful Ignorance
The radio is a device for making the ignorant more ignorant and the crazy crazier. (Apologies to H. L. Mencken)
SkyTrain here, SkyTrain there, SkyTrain everywhere!
TransLink’s CEO, Kevin Desmond is an ignorant man and as such, makes a perfect CEO of TransLink, where ignorance is a prerequisite for employment.
I have kept silent about Mr. Desmond for over six months, just to see how he would fit into TransLink, but when I heard him on CKNW recently, he demonstrated that he was nothing more than a worm tongued bureaucrat, doing what worm tongued bureaucrats do best, deceive the public.
In other words he fits into TransLink very well
He suffers from the American “Metro” disease, which is the philosophy that “the more money one spends on transit the better it must be.”
His stand on SkyTrain to Langley is bizarre and underlines the fact he hasn’t a clue, but what is even more bizarre is his plan for LRT from Arbutus to UBC. His actions belies his ignorance of transit mode, which seems almost universal with those who come from south of the boarder where LRT is regarded poorly and streetcars are in the vogue.
As mentioned before, Desmond comes from the Seattle area and Seattle is building light-metro, using light rail vehicles and it is Seattle’s adherence to light metro that opened the door for Desmond to be CEO of TransLink, no others had needed to apply.
Let us hearken back to the era of Tom Prendergast, former CEO of TransLink, before he was “sent to Coventry” by TransLink management.
From 2008:
Prendergast is a consummate transit professional, as his more than 30 years in the business suggests. His previous posts include senior vice-president of New York Cityai??i??s subway system and president of the Long Island Rail Road, which is the largest commuter railroad in the U.S.
Yes, the man knows his rails and, as he said yesterday, heai??i??s not about to dismiss either light rail or the existing Interurban right-of-way options as TransLink plans its options for south of the Fraser.
Nor is he convinced that SkyTrainai??i??s extension in Surrey has to be a continuation of the elevated system.
In fact, when TransLink announces today that itai??i??s embarking on two new major studies ai??i?? one covering a westward, rapid-transit extension to the University of B.C. and the other focusing on Surrey ai??i?? the latter study will look at all options, Prendergast told me yesterday.ai???
Prendergast’s last words as he was forced out of TransLink, because he knew and understood LRT, was a question on the potential to extend LRT up the valley.
ai???Thereai??i??s really no impediment,ai??? Prendergast responded. ai???Itai??i??s overcoming the cultural embracement of SkyTrain that has existed to date.ai???
He said TransLink is seeking to cut through the pro-SkyTrain ai???cultural biasai??? as it embarks on a careful examination of rapid transit technologies for line extensions west along Broadway and south of the Fraser.
Prendergast predicted the first light rail line that comes to the Lower Mainland will lead to much greater appreciation of its potential.
It seems that Mr. Desmond, knows how toAi?? embrace the cultural of SkyTrainAi?? at TransLink as he tows the line line as he blunders along in willful ignorance.
TransLink just didn’t rearrange the deckchairs on the Titanic, but they seem to have hired the Captain of the Costa Concordia to run the show and I hope his tenure at TransLink is a short one.
Will Desmond finally sink TransLink?
