Edmonton City Council: Left hand doesn't know what...other left hand is doing

I say this because City Council doesn't have any right-wing members, despite what Mike Nikel's opponents say about him every year.

Anyways, twin stories of note in the Edmonton SUN:

Idling law too hard to enforce.

Mayor Stephen Mandel says he isn’t convinced bringing in rules restricting how long vehicles can idle would be a good fit for Edmonton.

He questioned how such a crackdown could be enforced.

“It’s about enforcement and the feasibility of it,” Mandel said. “We may be better off doing something different.”

Councillors Michael Phair and Dave Thiele are calling for a crackdown on idling vehicles.

(and you wonder why I celebrated how that useless sodomite Michael Phair has left politics)

But then, wait. Contrast this with Edmonton's insane cab policy (which is partly responsible for Whyte Avenue violence, along with the Whyte Ave bar cap...also opposed by Phair the man-boy-love champion ass pirate).

Taxi tensions rise: Cabbie predicts feud will erupt this summer

An escalating war between cabbies from competing companies has the city imploring drivers to take a chill pill and cut out “vigilante-style actions.”

The feud began when Leduc-based Airport Taxi Service was awarded exclusive rights last year to the international airport.

Only their drivers can pick up passengers at the gateway, though any company can still do drop-offs.

Since then, Edmonton cabbies have complained Airport Taxi Service drivers have been illegally waiting outside Edmonton hotels, without having a pre-arranged pick-up.

A subsequent investigation found no evidence of Airport Taxi Service drivers trolling hotels for customers, according to a city report. But it’s still caused tensions to flare.

Airport driver Abbi Farh said he’s constantly being harassed verbally by cabbies when he’s in the city.

“I don’t want to get into a fight with anybody,” Farh told Sun Media. “You just try to be professional with these guys, but they push you, they want to make you mad so you lose it.”

Hassan Idris, also an airport driver, said two weeks ago he dropped off a customer at a downtown hotel and was confronted by another cabbie, who warned he better not be picking anyone up.

“There’s something strange going on, especially downtown,” said Idris, who wasn’t picking anyone up.

A city report released Thursday said there have been many confrontations reported.

“In most cases, the incident was some form of verbal abuse, shaking or spitting on the vehicle, sometimes while a passenger was inside,” states the document.

The incidents have all been initiated by the Edmonton cabbies, according to the city.

Due to “reports of escalating disorder,” city drivers last month were told by Edmonton Taxi Cab Commission chairman Clint Mellors to “do everything in their power to bring to a close the vigilante-style actions happening on our city streets between competing taxi companies,” the report states.

While pre-arranged pick-ups by out-of-town cab companies have been allowed in Edmonton, they’re technically illegal under city bylaws, according to the report. Mellors told Sun Media taxi inspectors are going to begin cracking down.

“It’s our bylaw and we will be enforcing it,” he said.

Er, so wait a minute. The city is looking at cutting back greenhouse gas emissions by banning idling across Edmonton. But then when it comes to cab drivers violating city bylaws by taking passengers both to and from the airport now suddenly there will be a crackdown. Does anybody with half a brain not realize that the net impact of this action will be twice the number of cab trips to and from the airport?

For those out of town, let me show you what the trip from downtown Edmonton to the airport is like, courtesy of Google maps: 29.9 kilometres, 30 minutes on a smooth no traffic day (good luck!). Now look at what we get if you are going from a semi-random address in the north end to the airport. Any thought how much idling it would take for you to equal the emissions involved in taking that trip for no apparent reason? Yet according to Edmonton City Council, idling is evil and two cab trips where one would do is perfectly acceptible.