Lyndon Baines Johnston, the straight-talking American Vice President who succeeded the assassinated John F Kennedy, had a fruitier description of a similar inability to perform (very) basic multi-tasking. But we’d better not repeat that.
Anyway, the latest faux pas in the Council’s handling of the contested issue of school children from Ardrishaig having to walk over two miles to school in Lochgilphead, along the main A83 trunk road from Glasgow to Campbeltown, beggars belief.
The problem is not the distance, although for young children and for all children in the weather conditions that often obtain, it is considerable.
The Council has refused to pay for the bus travel that would see these young people transported to school safely, drily and in a fit state to start learning.
Recently the Council agreed to re-assess the route and consider whether to uphold or amend the original decision.
Aedrishaig Community Council, which supports the concerns of the parents of the Ardrishaig children, has asked for the Council officers carrying out the reassessment to walk the route along with community representatives so that each point of perceived risk can be discussed together in situ.
They propose that the two sides meet at 8.00am at East Bank Road and then walk the route together to the Brackley Park crossing point, an acknowledged high risk point, by 8.20am.
This is a rational and reasonable request and one likely to arrive at an agreed and harmonious outcome. Intelligent adults with no agenda other than the safety of the youngsters in their several charge, should be able to – and enjoy – listening to each other’s perspectives on the series of disputed points of risk.
No individual, group or procedure has 360 degree vision on anything. A right decision on this matter will unequivocally best be found by the approach the Communituy Council suggests.
However, in the sort of attitude that brings despair to any hope for transparency and commons sense in Argyll’s Council, the officers are stubbornly sticking to their determination to start at East Bank Road at 8.00am and then drive the route to Brackley to witness only the cross over point.
The schoolchildren involved do not drive that route and that’s the point. There are intermediate points of concern to be experienced in order that appropriately informed decisions may be made.
Councillors Dougie Philand and Alison Hay support the community proposal.
Councillor Philand has been engaged in a prolonged and, so far, fruitless exchange of emails with a variety of Council officers.Their plan seems to be to stick to their corporate transport rather than walk and to fend off community anger on the day by waving the West of Scotland Safety Forum Guidelines at them on the day. (This gem came from Stewart Turner at Transport who evidently intends to blizzard the community reps with these on Monday. Is he barely concealing a death wish?)
Councillor Philand’s position is a wise one. He feels that, if the officers and the community representatives walk the route together, community members will be able to point out their concerns at given points, challenge the existing assessment for the officers to consider and listen to appropriate contrary views.
In a last attempt to get reason into the driving seat, Councillor Philand has this morning (4th February) written to the officers concerned saying: ‘The community council have expressed concerns about the assessment process and therefore, if we are truly to engage with our respective community partners – as we say we are going to do in all the documents passed by the council – then, if we are to follow this obligation, I would request we walk the route to fully replicate the conditions that children would be walking.
‘This in essence would allow the community to voice what is really concerning them and the officers to justify their decisions.
‘I do think this is a democratic request and hope you will allow the community council the opportunity to do this. If this process is then followed, I do think it will end the ongoing dispute in an amicable and fair way’
In the last resort, Council officers- and Councillors themselves – should remember that elected Councillors are their superior authority in the management of Council affairs.
No officer should behave with as little sense of collegiate responsibility as to force a Councilor to pull rank – but this sort of self-mutilating obduracy invites the use of superior and opposite force. Think on.
And besides, a good walk would do the officers a power of good, leading by example on Scotland’s drive for a healthier population.