Council voted today to require the public to sign a counter-petition in order to stall the borrowing of $42-million to replace the Johnson Street Bridge, pictured above. Photo © by VibrantVictoria.ca.

Although news of Victoria City council’s decision on whether or not to seek voter approval for the $42-million borrowing for the Johnson Street Bridge replacement project was known yesterday, councillors cemented their choice to avoid a public referendum and await the results of a counter-petition at a special meeting held today.

Councillors Chandler, Lucas, Luton and Thornton-Joe voted against a public referendum, even though the $42-million sum is the largest amount every considered for borrowing by the City of Victoria.  Councillor’s Madoff and Young chose to vote against the latter motion, according to a report by VibrantVictoria.ca user “mat.”

“mat” went on to note that the counter-petition starts on November 21st, and ends on January 4th, which is a longer term than the typical 30-day allotment.   6346 valid signatures, or 10% of eligible City of Victoria voters, must sign the counter-petition in order to require the mayor and council to re-examine the terms of the project.

On November 17th, JohnsonStreetBridge.org,  a citizen-operated website with a goal of making the City accountable for its decisions over the Johnson Street Bridge’s future, submitted to mayor and council an open letter with the signatures of multiple prominent Victorians who supported a referendum over a counter-petition.

The replacement of the Johnson Street Bridge has been a contentious project with some members of the public calling the process flawed, due to what some feel has been a lack of community consultation, and claiming that refurbishment of the bridge would be the most economical choice for Victoria taxpayers.

To stay up to date on the latest news and issues affecting the Johnson Street Bridge replacement project, refer to discussions on VibrantVictoria.ca’s Infrastructure sub-forum in the discussion forum here.

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