NIMBY is back with a vengeance

Complaints of more noise, more light and other disturbances prompted residents to sign a register en masse, forcing Dollard to take the idea back to the drawing board. Janiszewski said the city would likely not hold a referendum on the subject.

The vacant lot adjacent to the train station will remain, for the moment, undeveloped and useless. Pity.

Here is a concrete step toward making West Island public transit user-friendly — something everyone can agree is long

overdue.

It’s absolutely amazing that in this day and age, with what we are learning and already know about the environment, that anyone would stand in the way of increasing access to public transit.

Stories of packed parking lots abound, and when school resumes late next week — parking lots that yielded a spot in July will not be so forgiving come September. Commuters who can’t park are going to turn around and drive their cars downtown, contributing to gridlock, wasting fuel and spewing carcinogens keeping us on track for environmental disaster.

Complaints about noise and light are what prompted the residents to sign the register, one opponent of the parking lot said.

We think there’s something a little more sinister afoot.

It’s the not-in-my-backyard syndrome, which draws out hypocrisy and allows it to masquerade, unfettered, as quality-of-life concerns. A parking lot will create no more noise or disorder than a park would, especially at night in summer months, when all manner of wildlife, including the local adolescent species, is out in full force. Planters, strategically placed trees and bushes and other natural noise and light barriers can also be installed.

Janiszewski took the matter in stride, saying his city would not give up on improving public-transit access for Dollard des Ormeaux residents who often face a harrowing morning commute before they ever reach the highway.

Right is right and wrong is wrong, but for the next generation — who hasn’t yet fully grasped how badly we have mucked up the planet’s environment — maybe some of those residents could have a look in the mirror and ask themselves why they’re fighting the zoning change, and whose future they’re fighting for.昀