I had to post it because it is exactly what our government would do if they decided the Canadian people needed Streetsview:
12:11 PM
Can you imagine if the City of Toronto, with the provincial and federal governments in tow, decided to do what Google is doing?
While Google says that their imagery will be available in a few weeks since it has been first collected, this is how a hypothetical, tax-payer funded equivalent undertaking would go:
* Program is launched with great fanfare by Mayor Miller, who mumbles something about "public transit and green city", gets big applause by council, NDPers, and The Star for his visionary leadership;
* Government issues RFI, then RFQ, then RFP;
* Public debate on the issues of privacy and safety;
* Three way agreement on funding is negotiated between province, feds, and city. The new "Digital Imagery Interprovincial Authority" is created as an agency to manage and oversee all public funds for the project;
* Environmental assessment #1;
* City hall debates use of private contractors Vs public agencies to do the work;
* Another debate on issues of privacy - legislation passed that any of the possible 5 million citizens caught on camera must consent to their picture being displayed;
* New provincial agency formed to oversee the new "Public Digital Recording Devices Act";
* Original RFP scrapped, new RFP issued. Official reason is that "all vendors responses did not meet the technical specification requirements of the RFP". Real reason is to ensure responses from public-sector and unionized contractors;
* Environmental assessment #2;
* Environmental assessment #3;
* Project scrapped due to environmentalists' concerns over pollution produced by camera-bearing vehicles;
* Speculation that real reason for scrapping the project is the Gardner Expressway which would be caught on camera, and that would be just too painful a reminder of what the lake-front used to look like;
* Mayor unapologetic for cancelling the project after 4 years of public debates, assessments, RFP's, and assorted other hot-air;
* Mayor raises property tax by 5% and decrees new "meat sandwich tax" as revenue tools to fund the cost of all the work to date, approximately $53 million.
In summary:
* Google: 12 weeks, $0 cost to tax payers, ready to view on your browser;
* Government: 4 years, $53 million of tax-payers' money, no cigar
Welcome to public-sector works in Toronto."
