Finding a solution the only agenda

Communication is always the key to solving problems – even in such a rarefied place as Paradise. And perhaps the process of all views being given equal weight will solve the community-divisive trail issue.

Department of Natural Resources director Patricia MacNeil is putting in gear, so to speak, a facilitated workshop process that will see Paradise residents solving their own trail trouble. We hate to say it, but this is the very process that has been advocated in this space several times, and the only process that will work.

But there is a danger. There are people, groups, and organizations that may well have too much influence – either for or against multiuse – and they must be excluded from the process.

James Frank, president of the Annapolis County Trails Society agrees that MacNeil’s plan is the right one, but unless called upon as a resource, ACTS will be staying out of the picture and concentrating on trail development in areas where it actually has a letter of authority.

While it may be tempting for those with agendas other than the future wellbeing of Paradise to interfere, our money is on MacNeil to see that they don’t. Residents of Paradise must stand up and speak for themselves – not through agenda-driven mouthpieces.

When the 10 members of this workshop process are selected, it will be their job to look at the future use of the trail with new eyes. All the old baggage must be left at the door and preconceptions must be ditched in favour of the myriad possibilities and options available. And they are many. Once the blinders come off, the solutions will become more obvious and many will chide themselves for their previous entrenched positions. Dog-in-the manger attitudes will fall away.

Key to reaching a solution to this impasse are the guidelines within which they must work, and the availability of resources and experts to provide them with information. Also, with the Centre of Geographic Sciences close by in Lawrencetown, the Geographics Information Systems Technician program could be a valuable asset in creating models for proposed solutions.

In the end, members of this facilitated process are the judges and the jury -- but they aren’t restricted to one simple verdict. They will have the ability to make compromises, and in the end, compromises will be necessary.

This is a rare opportunity to make something work. If it is not seized, then the Department of Natural Resources will have to finally step in, and as another kind of judge and jury, mandate a solution of their own.

There is no room for pettiness. There is no room for strong-arms tactics. The only agenda is to find a solution everybody can live with.