With an election coming up this fall there’s an easy way to determine if mayoral and council candidates are truly concerned about the condition of Winnipeg’s roads.

When a council candidate knocks on your door, or when you see a mayoral candidate at a public function, ask them if they’ll say “no” to funding requests for luxury projects during the next council term (four years) so that our roads can finally receive the tender loving care they deserve.

Ask the candidates if they have the backbone to turn down the Winnipeg Art Gallery when they ask for funding to expand their site? Ask them if they’ll say “no” to the Manitoba Museum and various other groups who may ask for more government funding.

Nothing against the Winnipeg Art Gallery or Manitoba Museum, it’s just that roads have been put on the backburner for years. It’s time for a concerted effort over the next council term to focus on road repair. Besides, if someone wants to fund any of the groups turned down for taxpayer cash, they can do so by reaching into their own pockets and making a donation.

Whether you agree with funding the new luxury projects around town or not, it’s clear Winnipeg has gone through a period of unprecedented luxury spending. Our city has a fairly new arena, a new stadium, a convention centre expansion is underway, a new human rights museum is about to open, new facilities at Assiniboine Park and many other examples.

Collectively those projects have received $500 million or so in tax dollars; enough to put a huge dent in our road repair problem. Throw in the rapid transit project and we’re at $1 billion or so.

What has gone on in Winnipeg is akin to someone buying a new big screen TV and an expensive leather couch, and placing them in a living room with a leaky roof.

For goodness sakes, no more treats, it’s time to fix the roof! It probably doesn’t need to be said, but our city’s roads are downright embarrassing. Our city’s pockmarked streets are also hard on our vehicles’ suspensions and have frayed many a drivers’ nerve.

Aside from just focusing on road repair, city hall would have more money for roads if it could get its salary and benefit costs under control. Think of the millions that could be saved if city hall scaled back its golden pension plans?

At the federal level, Members of Parliament should push to ensure every cent collected in federal gas taxes are put back into road repair. If the millions collected at the pumps from Winnipeggers over the past decade had all been dedicated to road repair, we probably wouldn’t’ be in the position we’re in today.

Hopefully the reality of the situation is starting to crystalize – there’s more than enough money in the system, the problem is the government simply hasn’t made road repair a priority.

If you’re fed up with politicians claiming taxes “need” to be raised to pay for road repair, only to see it spent on luxury items, try asking candidates just how far they would go to make roads a priority.