Every Opinion Isn't As Valuable

I was scrolling through Facebook today when I saw a survey from the local government asking for input to deal with traffic issues. What a nice improvement on our government's part to get actual data to make a decision.

But no that's not all it was. The entire survey basically asked citizens which methods they'd use to solve traffic issues. Citizens who are unlikely to be experts on urban planning and traffic congestion. Why?

Issues like these aren't a matter of opinion. There's no clear answer for solving issues like traffic but there are tons of research out there on what the best ways are. That's why there are people who study this for a living. You don't go to an average person to get advice on treating illness. You go to an expert. If your friends with no medical experience decide to tell you their opinion with no evidence it's unlikely to be useful.

It's frustrating to see problems with clearly defined solutions left to the whims of the masses' opinions. Every opinion isn't valuable. A lot of the solutions to problems like traffic are counter-intuitive and were only found after decades of research. Why should my opinion matter here? They might as well get a copy of Sim City it'll be more useful.