Quote:
Originally Posted by RTD
I beg to differ. If you are not aware already, south Winnipeg is going to explode in terms of population within the next 5-10 years. What do expect is going to happen with an extra 100,000-150,000 peoeple in the area? You think that somehow the "lack of traffic" in Winnipeg is going to magically stay the same? If so, then I'm sorry to say but you are very naive. There are a lot of people in Winnipeg who share your view, and unfortunately this kind of "we can't do it" mentality has lead Winnipeg to fall behind many Canadian cities in many different regards, but among the top issues would be poor transportation/infrastructure. We now have a chance to make some ground in catching up, and I hope we follow through this time.
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First of all, I don't know where you got those numbers, but South Winnipeg is definately not going to have another 100000 to 150000 people in the next 5 to 10 years...Waverly West is projected to eventually have about 12000 homes or so, but not within 5 to 10 years.
Secondly, I don't have a "we can't do it" mentality at all. Quite the opposite. That being said, there are much better ways to spend the hundreds of millions that would be required to complete a free-flowing ring-road. Freeways are the solution of the past, and many other cities have begun to realize this fact. I think that the exhorbitant sum which you suggest should go to building overpasses and interchanges would be much better spent laying the foundations for a city-wide rapid transit network...
Building a ring road is nice, but
definitely does not solve the traffic problem for south Winnipeg, as many of the new population will be commuting
downtown, not heading eastward down bishop to island lakes or southdale... On the other hand, an extended RT corridor from downtown to U of M (and Waverly West) would take cars off the road, and do much more to alleviate the congested south winnipeg commute....