Quote:
Originally Posted by Cyro
This is future planning. Long over due and needed. I believe the benefit will far outwiegh the cost in the long term.
The 60-70's are long gone, It's a game of catch up. Vehicles off the road will benefit RT in the long run.
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Yes, a large part of the current costs are paying for the deficit caused by lack of planning in the past.
It is hard to quantify a real value for it. You can measure it in time savings, as njaohnt does, and get some real numbers, in those terms. But what do his figures really mean? Why would any taxpayer who has decided to not use public transit want to pay even a dime? Well if they choose to live in this city then it is part and parcel of municipal services. If you, a voting citizen, think this is of value and is worth spending your tax dollars on, then you vote for an alderman/councilor that will support it. And similarly if you think it is not cost effective, or something you don't want your tax dollars funding, then vote for a representative that is against it.
But if you look at all cities that have RT in place, they all had to start somewhere, and I bet that in all those instances the upfront costs could not be justified using the time-savings valuation of the project.