Alberta Politics II

[Doug]

Calgary's Green Line will also use low floor technology. At some point existing high floor light rail will need to transition with the whole industry. San Diego already converted its entire system to low floor. The Valley Line's big mistake is going with Bombardier technology given the company's horrible track record of late.

[milomilo]

I'd argue the opposite - we have close to a metro with the existing LRTs in Calgary and could have made at least the Red Line a full rapid transit system by constructing the downtown tunnel and not that many grade separation, and similarly the portion of the Green Line which will be built would only require about six easy to do grade separations to turn into a proper railway.

But we are moving in the opposite direction, because (the idea, if not reality of) running 150m long trains down a short section of Centre Street is 'urban' and 'walkable' even if it hobbles the rest of the line.

[milomilo]

Originally Posted by Xelebes

Valley Line is one continuous line but it is a separate technology with minimal integration with the Capital and Metro Lines, and as a result diminished convenience, efficacy and utility that could have been brought in with integration and same technology.

But that doesn't really matter as it was not intended to interline. At least Edmonton has used low floor trains where it makes some limited sense, by running on street and hopefully (but still probably not) saving some money. In Calgary, we've spent enough money to buy a proper train, but stunted it with an inappropriate technology choice.

[milomilo]

Originally Posted by Doug

Calgary's Green Line will also use low floor technology. At some point existing high floor light rail will need to transition with the whole industry. San Diego already converted its entire system to low floor. The Valley Line's big mistake is going with Bombardier technology given the company's horrible track record of late.

Nice fake news RE San Diego, I just looked into this and the stations never had high floors, even though they were renovated, their original Orange and Blue lines actually had lower floors, and their U2s looked like this:



IE completely different situation to Calgary.

[Xelebes]

Originally Posted by milomilo

But that doesn't really matter as it was not intended to interline. At least Edmonton has used low floor trains where it makes some limited sense, by running on street and hopefully (but still probably not) saving some money. In Calgary, we've spent enough money to buy a proper train, but stunted it with an inappropriate technology choice.

The choice was to interline or not to interline. That's the bloody point. You have two key high traffic points: downtown and university. People from the west end are wanting commutes to both downtown and university as the buses there are packed in both directions (4, 106, 133 to University and 1, 2, 14, 100, 111, 112 to Downtown.) The long-planned expansion of the LRT line to have a spoke south of University to West Edmonton Mall allowing two major destinations from West Edmonton Mall to be established.

The route was drastically changed to avoid University, and instead go on a slow route through Stony Plain Road because Mandel didn't want to have to deal with the residents in Parkview who could have put up a fuss and instead sent the train through the neglected and loosely organised Stony Plain Road neighbourhoods and suggest in a selling point that this was going to turn these neighbourhoods around.

Then you have a third line to Millwoods. Perhaps this could have made sense to go low floor and perhaps it could have been it could have been integrated as well. The obvious question would then be where else would it go? Serve the entirety of Stony Plain Road all the way to Winterburn? Maybe. Or you could go to St. Albert. Still, the desire to not upset the residents of Parkview and Laurier Heights was noticeable from Mandel. That and his decision to kick Northlands to the grave definitely showed a pattern from him.

[milomilo]

Fair enough, sorry for misreading your post. That does sound like shitty inference.

[Doug]

Originally Posted by milomilo

Nice fake news RE San Diego, I just looked into this and the stations never had high floors, even though they were renovated, their original Orange and Blue lines actually had lower floors, and their U2s looked like this:



IE completely different situation to Calgary.

I rode the old high floor cars in the 80's and 90's. They were identical to the U2's in Calgary. They did not have stairs inside similar to the SD100's in Salt Lake. The Green Line was built with true low floor LRV's but at that time required transfer to the Blue Line at Old Town. Starting iabout 2012, they renovated all the original Blue and Orange stations to have the same platform levels as the Green Line and got rid of the old U2's. It must have been extremely complicate as I rem constantly changing station closures, temporary platforms and weird ramps.

https://www.sdmts.com/inside-mts/new...r-trolley-cars

[suburbia]

I'm unclear why there is so much arguement regarding low floor vs. high floor LRTs on this Alberta Politics thread, but whatever ...

Here is a somewhat new website sharing need to know information at the political level in advance of the Alberta elections. Well worth a visit, and it looks like they are adding information every week, so maybe bookmark worthy also:
www.thetruthaboutjasonkenney.ca

Here is the Reddit discussion thread about it:
http://www.reddit.com/r/alberta/comm...jasonkenneyca/

A very positive about the new website is that everything is referenced complete with in-line hyperlinks to news stories and original sources. So this is not a fake news attack add, but is more akin to a fake news busting portal.

• Video Link

[suburbia]

Editorial: Right to choose not up for debate
https://edmontonjournal.com/opinion/...-up-for-debate

The Wilberforce Project claims that its campaign to nominate anti-abortion UCP candidates has succeeded and those individuals can’t be allowed to backslide. Right Now, another lobby group, estimated in December that anti-abortion candidates had won 42 per cent of the party’s nominations, with more to be held.

Last year, UCP MLAs refused to debate or vote on Bill 9, which created protest-free bubble zones around abortion clinics. At the party’s founding convention last May, members voted 74 per cent in favour of a resolution that would require parents to be notified before any invasive medical procedure was performed on a minor. While the motion ostensibly targeted vaccinations, anti-abortion lobbyists urged delegates to adopt it.

Evidence suggests Kenney will face grassroots pressure to hinder access to abortion services.

[240glt]

The lackeys at the Journal can editorialize all they want. Fact is that there are groups such as this that are pushing their agendas and I don't see any reason why Kenney won't pander to these groups and individuals.

This is going to be a tough election to watch I think. It'll certainly help cement Alberta's reputation if it goes the way most think it will

[240glt]

www.thetruthaboutjasonkenney.ca


Wow this is quite savage, but they've gone their homework and cited everything. It's an enlightening and depressing read.

[milomilo]

Originally Posted by suburbia

I'm unclear why there is so much arguement regarding low floor vs. high floor LRTs on this Alberta Politics thread, but whatever ...

Thanks for mentioning this, since you are complete above criticism on this matter and would never derail a thread it is not hypocritical at all of you to try and moderate.

[milomilo]

Originally Posted by 240glt

www.thetruthaboutjasonkenney.ca


Wow this is quite savage, but they've gone their homework and cited everything. It's an enlightening and depressing read.

It's nothing new or surprising though. To anyone other than a morally failing bible thumper just one read of his biography should disqualify him from any form of public office.

Sadly I'm getting a ton of adds from all these 'independent' political groups (not sure what the correct name for them is) supporting the UCP. This is a new phenomenon and is extremely annoying. It doesn't seem very above board to me, but there's definitely money coming from somewhere fishy and it's going to affect the election.

[Xelebes]

Originally Posted by milomilo

It's nothing new or surprising though. To anyone other than a morally failing bible thumper just one read of his biography should disqualify him from any form of public office.

Sadly I'm getting a ton of adds from all these 'independent' political groups (not sure what the correct name for them is) supporting the UCP. This is a new phenomenon and is extremely annoying. It doesn't seem very above board to me, but there's definitely money coming from somewhere fishy and it's going to affect the election.

Used car dealeships seem to be a big source and there was a story running around that Kenney was meeting with them a fair bit for organising advertising campaigns. They can escape much scrutiny because local newspapers, radio stations and tv stations are pretty much dependent on their advertisement money to staying afloat. Even CBC couldn't bring itself to admit this was the source for many of these advertisements when the NDP sought a complaint for it all.

[TheGreatestX]

Originally Posted by 240glt

www.thetruthaboutjasonkenney.ca


Wow this is quite savage, but they've gone their homework and cited everything. It's an enlightening and depressing read.

No lies spotted.

[jawagord]

Originally Posted by 240glt

www.thetruthaboutjasonkenney.ca


Wow this is quite savage, but they've gone their homework and cited everything. It's an enlightening and depressing read.

It’s the kind of thing that appeals to the ND base. Most voters will never look at it because it doesn’t deal with the issue they are voting on which is the ND record and policies vs UCP policies. The ND’s only hope is to make the election a vote on personalities, Notley vs Kenny, I dont think that will work, but it’s all they’ve got.

Remember the words of that great philosopher Jean Chrétien, ‘“Those that throw dirt, lose ground!”

[Jaws]

Originally Posted by jawagord

It’s the kind of thing that appeals to the ND base. Most voters will never look at it because it doesn’t deal with the issue they are voting on which is the ND record and policies vs UCP policies. The ND’s only hope is to make the election a vote on personalities, Notley vs Kenny, I dont think that will work, but it’s all they’ve got.

Remember the words of that great philosopher Jean Chrétien, ‘“Those that throw dirt, lose ground!”

I’m hardly the ND’s base. I’ve never voted ND provincially, but I did vote NDP once in order to unseat my esteemed MP Rahim Jaffer who was nothing but an opportunist hack. No way in firey lake of hell will I be voting for Kenney. My vote way going to the Alberta Party until they self destrusted. NDs have my vote now. It’s not going to be an easy win for the UCP.

[240glt]

Originally Posted by jawagord

It’s the kind of thing that appeals to the ND base. Most voters will never look at it because it doesn’t deal with the issue they are voting on which is the ND record and policies vs UCP policies. The ND’s only hope is to make the election a vote on personalities, Notley vs Kenny, I dont think that will work, but it’s all they’ve got.

Remember the words of that great philosopher Jean Chrétien, ‘“Those that throw dirt, lose ground!”

I think a vote on personalities is exactly what’s going to happen here. It’s not one sided, the UCP’s been at it for months as well.

Don’t think for a second that what the NDP is raising aren’t real issues, because they are. The government still writes policy that affects all those things so it’s disingenuous to say that those issues aren’t important.

I’d love a good, ethical and responsible Conservative party and leader to vote for. But these are the choices we have.

[jawagord]

Originally Posted by 240glt

I think a vote on personalities is exactly what’s going to happen here. It’s not one sided, the UCP’s been at it for months as well.

Don’t think for a second that what the NDP is raising aren’t real issues, because they are. The government still writes policy that affects all those things so it’s disingenuous to say that those issues aren’t important.

I’d love a good, ethical and responsible Conservative party and leader to vote for. But these are the choices we have.

It's just a stunt by the ND's and not getting much traction in the media, even the Journal the most leftish of Alberta's big newspapers finds it clumsy. If the ND's were hoping for an echo chamber of aghastness in the media, doesn't look like they are getting it. Back to real policy for the ND's, if they have anything new?

https://edmontonjournal.com/news/pol...sk-of-backfire

[Doug]

Originally Posted by jawagord

It's just a stunt by the ND's and not getting much traction in the media, even the Journal the most leftish of Alberta's big newspapers finds it clumsy. If the ND's were hoping for an echo chamber of aghastness in the media, doesn't look like they are getting it. Back to real policy for the ND's, if they have anything new?

https://edmontonjournal.com/news/pol...sk-of-backfire

The only relevant issue is the deficit. Kenney has said he'd roll back MLA wages by 5%. Hopefully that will be the baseline for all public sector union negotiations. Alberta's overfunding of health and education is obscene. The Province could almost balance its budget by reducing per capita operational spending to BC levels.