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Originally Posted by J.OT13
Green Line is not perfect, I agree. But after years of debate, isn't it time to move forward?
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Any debate over the Green Line has been the result of the planning team over-promising and under-delivering time and time again. But despite a few harsh words from a few councilors, the meek and very pro-transit Council will simply rubber stamp whatever recommendations the GL team makes and then slap them on the back for a "heckuva job".
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The downtown segment was reviewed multiple times and a satisfactory compromise has been settled on. Is that a fair assessment?
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A compromise was made in order to fit the available budget. I wouldn't consider it satisfactory. A primary purpose (perhaps
the)of the Green Line was to replace the crowded bus corridor of Centre Street N. The original Stage 1 didn't do anything to help crowded buses, but because it was tunneled it also didn't make it worse. This compromise, now with street running and the loss of two lanes in the approach to downtown, will probably end up making vehicular and transit traffic worse than before.
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I know this probably isn't the CPC's concern. They're just anti-transit, anti-progress, pro-oil from what I gather.
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The Conservative governments have generally supported transit for Calgary and Edmonton. Even Calgary's share of the GL capital costs is paid for by freed up property tax room that the Province gave up (about $78M/year). It just seems that finally somebody is taking a hard look at the costs and benefits. Right now, GL Stage 1 is $5B for 55K-65K daily riders, an extremely expensive project that compares poorly even with recent American white elephant LRT projects. And also doesn't meet its business case goals:
To get to the original 40 km line that was sold to the public in 2015 will require at least another $3.5B. That combined price tag is approaching the costs of Honolulu Rail Transit. I bet Honoululu wished they had a State government that pushed back and questioned things before they jumped off the cliff with the disaster that is HART.