Decision 2010: Calgary Municipal Election

[frinkprof]

Nevermind.

[Wooster]

^ Great article. Sue Higgins sounds like one bad-ass bitch.

[Bigtime]

Haha! You could tell Higgins was ready to get some venting out there, I loved it!

[Wooster]

Notice to all candidates: Don't tell me 'what', tell me 'how'

http://djkelly.ca/2010/05/notice-to-all-candidates-dont-tell-me-what-tell-me-how/

Excellent blog post on the election by DJKelly:

I could not agree more with him.

[fusili]

Originally Posted by Wooster

[B]

Excellent blog post on the election by DJKelly:

I could not agree more with him.

Ditto.

[freeweed]

Originally Posted by jeffwhit

^^ I think spreading out employment centres a little wouldn't have a major impact on transit ridership, but the fact is we need some LRT lines that support it first like a couple crosstown routes that bypass city centre.

A little, sure. But I guarantee you that if we moved 25% of the jobs out of the core and into suburban areas, the LRT would see close to a 25% ridership drop.

Hell, I could see myself just driving to Brentwood if I worked there, and I've been an avid transit rider all my life.

[Wooster]

Big issue for the election: Secondary Suites

Very good Guest Column on Calgary's failure on the issue.

http://www.calgaryherald.com/business/Suite+nothing+came+city+program/2992440/story.html

[jeffwhit]

Doesn't everyone remember that Dale Hodges doesn't have an internets machine? This came up sometime in the last 2 years. Dale Hodges Twitter account would like this:

[freeweed]

Originally Posted by jeffwhit

Doesn't everyone remember that Dale Hodges doesn't have an internets machine? This came up sometime in the last 2 years. Dale Hodges Twitter account would like this:

To be implemented thusly.

OK, I'll stop geeking out now.

[Riise]

Originally Posted by fusili

Uni-centric cities are actually a really good thing when it comes to transit, poly-centric cities, not so much.

It does depend on a few things like: density and orbital transit service. For instance, London has the density but its lack of orbital transit service makes it difficult at times. In Calgary's case, we simply aren't ready to convert to a poly-centric city.

[frinkprof]

Nevermind.

[TETT2]

Originally Posted by Wooster

Big issue for the election: Secondary Suites

Very good Guest Column on Calgary's failure on the issue.

http://www.calgaryherald.com/business/Suite+nothing+came+city+program/2992440/story.html

Everytime I think hear about Secondary Suites, I think Joe Connelly at BSD! lol What a tool.

[Wooster]

Markusoff's Hall Monitor Blog (good coverage of stuff going on in the election and other urban topics):

Premature campaign site again? Burrows for mayor?

http://communities.canada.com/calgaryher...yor-not-quot-tomorrow-quot-but-soon.aspx

[fusili]

Originally Posted by Wooster

Markusoff's Hall Monitor Blog (good coverage of stuff going on in the election and other urban topics):

Premature campaign site again? Burrows for mayor?

http://communities.canada.com/calgaryher...yor-not-quot-tomorrow-quot-but-soon.aspx

Noticed the Hall monitor mentioned the Beltline's proposal for the Beltline. At least it is getting media attention.

[frinkprof]

Blogger draws city ire for 'Ward 15' page, ordered to shut it down
By Jason Markusoff , Calgary Herald May 12, 2010



Calgary’s self-declared alderman for “Ward 15” is getting his tenure cut short by the city’s legal department.

Jeremy Zhao, a university student, blogger and one-time mayoral candidate was served Tuesday with a terse letter from a city lawyer.

It demands he shut down the website he created last year that mimics Calgary’s actual council website and inserts a distorted picture of himself as alderman for the fictional Ward 15.

The city has only 14 civic wards.

[...]

Link

[fusili]

I gotta say that is pretty funny. The guy at least has a sense of humour.

[Wooster]

Originally Posted by fusili

I gotta say that is pretty funny. The guy at least has a sense of humour.

Yeah. LOL. Unfortunately the City doesn't and their lawyers don't seem to have anything better to do than harrass a student blogger.

[Wooster]

A lot of US cities have sales taxes and have recently voted for small increases of these sales taxes (Denver is a prime example) to pay for billions of dollars in infrastructure - particularly transit.

What would you think of the idea of a 2% "regional sales tax" for the Calgary region to finance the development of LRT and Regional Commuter Rail Infrastructure?

This would only bring residents' sales tax burden back up to the level (7%) they were paying only a couple years ago before the Harper government cut the rate.

Based on by own rough estimate (Saskatchewan brings in about $1.1 billion in revenue a year from a population only a shade over 1 million with a 5% PST) a 2% sales tax on the 'Calgary Region' - population ~1.2 million would bring in about $500 million a year - escalating as population grows.

Compounded at a 1.5% growth rate, this would mean about $12.4 billion over 20 years.

For $12.4 Billion Calgary could build SELRT, NCLRT under Centre Street, 8th Ave Subway, an inner ring LRT line, Commuter Rail to Airdrie and Cochrane, Centre-City Streetcars, 17th Ave SE Streetcar and probably more.

This could all happen without a single penny of provincial or federal grants - which could be directed toward other priorities.

[MalcolmTucker]

A regional sales tax would cause a hollowing out for many things, it would have to be delicately applied.

[Wooster]

what do you mean by hollowing out?