CBBarnett
Senior Member
This "independent third party" plan sounds an awful lot like the UCP party's resident engineer Steve Allan and his crew that have been ragging on the Green Line the past decade.
- Thread starter Surrealplaces
- Start date
outoftheice
Active Member
André Chabot has been a long time critic of Green Line on City Council and yet he absolutely nails the stupidity of the UCP's moves with his quotes in this article.
livewirecalgary.com
Minister’s letter says they won’t fund Calgary’s new Green Line
Calgary city councillors will review a letter from the province that was received Tuesday indicating that the Government of Alberta would no longer fund its portion of the $6.25 billion Green Line,…
livewirecalgary.com
lemongrab
Active Member
I'm curious whether or not the feds would have approved this revised plan, too.
The reasoning on this is beyond stupid, but I'm slightly hopeful that maybe this will prompt a somewhat more sensible outcome. IMO it couldn't get much worse than the latest approved stub. Nothing would be slightly worse; the plan from the saggy balls guys would just be a different kind of stupid, but maybe, just maybe, back to the drawing board will get us better bang for our buck in the near/mid-term.
Not a fan of Chabot, but he was very measured and reasonable on this in the council meeting where they approved it.
The reasoning on this is beyond stupid, but I'm slightly hopeful that maybe this will prompt a somewhat more sensible outcome. IMO it couldn't get much worse than the latest approved stub. Nothing would be slightly worse; the plan from the saggy balls guys would just be a different kind of stupid, but maybe, just maybe, back to the drawing board will get us better bang for our buck in the near/mid-term.
Not a fan of Chabot, but he was very measured and reasonable on this in the council meeting where they approved it.
Mountain Man
Senior Member
What a complete and total farce this has become.
Duck Lightning
Senior Member
At this point just shelve the project. Wait until a new provincial government is in place that will actually work with the city instead of fight them at every turn.
FCC1982
Active Member
^I agree DL - the UCP has been trying to sabotage the Green Line since the beginning. Running on the surface on 7th with the Red & Blue lines is a non-starter, particularly after all the prep work downtown.
I thought coming out of the July 30th vote the Provincial money was secure and it was the Federal dollars that needed to be confirmed - apparently that has changed.
If they propose building a surface running line downtown and in the beltline I will explode
I thought coming out of the July 30th vote the Provincial money was secure and it was the Federal dollars that needed to be confirmed - apparently that has changed.
If they propose building a surface running line downtown and in the beltline I will explode
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Silence&Motion
Senior Member
It is ridiculous that we cannot build infrastructure in this country unless three levels of government are able to remain in agreement across multiple election cycles. This is why Canadian cities have fallen so far behind cities in other countries in terms of infrastructure - particularly transportation. Hopefully the Ontario Government's "go it alone" approach will gain popularity. Hopefully Calgary's transportation woes won't have to get as bad as Toronto's before our provincial government finally acts.
UrbanWarrior
Senior Member
Yikes. I mean, I am glad it’s being put on hold, as this latest proposal for the line is essentially useless, but of course I am anxious for the thing to actually begin construction.
I am hoping that if this current iteration gets outright cancelled, they can come back with all of their already-complete detailed design work and actually propose something within the original scope (16th to Shepard) and get the money that’s *actually* needed for it. Adding McKenzie Towne as the southern terminus would make it a better business case as well, rather than it running through half its length and terminating in a population void. Request the 10 billion it’s likely going to take (for some reason?) and get friggin moving. We’re ready to go.
I am hoping that if this current iteration gets outright cancelled, they can come back with all of their already-complete detailed design work and actually propose something within the original scope (16th to Shepard) and get the money that’s *actually* needed for it. Adding McKenzie Towne as the southern terminus would make it a better business case as well, rather than it running through half its length and terminating in a population void. Request the 10 billion it’s likely going to take (for some reason?) and get friggin moving. We’re ready to go.
Joborule
Active Member
With this pivot from the province, I would hope this would finally push city council (and maybe the province if they genuinely are interested in the Green Line getting built) to strongly revisit making NCLRT the first phase, so from day 1 it would have strong ridership to justify the capital costs in getting it built. North Pointe to Downtown/Ramsey area is a much stronger business case than Downtown to Sherpard, or even MacKenzie Towne. It should've been NC first, SE second from the jump.
ahuch
Active Member
If we keep scrapping the project, who is going to bid on it? More delays are going to drive huge cost increase and drive away competitive bids. Do we have large consortiums here with hundreds of people potentially losing billables? Not sure I'd want to be the one letting all those folks go over bullshit politics right now.
Albertasaurus
Active Member
Agreed. As infuriating as the Province's antics have been, and continue to be, if we can only fund a portion of the line let's try and get the portion that generates the most ridership going first. I'm a northsider, so I am biased, but the buses I see going into downtown on Centre St are always packed to the rafters.
trtcttc
Active Member
I think the city has approached it as building the most costly section first, and then do the surface extensions North and South, which is how we built the Red and Blue line. However, I wonder with this government if it makes sense to build the cheaper, longer sections from the outskirts to the edge of downtown, then force the province to pay for the central section so they can build their "Grand Central Station" that they seem to want so much.
Albertasaurus
Active Member
I am of the same thought. They do seem obsessed with their "grand central" idea and maybe The City should indulge them. I also think we should be pushing for more specifics and funding details around their train station idea. Unfortunately, they do hold all the cards, there isn't an election for another 2 1/2 years and even then there's no guarantee of a change of government.
YYCguy
Active Member
What an absolute disaster this has become. I was not happy with the “Stub Line” proposal at all. Literally a line to nowhere. While I’m not a fan of the Province having battled the City almost from Day One of this project, with the latest proposal, it was time for the Province to say “enough is enough”. What I am having trouble imagining is the alternate route that the Minister has in mind. Was there a similar alignment that was initially on the table for consideration when alignments were being considered many years ago?
darwink
Senior Member
The city should let the province be the delivery agency and if the city has been smart the provincial project will be even worse.Wonder what happens now, is the line dead? If the UCP wants so much input, they can pay for it like how Ford is paying for the Ontario line overruns
Province rejects revised Green Line plan, says funding to be withheld
In a scathing letter, Alberta Transportation Minister Devin Dreeshen slams Calgary's Green Line plan, saying funding for it to be withheld.calgaryherald.com
In any case. By the time the review is done could have a new Premier.