JonnyCanuck
Senior Member
Maybe it is just the cynic in me but I don't foresee any level of ridership on the LRT in Calgary that could possibly justify underground stations in the downtown. ... certainly not to the tune of $100 million per station. The demand for public transit in and out of downtown really has to be studied as part of a new reality check. The question has to be asked ... Will downtown Calgary be the same 'mecca' for jobs that it has been pre-recession and pre-pandemic?
The Green line plan is based on increasing ridership in and out of downtown well into the future, not on what ridership levels are or were. It could take 5-10 years to fill the vacant office space that we have today. Vacant office space = job loss = fewer people taking the LRT. Filling existing office space would only get the number people working downtown to where it was at peak ... when was that.. maybe 2013-4?
I know, some people will say there are other reasons to take the LRT into downtown .. hockey games, concerts, theater, festivals etc. ... but to me you don't fork out the $ billion or so, for social or leisure activity needs. That decision has to be made on the strength of a high volume of business traffic Mon-Fri. If you don't have that, then how can you justify spending that kind of money. IMHO it should not include the cost of expensive underground stations or tunnels.
The Green line plan is based on increasing ridership in and out of downtown well into the future, not on what ridership levels are or were. It could take 5-10 years to fill the vacant office space that we have today. Vacant office space = job loss = fewer people taking the LRT. Filling existing office space would only get the number people working downtown to where it was at peak ... when was that.. maybe 2013-4?
I know, some people will say there are other reasons to take the LRT into downtown .. hockey games, concerts, theater, festivals etc. ... but to me you don't fork out the $ billion or so, for social or leisure activity needs. That decision has to be made on the strength of a high volume of business traffic Mon-Fri. If you don't have that, then how can you justify spending that kind of money. IMHO it should not include the cost of expensive underground stations or tunnels.
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