Thou sayest so much and, yea, so little at the same time.
-it's a subway. All you're trying (and failing) to do is prove a negative.There is no actual plan for any alternative and, as you yourself note, all the planning was based on this as a foundation assumption.
-a delay does not alter the plan or phasing one iota, merely pushes it back. None of the phasing is linked to dates, merely to various milestones being achieved. (i.e. a delay is a delay. You know this. Because "delay" and "alteration" are different words.)
-you keep going on about how they didn't evaluate alternatives. Duh. It wasn't some kind of scam. At the time, the province told them there would be a subway, they told Calthorpe there would be a subway and everyone planned accordingly.
I don't know why this chain of events is hard to understand. They could evaluate an LRT, and more power to them them, but it's foolish to think it wouldn't change everything. It says, in black and white above, that any change to the infrastructure requires a comprehensive review. Like I said. 50 times. Or do you think the subway isn't a "key infrastructure component"?
The mere fact no alternatives were evaluated does not prove (despite your assertions) another mode could work. Ironically, it's rather the opposite since I've said and proven time and again, that the subway is the underlying premise. Question whether it
should be, if you like. But it most obviously is.
(Superficial example: the location of the mobility hub - a site of some contention between Mkm and RH - was ultimately determined by the EA and the turn radius of a subway. A different mode would undoubtedly reignite this debate and potentially lead to the location moving, another station being added etc.)
-as you already know, the PRT is a long term idea which is not crucial or central to the Langstaff plan. Circulator buses are the actual means through which people can get to the station(s) if they don't live adjacent. Density is concentrated near the Longbridge station and in the central corridor, through which there will be a connecting concourse. You know this too.
But nitpick if you enjoy typing the word "pod." I don't mind. It is a fun word.
Pod.
-beyond the mere provision of infrastructure, phases are contingent on mode shares being achieved. You can question how ambitious they are - and they are ambitious - but if they're not achieved, the next phase won't go (subject to revisions because, as we both know, plans change) because there won't be room for more density. But you know this too.
-to sum up, you're wrong about almost everything and each point you make has already demonstrably been proven so. Sometimes months and years ago. Why you persist is known only to you.
I've spoken with actual planners who worked on it at pretty much every level. I know you're wrong,though you're certainly entitled to believe what you like.
Just discovered: Long lost footage of 44North explaining why a subway isn't baked in to the LG planning and thinking a lot about pods: