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Gridlock a peril to prosperity
Transit upgrades could help thriving cities be more efficient

Calgary Herald
Published: Saturday, January 27, 2007

A soon-to-be-released Conference Board of Canada report on the importance of cities in this country's prosperity stresses four cornerstones for success: "a strong knowledge economy; connective physical infrastructure linking people, goods and ideas; environmentally sound growth; and socially cohesive communities."

The issue of transportation connects at least the first three cornerstones. And it's clear that gridlock is an increasing cost.

"Traffic congestion, a major problem in many urban areas, results in time lost and increased energy use, air pollution, greenhouse gas emissions and accident risk," the report says. "It harms the competitiveness of urban centres and the national economy by delaying the movement of goods and people and increasing transportation costs."

Investment in public transit and inter-city rail travel would certainly strengthen Canadian cities' economy, infrastructure and environment.

Public transit systems in urban centres "are struggling to attract riders," the report finds, but this is not the case in Alberta. Ridership on buses and LRTs in Calgary and Edmonton increased 10 and 5.5 per cent respectively in 2006.

Calgary is not struggling to attract transit riders, but to meet the demand. With the popularity of public transit apparent in this province, all levels of government should provide more funding to this service. To alleviate overcrowding, Calgary Transit is providing an additional 40 LRT cars and 43 buses this year, and plans to hire up to 130 more drivers and mechanics. But, as the city spreads ever outward, additional transit service will be required in newly developed areas in Calgary. "People are interested in more convenient and environmentally friendly transportation alternatives to cars, but inter-city travel in Canada has long been underfunded and underdeveloped," the report says. "High-speed services in the Calgary-Edmonton and Windsor-Quebec City corridors must be part of an improved national passenger rail system."

In a September 2005 editorial, the Herald questioned the economic viability of a high-speed train between Calgary and Edmonton. However, in light of the Conference Board's findings and continued growth of the two cities, the province should take a hard look at the feasibility of inter-city rail travel.

As opposed to a widened Queen Elizabeth II Highway, a high-speed rail service would ease problems associated with traffic congestion. A high-speed train reduces the level of traffic on the highway, and consequently, accident risk. It takes less time to travel to each city, thereby increasing the movement of people and goods, which is important in stimulating the economy. And like the C-Train, which supports wind-powered electrical generation, it is environmentally friendly.

The Conference Board report recommends improvement to everything from education to research and development, housing to immigrant settlement.

But it is in transportation that lies the greatest strengthening of Canada's major cities.
© The Calgary Herald 2007