The race for Mayor: Poll 1 June

[Wooster]

Stewart might be ok, who knows, but if you follow his twitter you'll realize that this article about empty rhetoric and jargon applies particularly well to him.

http://www.calgaryherald.com/opinion...737/story.html

I agree that the 2022 olympic bid idea is also a fool's errand.

[MalcolmTucker]

Originally Posted by Wooster

Stewart might be ok, who knows, but if you follow his twitter you'll realize that this article about empty rhetoric and jargon applies particularly well to him.

http://www.calgaryherald.com/opinion...737/story.html

I agree that the 2022 olympic bid idea is also a fool's errand.

It wouldn't even get past the Canada Olympic Committee, Quebec City has indicated it wants to bid, and if it can get the financial ducks in a row, will be much stronger than a Calgary bid.

Still, not the worst idea to put forward, even if bidding for the Commonwealth Games might be more appropriate.

[Bigtime]

Nenshi just released his plan for the airport runway tunnel:

http://www.nenshi.ca/new/wp-content/...to-Airport.pdf

[Bigtime]

Just read it, can't say I agree with his comments about changing the board of YYC if necessary. Those folks are doing a great job, and why can't people understand that delaying the parallel runway is delaying SAFER operations at YYC? The CAA has done a great job of expanding the airport and attracting new services:

-Lufthansa
-Mexicana
-KLM
-British Airways
-AC to Tokyo
-Korean to Seoul (1 month this summer)
-Edelweiss to Zurich

...and many many more. They are running the airport as a business competing with others (YVR and YEG specifically) and we don't want to take the teeth from them by cramming the board with a bunch of dithering politicians.

He suggests pushing the Barlow closure from April 2011 to summer of 2011, even those few months can make all the difference in getting this new runway up and running.

[fusili]

Originally Posted by Bigtime

Nenshi just released his plan for the airport runway tunnel:

http://www.nenshi.ca/new/wp-content/...to-Airport.pdf

Although you can probably disagree with some of the ideas, the thing I really respect about Nenshi is that he actually tells you how he proposes to do things. It is not just, "Let's build a tunnel to the airport" it is "we will borrow $250 million using the City's debt capacity and delay the closure of Barlow trail." It is something you can respond to. Something you can actually talk about and discuss. Saying things like "we need a safer city" doesn't really mean anything at all to me.

[Wooster]

Originally Posted by fusili

Although you can probably disagree with some of the ideas, the thing I really respect about Nenshi is that he actually tells you how he proposes to do things. It is not just, "Let's build a tunnel to the airport" it is "we will borrow $250 million using the City's debt capacity and delay the closure of Barlow trail." It is something you can respond to. Something you can actually talk about and discuss. Saying things like "we need a safer city" doesn't really mean anything at all to me.

Fully agree.

[Bigtime]

Damn straight Fusili.

[halifaxboyns]

Saw this on global and thought I would post it for FYI.

• Video Link

[bob1954]

The idea of the Olympic bid in regards to Stewart, was mostly an "eye catcher" and probably doesn't mean much. But I'm one that likes big ideas. The problem is excecution and follow thru with the plans, but that's an opinion.

[mooky]

Eye catchers still have to be based in reality. The reality of a winning or even seriously considered Canadian bid for the Winter Olympics before 2032 (22 years after Van and 44 after Calgary) has no basis in reality. Why propose something that makes you sound like a windbag politician unless you either are an idiot, or assume the electorate is stupid enough to buy it? Either prospect is bad in my books.

EDIT: an eye catcher in my books would be a grandiose scheme to fully fund several legs of LRT expansion and enhancement

[Boris2k7]

I've read the Airport Tunnel release from Nenshi a few times through, and it seems pretty well grounded (I'll raise a few quibbles here and there).

The one thing that still sticks out to me is this line:

Negotiate to delay the closure of Barlow Trail from April 2011 to summer 2011, when Metis Trail is complete. Although the Airport Authority has said it is not willing to negotiate, the City has leverage that it has not yet chosen to use.

http://www.nenshi.ca/new/wp-content/...to-Airport.pdf

Anyone know what leverage he might be alluding to? I'm not sure I know enough about the relationship between the CAA and the City to pin that one down.

[MalcolmTucker]

I am not exactly sure, but numerous airport authorities around the country are 'creatures' of the city government - not always the case but certainly not unusual.

The city if it was serious about building could get the airport to slow down in any case, cash just needs to be on the table, not just a possibility.

[Bigtime]

We slow down that expansion and we could lose ground to YEG. They are gunning for us, make no mistake.

[halifaxboyns]

I would assume that some of the capital cost of operating the airport comes from the city in some way shape or form - they don't pay taxes, but yet utilize city services such as roads and utilities?

Perhaps that's a way to leverage them?

[mersar]

Originally Posted by Boris2k7

Anyone know what leverage he might be alluding to? I'm not sure I know enough about the relationship between the CAA and the City to pin that one down.

Only thing that immediately comes to mind might be servicing (water, sewer, etc) for some of the new tradepark area on the NW corner of the airport. Or maybe the future interchange at 19th Street which the airport authority envisions being the primary access to the terminal?

[Bigtime]

Yeah this makes a lot of sense, lets strong-arm an organization that is actually beneficial to the city because the city itself didn't plan ahead for a runway that has been on the books for years!

Does anyone else hear how crazy that sounds?

[mooky]

It is stupid, but put into perspective, *if* the new mayor gets the ball rolling and *if* he is able to get the airport tunnel approved and funded and *if * it would only result in a three month delay in closing Barlow Trail, then 3 months is not too much to ask/demand of the YYC airport authority to save potentially $200 million or more taxpayer dollars. The world is not going to end on a three month delay. But there are a lot of ifs to overcome first. For now I think the airport authority will just continue along with plans as scheduled.

[Bigtime]

I can accept 3 months, but anymore is just getting stupid.

[suburb]

Originally Posted by Bigtime

I can accept 3 months, but anymore is just getting stupid.

I'd agree with the spirit of that comment - and at the same time would reiterate that this is what is being proposed by Naheed also as being a required compromise to make things work. I think the discussion got away from three months, which was not suggested in the first place.

Fact is, navigating all complex situations and scenarios is not about yes and no answers, but about being thoughtful about the underlying issues, and then navigating a solution that, yes involves some compromises, but at the same time deals with the biggest issues stopping the city from getting to where it needs to be. Remember also that some of these complex scenarios are interrelated to other 'planks'. This is a good example where the tunnel is connected to public transportation in general - and the navigated solutions we demand must be thoughtful enough to take considerations like public transportation into account.

BTW - given how much we've seen Naheed engage people, if there are refinements that can improve the proposal, he'd certainly be willing to listen. We have to give him credit either way though, as at least he is proposing thoughtful solutions. He's way ahead of the curve in my books.

[outoftheice]

Originally Posted by mooky

EDIT: an eye catcher in my books would be a grandiose scheme to fully fund several legs of LRT expansion and enhancement

I fully agree!! What we need is a candidate who's willing to make a strong stand on transit. Somebody needs to present the fact to Calgarians that transit is not simply a transportation tool but the greatest tool for development that the city has at its disposal.

Take for instance the North Central LRT. From speaking to people at Transit Open Houses, it is my understanding that a subway route up Centre Street is the preferred option from a planning perspective. However because of the added cost of a subway, the City is leaning towards building it up the Nose Creek Valley. Looking at this simply from a transportation angle, this decision does make some sense. However what about looking at it from a planning model? Implementing Plan It: Calgary was estimated to save the City $11.2 Billion in infrastructure costs over the long term. One of the key parts of Plan It: is turning Centre Street into an urban corridor and encouraging redevelopment along its length. As of right now, how will that be done? Beats me. But if the NC LRT was built up Centre Street, I guarantee that investment and redevelopment along the corridor will immediately follow!

So what about cost? Well a rough estimate of building a combined Centre Street subway/proposed SE LRT line is $3.1 Billion. It's a big number and would probably raise a few eyebrows with tax payers. However, the municipalities of the GTA along with the Ontario Government have committed $17.5 Billion towards the MoveOntario 2020 rapid transit initiative. That's roughly 5 times the funding Calgary would require for an area that has about 5 times the population of Calgary. The only difference between us and them is political will power. Any candidate who can see the value in pushing a Centre Street subway/SE LRT will be able to dramatically change the development pattern in the City and give taxpayers their best shot at the $11.2 Billion in savings of Plan It:.

The province just gave us $800 Million in Green Trip funding to play with. Using that to build part of the SE LRT is good. But being able to leverage that into a P3 partnership so that the City could cover the $3.1 Billion cost of a combined Centre Street subway/SE LRT would be visionary. Because this new line would be completely seperate from the exisiting LRT infrastructure, it could be put out to an open bid for all the big transportation players in the world. I have no doubt that there would be a few that would love to take away the monopoly Siemens currently enjoys in the Alberta market.

Is there a candidate out there that can see this as a long term solution to a lot of the city's problems? I don't know. But I don't think the timing will ever be better for this to happen. What we need is the right person to step up to the plate!

cheers,
outoftheice
PS: It has been mentioned in the Transit thread before, but for those interested in reading a more in-depth arguement about the benefits of a Centre Street subway, you can find it at http://www.growsmart.ca