New website allows Calgarians to track $6 billion in city infrastructure spending

[amor de cosmos]

this is cool. every city should have something like this
http://www.calgaryinfrastructure.ca/cp_mapping.html

New website allows Calgarians to track $6 billion in city infrastructure spending
By Joel Kom, Calgary Herald
June 1, 2009 3:58 PM

CALGARY - Calling it an example of accountability and transparency at city hall, Mayor Dave Bronconnier helped unveil a new website that lets people track how billions in infrastructure dollars are being spent.

The site, www.calgaryinfrastructure.ca, reveals details on 125 projects - and counting - that include water treatment plants, parks, transit and more. Everything from how much the project costs to where the cash comes from to what it entails is listed.

Bronconnier touted it as an easy way for people to see how $6 billion is being spent over the next five years, including stimulus funding that has come from the federal government and provincial grants.

“We believe in the accountability of public funds invested,” Bronconnier said. “This is our way as the city of Calgary to ensure that all Canadians ... are fully on board with what’s happening with the stimulus dollars and infrastructure funding.”

The site was put together by City of Calgary staff and cost $25,000 to launch.

http://www.calgaryherald.com/Technol...933/story.html

[Ferreth]

Cool idea, crappy flash plug in forcing me to upgrade again

Why couldn't they have just had a google plugin? </flashrant>

[korzym]

quite simply: thank you. we all know this is a knock off of the buss marketing map
http://www.calgaryinfrastructure.ca/cp_mapping.html

This is just an act of self preservation on Bronco's behalf

[korzym]

1st WTF: imperial oil site remediation @ $1.4M this is bullshit. A private company ought to be paying for this, they messed it up, they suffer the consequences.

They seem to be going crazy over storm water management..the city is as back on its feet as its ever been after the floods in recent years...is this storm water problem really taht bad?

artificial turf for shouldice? Is it REALLY neccessary? Private money ought to fund this. Redistribution of wealth...at the expense of many for the benefit of few.

[You Need A Thneed]

Originally Posted by korzym

They seem to be going crazy over storm water management..the city is as back on its feet as its ever been after the floods in recent years...is this storm water problem really that bad?

Calgarians, of all people should understand the importance of keeping our water clean. Storm events are a huge cause of added sediment into the river. The city does everything it can to keep our water as clean as it can, and should be commended for doing so.

[Riise]

Originally Posted by korzym

artificial turf for shouldice? Is it REALLY neccessary? Private money ought to fund this.

Yes it is necessary, and private money is helping to fund it. The money CUSA, CWSA, and the others pay in user fees goes somewhere... Also, amateur sport should be funded by the government. Where do you think most pro athletes would be if it were not for sports?

[freeweed]

Originally Posted by You Need A Thneed

Calgarians, of all people should understand the importance of keeping our water clean. Storm events are a huge cause of added sediment into the river. The city does everything it can to keep our water as clean as it can, and should be commended for doing so.

I'd pay double my property taxes if only to live in one of the very few cities on the planet with > 10o,000 people, that you can still swim in the river.

[SubwayRev]

Originally Posted by freeweed

I'd pay double my property taxes if only to live in one of the very few cities on the planet with > 10o,000 people, that you can still swim in the river.

I couldn't agree more. I don't think most Calgarians realize how odd it is that we can swim in both the Elbow and Bow Rivers. Or that you can catch fish in either river...and eat them.

[Stang]

Originally Posted by korzym

artificial turf for shouldice? Is it REALLY neccessary? Private money ought to fund this. Redistribution of wealth...at the expense of many for the benefit of few.

This will actually end up SAVING the city money. You can pay more games on artificial turf (more revenue from field rental) - they currently limit the number of game hours on natural grass so they don't completely destroy them.

Not to mention the elimination of maintenance costs like watering, grass cutting, line marking, etc. These are recurring costs that the city is actually incurring already that will be saved over the many years during the artificial turf's lifespan.

And - every few years one of the fields (they rotate) are be closed completely so they can completely re-lay new grass. Not cheap either.

Thousands of people play soccer in CUSA, CWSA, CMSA, commercial league. High school football and soccer is also played there. All pay to use the fields.

Very smart move by the city - including from a financial perspective.

By the same argument - I don't play hockey - yet the city spends my tax dollars on hockey rinks. I don't ever drive near a certain interchange. Why should I have to fund it with my tax dollars? I never use a certain LRT platform - why should I have to fund it?

I will, however, agree with you on the Imperial Oil site. I'm not familiar with the specifics when the site was in use, what the arrangement was with the city, etc. But on the surface you would think that it would be Imperial's mess to clean up.

[lubicon]

Originally Posted by korzym

1st WTF: imperial oil site remediation @ $1.4M this is bullshit. A private company ought to be paying for this, they messed it up, they suffer the consequences.

They seem to be going crazy over storm water management..the city is as back on its feet as its ever been after the floods in recent years...is this storm water problem really taht bad?

artificial turf for shouldice? Is it REALLY neccessary? Private money ought to fund this. Redistribution of wealth...at the expense of many for the benefit of few.

I'm not sure where to stand on this one. You have a valid point about the City not having to pay for this. On the other hand, Imperial cleaned up the site when they closed the refinery and their cleanup was signed off as acceptable by some government agency (likely the province, but I'm not sure). If they cleaned up the site, and the government told them the job they did was good enough, then why should they be on the hook to come back and do more? If anyone should be paying it should be the parties that were responsible for signing off on the cleanup. I'm guessing that would be the province.

[korzym]

Originally Posted by lubicon

I'm not sure where to stand on this one. You have a valid point about the City not having to pay for this. On the other hand, Imperial cleaned up the site when they closed the refinery and their cleanup was signed off as acceptable by some government agency (likely the province, but I'm not sure). If they cleaned up the site, and the government told them the job they did was good enough, then why should they be on the hook to come back and do more? If anyone should be paying it should be the parties that were responsible for signing off on the cleanup. I'm guessing that would be the province.

If thats how it went down, what a shame. IMO the best way to protect the environment from companies is to punish guilty companies as severely as possible to discourage future offenders.

-This budget is a real eye opener to myself how involved the city is in the business of social programs, if I could call it that. One other thing I saw that doesn't make sense is life cycle maintenance at just under $1M for the science center. Their already wasting, i mean spending $83M for a new center, whats the point of investing in the current one? The city should be minimalistic here.

-Ralph Klien park seems like a waste as well, $4M..is that even by a residential area? Google earth is down for me, so I can't tell

[You Need A Thneed]

Originally Posted by korzym

-Ralph Klien park seems like a waste as well, $4M..is that even by a residential area? Google earth is down for me, so I can't tell

Ralph Klein Park is going to be a wetland as part of the stormwater system, with an interpretive centre (school field trips, etc.) A place for people to come and watch the birds, stuff like that. It's not by any residential, except for the hamlet of Shepard and the acreage properties in the area. The park is much too large to fit into any area thats already been developed. It basically takes up the entire section of land.

And the tag on the map is in the wrong place, it's in the same place as the two tags that are on the Shepard Wetlands, so you can add that $79 Million combined to the entire price tag.

But like I said, it's primary function is to keep storm runoff from getting into the irrigation canal and the river. But it's made into a park, so that people can enjoy walking by the water, and seeing the birds.

Google Maps

[mersar]

The big thing those numbers don't show is the contributions from other non-government parties. I know that Imperial has been forced to spend into the tens of millions to do further cleanup (not to mention the costs of buying out the homeowners) above the city's pretty small part (which from how I read the description sounds like its mostly consultation related costs). And for the artificial turf the various sports leagues have contributed, not only through user fees but I know that the second proposal which may still be around they were only asking for $5.5M from the city for another couple fields, and they'd already worked out how to pay their part which was $6M+ of the project.

[korzym]

Originally Posted by mersar

The big thing those numbers don't show is the contributions from other non-government parties. I know that Imperial has been forced to spend into the tens of millions to do further cleanup (not to mention the costs of buying out the homeowners) above the city's pretty small part (which from how I read the description sounds like its mostly consultation related costs). And for the artificial turf the various sports leagues have contributed, not only through user fees but I know that the second proposal which may still be around they were only asking for $5.5M from the city for another couple fields, and they'd already worked out how to pay their part which was $6M+ of the project.

These community clubs need to start saving money and investing it like an individual instead of begging all the time. It's truly the most robust way for them to fund themselves in the future. Problem is it seems like their run by people that only believe in pop-can bottle drives. BTW yes you can make money when stocks go down...see short ETFs. I hope someone with ideas like that steps into these situations one day.