Winnipeg City Transit/Rapid Transit

[buzzg]

Love the idea of a station behind Shaw Park & Winnipeg Square connection – especially with 300 Main going up and an inside link to TNS and RBCCCCCCCC. Would be great to have a main hub right by P&M.

^Zebra, I believe what's coming out this spring is the recommendations for routing and design, nothing finalized.

[esquire]

Quebec City unveiled plans for a $3B+ tramway, electric bus and BRT network. The tramway will have some underground stations.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montre...ment-1.4577912

We really should ask all these cities building legitimate RT networks what they know that we don't.

[cheswick]

Originally Posted by esquire

Quebec City unveiled plans for a $3B+ tramway, electric bus and BRT network. The tramway will have some underground stations.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montre...ment-1.4577912

We really should ask all these cities building legitimate RT networks what they know that we don't.

Well the article says the city expects the provincial and federal governments to foot the entire bill. So that would be a nice start for Winnipeg.

[bomberjet]

Well it is Quebec. Should I continue?

[LilZebra]

^^^
Gonna cost $5B "Quebec dollars" by the time its built.

[LilZebra]

Originally Posted by esquire

We really should ask all these cities building legitimate RT networks what they know that we don't.

Step 1. Relocate New Flyer to Brandon, Man.

[Andy6]

Originally Posted by esquire

Quebec City unveiled plans for a $3B+ tramway, electric bus and BRT network. The tramway will have some underground stations.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montre...ment-1.4577912

We really should ask all these cities building legitimate RT networks what they know that we don't.

Well, to be fair, they’re not actually building one. They’re saying they want one provided that someone else pays for it.

[CoryB]

A key difference between Manitoba and Quebec is the provincial government there gets how important Bombardier is and is willing ti invest some cash into showcase system for their products. If we could get the same buy-in for New Flyer we could show the posters on this forum (and the world) that BRT can easily delivery all the benefits of LRT for less cash.

[esquire]

Originally Posted by Andy6

Well, to be fair, they’re not actually building one. They’re saying they want one provided that someone else pays for it.

At least they have a plan, such as it is. That puts them one step ahead of us.

[rrskylar]

More city council deliberations with slippery Sam's good buddy Marquess still pretending he's an actual legitimate developer!

https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/lo...479207413.html

How are his Fort Rouge Yards projects working out?

[Ando]

One of the big problems with transit investment here is that provincial government doesn't want to invest in it. They don't seem to be able to get their heads around it. They are also continually missing out on federal contributions, or discouraging federal contributions, because they go into negotiations saying they don't want to put any money in. They are going to use carbon tax money to reduce taxes instead of doing what other provinces are doing, such as investing in green technologies (e.g. electric buses - which is a double win here because we produce them). There was an article in the paper about the trucking industry being highly critical of pallister government for not investing the carbon tax money in incentives for the industry to reduce carbon output.

[buzzg]

It's a mix of not "getting it" and not caring about poor people – coupled with them assuming transit is reserved for poor people.

But yeah, you'd think a conservative (pro-business) government would see the value in green transit here as a major producer of transit busses, and the growing tech and transportation industries here. No forward thinking – Manitoba could quickly become a leader in green transportation with a little support from the province.

[bomberjet]

I posted somewhere on SSP recently about the province backing out of funding for the second leg of BRT. Here's a news article on it.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manito...655369?cmp=rss

[dmacc]

Originally Posted by bomberjet

I posted somewhere on SSP recently about the province backing out of funding for the second leg of BRT. Here's a news article on it.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manito...655369?cmp=rss

It doesn't say they backed out of the deal. All it says is they are slow to transfer funds. They also attempted to amend the pay formula. It doesn't say they wouldn't pay or that they did amend the deal.

[bomberjet]

There's a link within that article to an earlier article where the mayor says the Province don't want to fund it. They want to 'renegotiate'.

[dmacc]

Originally Posted by bomberjet

There's a link within that article to an earlier article where the mayor says the Province don't want to fund it. They want to 'renegotiate'.

I didn't see that, it's perfectly legal for the province to attempt to renegotiate. The city is well within their right to refuse any new terms, which I think they should. Though they may want to be careful as the province does largely control the purse strings. The city needs to make sure it picks it battles. The mayor can be known for whining to the media a little prematurely and often.

[dmacc]

After reading that other article it sounds like the city and province agreed to pay $225 million each. The city then found cost savings for the project. The city would then pay less than $225 million. It sounds like the province wants that savings to be shared by both levels of government. Essentially they think that the city is reneging on providing their $225 million. I think it's hard to say which is right and which is wrong in this argument.

[Ando]

But it is clear their approach is not to want to contribute to fed-prov-city agreements on an equal basis, thus meaning they are missing out on cheap dollars to makes things like important infrastructure to happen. In fact, they have gone further by alienating the feds. If the feds are going to come to the table to assist in things that benefit Manitoba, they want the province to be just as committed. And the whole purpose of a carbon tax is to reinvest the funds in things that reduce carbon emissions, like electric buses, which we make here, which therefore provides multiplier effects.

[esquire]

Originally Posted by Ando

But it is clear their approach is not to want to contribute to fed-prov-city agreements on an equal basis, thus meaning they are missing out on cheap dollars to makes things like important infrastructure to happen. In fact, they have gone further by alienating the feds.

It's pretty clear that Pallister is blatantly copying Brad Wall by attempting to provoke fights with the feds over everything, even if that means squandering opportunities at getting the feds to back provincial projects. The difference of course being that Manitoba can't go it alone like some of the other provinces... not a lot is going to happen here without federal help.

Bottom line, Pallister has prioritized his political fortunes over what's best for the province.

[Curmudgeon]

Originally Posted by esquire

....Bottom line, Pallister has prioritized his political fortunes over what's best for the province.

A half a billion dollar bus roadway to nowhere is certainly not in the best interests of the province.