Two cents on $400 million
I recently attended the Making Cities Liveable conference in Portland. When I arrived at the airport I had a choice between a $40 + cab fare to my downtown hotel or taking the light rail rapid transit which conveniently stopped right in the airport terminal. My direct commute to downtown Portland took only minutes, brought me to within one block of my hotel and cost me less than five bucks. For the rest of my stay I took transit anywhere I wanted to go in the downtown absolutely FREE, no charge, zero dollars…nothing.
City of Portland is one of the most progressive urban environments in North America. The entire city is serviced by a system of light rail and transit so effectively that there is a noticeable absence of cars in the downtown core. With a population of just over 500 thousand people in the City of Portland the question on everyone’s mind was, “How can they afford this”
As it turns out, the City received money that was originally allocated for major freeway development from the state of Oregon to be used for the development of a comprehensive urban and regional transit system following a public outcry over the wisdom of spending millions of dollars on newly proposed highways.
Which brings me back to the $400 million question facing the good people of Kitchener and Guelph.
As it turned out, Jane Mitchell a councillor with the Region of Waterloo, attended the same conference and we spent a good deal of time talking about some of the common issues facing our cities. We talked at great length about Waterloo’s rapid transit initiative.
According to the region’s website:
Building a better community requires a more balanced and integrated transportation system that will help us accommodate future growth and development in urban areas while protecting our rural areas. The Region of Waterloo’s proposed Rapid Transit Initiative will link the employment, residential and commercial areas of Cambridge, Kitchener and Waterloo, provide enhanced transit throughout the Region, and help us boost our Region’s economy, competitiveness and prosperity over the next 30 years.
Do you notice something missing? How does Guelph fit into this vision,…? Well currently it doesn’t ;we are building a new road instead.
The price of gas is skyrocketing, Al Gore tells us we are approaching a tipping point with our environment, population growth in our area is predicted to skyrocket, communities such as Portland are proving the business case for rapid transit while our neighbours are actively planning the infrastructure. Oh yeah, and the price tag for a shiny new freeway between Guelph and Kitchener has doubled in the last few years.
I’m not suggesting we don’t address the need for improved highway infrastructure between our cities, but do we really need to spend hundred of millions of dollars on a new freeway that in a few years will be just as congested as highway 7 is today?
Remember the 407 when it was first built, or the 401 when it was expanded to 4 lanes all the way to Milton? They are both parking lots during rush hour these days. Ask anyone from Los Angeles or Toronto and they will tell you bigger freeways are only a temporary solution to congestion.
Both Jane and myself are working with our peers in an effort to begin a dialogue on these issues. We simply CAN’T afford to let this opportunity slip away on us, $400 million could go a very long way towards “boosting our economy, competitiveness and prosperity over the next 30 years” to paraphrase the region.
We can learn from the mistakes and examples of other cities, or we can simply roll up the windows and wait for the car in front of us to creep ahead a few more inches.
October 28th, 2007 at 1:13 pm
The idea of a new highway between Guelph and Kitchener, should be shelved -permanently.
The current #7 highway right-of-way, is very wide and not being used. There is enough room, without purchasing anymore land, to enhance #7 dramatically with service roads, reduced intersections, traffic circles etc. There also, would be room for a light rail rapid transit line along the same right-of-way.
From my own experience going back to 1982, there has been a demand (by some) for a new highway to deal with the traffic volume. Guess what? Here we are 25! years later and you are still able to get back and forth without major delays.
Let’s get out of the 20th century and focus all our energy and resources on 21st century solutions.
November 16th, 2007 at 7:32 pm
I think what bothers me about this type of undertaking is that at some point, during the planning phase, someone had to have said “Hey, what about a LRT going along here?” and then everyone in the room just stared at that person and said “Yeah sure! Ha Ha Ha” and they just went on about the business of creating the new highway.
I know that a lot of funding for public transit and such comes from the municipalities “ridership” levels, so that they can prove to the province or the Fed’s that they deserve it. But when the opportunity isn’t even given to try out new and innovative ways to start to build even one rider then it just makes me shake my head.
Now what i’m about to say is just me brainstorming, imagine if money was no object. I think Guelph should purchase the 99 acres just after the Honda dealership and as joint venture Kitchener should purchase some of the available land just as you come into Kitchener where it turns into Victoria rd. At both of those locations they can have bus stations, bike stations, parking space for cars etc…That way if a LRT was built along HWY#7 there is more transportation available from those centres so people could get to their work.
I like Gord’s ring service roads as well.
This is the new way of thinking folks. I’m with Mike on this one!! Thanks man!
November 21st, 2007 at 5:54 pm
Thanks for the comment Cam, your idea has merit.
We are currently working out the details to create additional access to Elmira Street at the West End Rec Centre and develop a rapid transit node (using buses) that will improve our connection with Kitchener.
It’s not exactly a dedicated LRT but it’s moving in the right direction.
February 13th, 2008 at 11:06 pm
I have to agree with Cam, Good Ideas all of them.