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By Mr. Meister (anonymous) | Posted November 25, 2008 at 00:18:56
I am not making up numbers I’m using the most realistic numbers available, current construction costs from a just started project in Calgary. How reliable have the city’s estimates been on past projects? Light rail may attract riders but there is still no transit system that is not heavily subsidized tell me which one is not and I will shut up.
Our system does not put cars in direct conflict with pedestrians, we have wide, smooth, well constructed sidewalks. We have lots of well marked well regulated safe crosswalks. The city has come a long way in having bike lanes, and we should, and will soon have more. The big problem is to many people want to play silly games of chicken with the cars. Look at that poor girl in Toronto a week or two ago who went around or under the railroad barriers to run across the tracks in front of a train. She tripped and fell and was killed. What a horrible tragic accident. Totally and completely avoidable if only she had not tried to save 20 seconds she would still be alive. Do we need to change all our rail crossings? People sometimes choose to put themselves in direct conflict with cars (or trains) that is never going to change. Thousands of people prove every day that we have an inherently safe system but if you want to partake in dangerous behavior tragic outcomes are possible. As I have stated before accidents will always happen and those are the especially sad losses.
Transit seems to use our existing roads quite well and if bus only lanes can help, maybe that’s a viable test to undertake.
Hamilton’s geography is very unique. A lot of traffic is funneled downtown because of the lake and escarpment. This is not traffic that wants to go downtown there just is no other realistic choice. The best way to deal with it is to move it as quick as possible unless we can build another road or highway.
Cars are special because they are the transportation method of choice for the majority of people. The fact that so much of our economy revolves around cars only adds to that fact. Does every government accommodate the auto industry because it likes cars? No, it’s done because of the huge dollars the automotive sector generates. License and plate fees may not pay for the roads but all the associated taxes and fees on cars and fuel pay for all the roads and a whole lot more like transit.
No other city as small as ours, great or otherwise, in North America has a LRT. The smallest is Calgary and the population there is 50% bigger in slightly smaller area. You have still never addressed the real problem too few riders too much area. As soon as you solve that one tiny little problem you will be well on your way to making LRT a good choice for Hamilton.
You said making transit free makes it more violent and more prone to acts of vandalism. I guess I leapt to conclusions when I assumed that making it cheaper would increase those things. I guess cheaper is better but free is bad. Can you really believe that? Much less expect to convince anybody else?
I am not defending random opinions by any means I am defending realism and common sense from naiveté and silly pie in the sky wishful thinking.
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