Funding Please!
For all those who have deluded themselves that SkyTrain will be extended via tunnel, under Burrard Inlet, think again.
TransLink has been spinning a lot of stories about transit expansion, but every story ignores a fundamental fact – funding.
TransLink’s well oiled propaganda machine, which includes the mainstream media and “Hive”, all talk the big talk but ignore funding.
So, the next time someone claims that SkyTrain will be built here or built there, ask about “funding” and the silence following will be self explanatory.
Quebec City tunnel beneath St. Lawrence River to cost $7B, take 10 years to build
by The Canadian Press
Posted May 17, 2021
Quebec Premier Francois Legault says a tunnel to be built under the St. Lawrence River connecting Quebec City and Lévis, Que., will cost $7 billion and take 10 years to complete.
The tunnel was a major campaign promise for Legault’s Coalition Avenir Quebec, which enjoys strong support in the provincial capital and promised to begin the project within its first mandate.
Legault told reporters today the final price tag could rise by as much as 35 per cent when borrowing and other unexpected construction-related costs are factored in.
The 8.3-kilometre tunnel will have a lane dedicated for electric buses and will become the third road link connecting Quebec City to the south shore.
Legault says construction is expected to begin in 2022, the same year as the next provincial election.
The tunnel is the second major project announced this year by Legault for the provincial capital, following a $3.3-billion, 20-kilometre tramway system that is expected to be completed in 2027.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 17, 2021.
The Canadian Press
I imagine that the argument has to be more than just “show me the money” and “look how much more you get with LRT, BRT, (name the operating technology), instead of Skytrain”. People in Vancouver are so stuck on Skytrain because that’s all they know. A few articles on really high capacity LRT and high capacity surface LRT operations or a form of real BRT. An actual EMU/DMU line in operation. The articles should cover all of the operating attributes of the system but be simple and easily understood, not just a few pictures.
Next, oh boy did I have a debate about this one this week. The subject came up about the possibilities of urban sky gondola technology, like the planned one to Simon Fraser University. This technology doesn’t move a lot of people unless you spend a lot, on a truly grand and significantly complex 4 plus cable operation (2 or more suspension cables traveling in each direction). The huge operating and maintenance costs as well as the rate at which Translink wants to subsidize the operation has never really been made clear, I promise you it won’t ever make an operational profit. I guess the public is going to have to talk with ski resort operators to find out just how pricey these systems truly are.