Stupid idea #1 from the Stelmach government
Well, Ed Stelmach and his government have come up with some doozies for bad ideas. Most of them are clearly those espoused by "red tories", people who believe in growing government for the sake of government...
Stupid Idea #1
High Speed Rail Link
I admit that driving the QE2 (Highway 2) between Calgary and Edmonton isn't exactly fun, and the traffic is terrible. I will also admit that the security precautions at the airports (and the fact that Edmonton's airport is in Leduc) make flying between the cities prohibitive from a cost and time perspective.
But the solution is NOT to have the government spend >$10 billion of valuable tax money on a white elephant. If a high speed rail line made sense, the private sector should be willing to step up to the plate. If such a private sector company were to step forward, I would accept the government help with zoning, obtaining right of ways, etc. But there should be zero government money invested as capital and zero government money used as subsidy for the project. Government will always be distracted by political issues and the money will be wasted and I doubt the project would ever see the light of day.
Stupid Idea #1
High Speed Rail Link
I admit that driving the QE2 (Highway 2) between Calgary and Edmonton isn't exactly fun, and the traffic is terrible. I will also admit that the security precautions at the airports (and the fact that Edmonton's airport is in Leduc) make flying between the cities prohibitive from a cost and time perspective.
But the solution is NOT to have the government spend >$10 billion of valuable tax money on a white elephant. If a high speed rail line made sense, the private sector should be willing to step up to the plate. If such a private sector company were to step forward, I would accept the government help with zoning, obtaining right of ways, etc. But there should be zero government money invested as capital and zero government money used as subsidy for the project. Government will always be distracted by political issues and the money will be wasted and I doubt the project would ever see the light of day.
posted by Technical Bard | 17:55
1 Comments:
Toll the Highway then and cut off all funding to the airports if they aren't going to pay for the Rail Link. If they cost for air travel and highway travel escalated then a Rail Link would be more than commercially viable. They should also get federal green plan money for the link.
Post a Comment
<< Home