Quote:
Originally Posted by Ironhorse
Hypothetically speaking, if the Airport was in the SW, would there be a tunnel being built right now? You bet your arse it would be.
The NE does not have the political clout with city council, either now or when the LRT was put at ground level on 36th Street.
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I think that's backwards logic. The city would probably have developed differently and the SW would be a less desirable area if the airport had been located there. People don't want to live next to airports, that's why the areas next to airports tend to be less desirable, not the other way around.
You have to remember that everyone who lives east of the airport chose to move into a neighbourhood that is on the other side of the airport from the rest of the city. Those areas were completely undeveloped when the airport was built, so there isn't a single person living there who didn't choose to put themselves in that situation.
To me, that's the whole issue with the tunnel. I don't care if it costs $300 million now or $1 billion 10 years from now. I just don't see why it's needed at all.
City Council should take the money that they've allocated for the tunnel and add it to the budget for expanding Country Hills Blvd and making that the main access point to the Airport from the NE. Making Country Hills the main East-West corridor would only add an additional 3km to a single trip to the Airport (1.5km further north, then 1.5km back south) compared to where the tunnel is planned to run.
The people who will be most hurt if the tunnel isn't built are the hotels along Barlow between 16th and McKnight. However, the Airport Authority has said that there are plans for an alternate access to the airport from the south (via McCall Way, I believe) for commercial vehicles who need access to the airport. If the hotel shuttles can get in and out that way, it would make a lot more sense, and be a hell of a lot cheaper than building a $300 million tunnel that the vast majority of Calgary's residents would never have any use for.