Quote:
Originally Posted by ken0042
^^ Could they build an airport tunnel as a "Transit Tunnel", get funding for it from some "green" program, then make sure it is wide enough to accomidate several lanes of buses plus future LRT expansion?
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That's the funny thing about Green Trip funding... as long as the city is spending at least whatever the amount is on stuff that would qualify, anything that qualifies that they're building anyways SHOULD be funded by Green Trip, since that allows more flexibility in use of the other funds.
The problem with Green Trip specifically though is that the province wants it to be used for regional transit instead of municipal transit. Which, IMO, is complete BS fueled by the over-representation of rural areas and the election of a country bumpkin as our premier.
The airport tunnel is a solid environmental measure whether or not it's restricted to transit only, and it's better if it isn't. It will cut emissions because it reduces trip distance for people traveling to the aiport from the east side of the city. Nenshi's plan for the airport tunnel is to include a transit right of way, which would be used by buses with the potential to be converted to rail later.
If making it a 100% transit tunnel is a requirement for green trip, then it would be better to spend green trip elsewhere and build the tunnel with other funds, IMO.
Did that answer the question?