Quote:
Originally Posted by frinkprof
That was never my argument and is a false dilemma. "All other" projects will not be put on hold.
However, to respond to the spirit of your argument, the two are not directly comparable.
Delaying the airport tunnel has direct, permanent and significant cost increases due to the impending construction of the parallel runway which will be in operation thereafter.
Delaying the subway construction did have associated cost and complexity increases, but nothing nearly to the scale of the airport tunnel, and they could (and have been) mitigated somewhat by ongoing preparations such as utility relocation and setbacks for new construction along 8th Avenue.
Also, the need for the subway had to be proven since the success of LRT was an unknown. Building the subway in the late 70s ran the risk of overbuilding for what could be needed. The need for the airport tunnel is easier to foresee due to the growth plans in the surrounding area being known and due to automobile traffic patterns being easier to predict.
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Firstly I just want to note that the "all the other projects" is something that I've already asked and questioned. That is from Gord Lowe, and really no one has refuted it other than to say "its not
all the other projects". I get that there is still some money somewhere to put a new sidewalk in here and there, but lets not kid ourselves; the city has many needed infrastructure projects that have amassed over the past decade or so. I say that while not even considering the airport tunnel, and most calgarians would probably agree with that?
As far as the tunnel vs. subway part of me wants to just leave it alone in this thread. I see your point though that the increased costs as a result of a functioning runway don't add to the issues with an LRT tunnel. I still think its basically the exact same argument though. The only major difference is that with the airport you have a deadline imposed upon you to take action before costs skyrocket, but the end results and core issue remain the same.