Quote:
Originally Posted by MrMastodonFarm
Cost?
We're not dealing with unlimited funds here. I think the budget (whatever that is) should be allocated to a project that is needed first.
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I think the cost to start the SE LRT, to perhaps Shepard or maybe even Quarry Park, would be miniscule compared to the cost to do the downtown subway.
Think about it, you are comparing buying up some property, most of which is empty and flat and laying track there with doing cut and cover (I assume) on an entire street downtown.
The SE route would require almost no traffic disruptions or rerouting except for a couple blocks downtown, since it turns north at roughly 2nd St IIRC. I can't even imagine the havoc that would be caused by 8th Ave being uprooted its entire length, even though it would obviously not all be done at once.
I think that the cost difference of those 2 projects could very well mean that the SE LRT starting sooner would give more of a return on the money spent with reduced load on the massively stressed south line.