Quote:
Originally Posted by Cappy
No it can't
I understand the infrastructure argument, but if we need the olympics to be the catalyst for that then our priorities are out of sync.
The issues with olympic infrastructure spending are twofold: lack of correct focus and lack of time.
The timing from an Olympic win to the olympics is short given the amount of infrastructure that needs to be completed, the planning and assessments, and ultimately construction. This significantly raises the cost of these projects and the potential for problems.
The lack of focus is related to what the city truly needs and the location of those services. If we are planning on spending billions of dollars in Calgary, the focus should be on how the communities are positively affected, not the olympic experience. An olympic showcase in the west village, filled with venues and press buildings may look great for those two weeks of blimp flyovers, but does that type of planning benefit Calgary longterm?
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Boom, this is it entirely.
Not only does olympic spending end up being far more expensive than necessary, it also ends up generally poorly designed for the long term use and needs of the area and people it's being built for.
A great example is in Vancouver with the light rail out to the airport. Different rail car technology with all the procurement repair and part concerns that go along with it, while also not being able to connect directly to the rest of the system or to use the cars interchangeably.
The means of getting it built was terribly disruptive to the business community along the corridor when it probably should have been a boon.
It's not that it is a bad piece of public infrastructure, I've used it extensively, but it should have been more. It also canabalized much needed public dollars for the most congested piece of roadway in north america, the Broadway Corridor connecting east vancouver and burnaby to UBC. The line out to the airport built for the olympics has delayed the proposed Broadway light rail line by 20-25 years at minimum.
The argument for the Olympics has to be better than being an elaborate ruse to deceive governments out of dollars for infrastructure.