I agree with the notion of infrastructure investment during a downturn, but I think certain projects are better than others (preferably more costs for labour and local equipment). Build pipelines, energy corridors , repave highways (adding lanes where necessary), etc.
Things that would have seemed crazy to wonder about 35 days ago:
- whether global supply chain disruptions could cause significant delays in procuring certain supplies/equipment
- viability of pro sports model as we know it (we assume a vaccine is coming, but what if it takes longer than we expect? mutations? what about another pandemic? or a global recession/depression?)
- viability of the NHL (what if mass gatherings remain impossible in places like NYC, TOR, and MTL for a lot longer than we expect?)
- viability of the Flames in Alberta's possible economy
I'm not saying that these things are likely to happen, but I'm not sure either side should feel keen to throw $270M of chips into the middle until a return to normalcy [from a pro-sports context] seems inevitable.
I'll save my green line thoughts for its thread at somepoint, but TLDR: I'm as concerned about OPEX increases as CAPEX, and I don't think it's crazy to ask similar existential questions from a public transit standpoint. We'll always need to move people around the city, but will downtown be the same kind of 9-5 hub 5 days a week as it used to be? More reason to pursue the more flexible (and much cheaper) SE BRT option.
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