Calgary Civic Election Poll #3: The race heats up

[4X4]

Originally Posted by MarchHare

It will never happen in Calgary, but I wish there was a toll equal to the cost of a transit fare to bring a vehicle into the downtown core.

DT Calgary already has the highest parking rates in the country.

[MarchHare]

Originally Posted by fotze

I agree, but awesome stuff like that only exists in New Zealand.

And the UK.

[Edit]
Actually, the London Congestion Charge is significantly more expensive than a transit fare.

[Cscutch]

Originally Posted by MarchHare

It will never happen in Calgary, but I wish there was a toll equal to the cost of a transit fare to bring a vehicle into the downtown core.

The problem with this is that downtown is still a valid route to get from certain areas of town to others. For example NE Calgary up to the areas in around Bow Trail the fastest route is through downtown on 4th or 6th ave. If there was a toll we would move all the traffic to Memorial Dr and then worse the Memorial/Crowchild Intersection that is the worst intersection there could be.

[Cowboy89]

Originally Posted by Cscutch

The problem with this is that downtown is still a valid route to get from certain areas of town to others. For example NE Calgary up to the areas in around Bow Trail the fastest route is through downtown on 4th or 6th ave. If there was a toll we would move all the traffic to Memorial Dr and then worse the Memorial/Crowchild Intersection that is the worst intersection there could be.

In that scenario closing down 2 lanes on Memorial Drive on Sunday's in August really would be a big deal!

[Muta]

Originally Posted by Cowboy89

In that scenario closing down 2 lanes on Memorial Drive on Sunday's in August really would be a big deal!

You mean it isn't already?

[You Need a Thneed]

Apparently Helene Larocque is running again for Ward 3.

She's against the Airport Trail tunnel.

She lists in her "accomplishments as ward 3 alderman 2004-2007" that "a new police headquarters was opened on McKnight Blvd (in the old Northern Telecom building)". It should be noted here that the building in question is not even yet open, and was only purchased for the police in 2009.

[frinkprof]

The new CBC Calgary Eyeopener mayoral debate podcast is up. This week's participants were Barb Higgins, Wayne Stewart and Kent Hehr speaking on the topic of City Hall spending. Currently the second podcast stream on the Eyeopener page:

http://www.cbc.ca/eyeopener/

My take: Although I've been unimpressed by Higgins so far, I actually think she did pretty well in this one and handled criticisms (mostly from Stewart) fairly well. Still a tad vague, but she definitely added some more details than we've seen to date and made some good points. I like Hehr's policy on this subject the most, but unfortunately I think he probably came up last of the three in terms of speaking time, if that means anything. Still did pretty well though and also handled criticisms well. Stewart went in with knives out and the first thing he did was send shots at both Hehr and Higgins. It wasn't very endearing in my opinion. His policy is ok on the topic, but I don't like the vibe he gave off in this discussion.

[GGG]

My latest thought on how property tax should be assessed is that the current system is actually quite fair.

The problem with making the burbs pay their true cost is that they live in the burbs because the type of house they want is affordable there. I would perfer to live in a single detached home in sunnyside but I can't afford that so I live in Bridlewood. It also doesn't matter in terms of sprawl if I live in sunnyside or Bridlewood what really matters is how much space I take up. Living on a 60ft wide lot in sunnyside contributes more to sprawl then a person living on a 35ft wide lot in the burbs. A person living in a condo in the burbs contributes the same amount to sprawl as a person living in a similar sized unit downtown.

The density of the dwelling you live in should really be determining your taxes along with a sliding scale which charges those with more money a higher fee. Generally the current system does that and with a few tweeks might do it more effectively. Reducing taxes on Condo and town houses while increasing taxes on detached dwellings would help.

Overall I take significant issues with a belief that a single family home in the inner city 50 years old contributes less to sprawl than the same sized lot in the burbs.

[Iowa_Flames_Fan]

Originally Posted by flameswin

How many years have you had at U of C as an 18 year old?

I won't speak for that poster, but I will say that I had four years at the U of C, and in hindsight I'm pretty sure at least three of them were as an 18 year old.

[Addick]

Originally Posted by GGG

It also doesn't matter in terms of sprawl if I live in sunnyside or Bridlewood what really matters is how much space I take up. Living on a 60ft wide lot in sunnyside contributes more to sprawl then a person living on a 35ft wide lot in the burbs. A person living in a condo in the burbs contributes the same amount to sprawl as a person living in a similar sized unit downtown.

Actually, it kind of does matter. Both density and design are crucial in creating truly sustainable neighbourhoods and cities. With the similar sized condo units in your example, the inhabitants of the downtown condo would be able to have a much smaller footprint* than their suburban counterparts (e.g. they would have more opportunities to walk to work or shops). In regards to the single-detached houses, take Garrison Woods for example. It's density is below the current minimum for new subdivisions yet it's residents are able to have a smaller footprint that those living in newer suburbs; Garrison Woods it a compact and complete community.

*By footprint I don't just mean environmental but both economic as well (i.e. their social costs).

[Bend it like Bourgeois]

If anyone is interested, the Chamber of Commerce has launched a website to spark conversation and will webcast a mayoral debate Oct 5.

http://www.greatcalgary.ca/

[Ashartus]

Apparently Greg Berdette has dropped out - since his platform seemed to be mostly about getting rid of photo radar it was hard to take him as a serious candidate anyhow.

Someone called Amanda Liu is supposedly in the race though. http://communities.canada.com/calgar...-17-again.aspx

[kirant]

Originally Posted by flameswin

how many years have you had at u of c as an 18 year old?

3. Couldn't drink at all in my 1st year.

[GGG]

Originally Posted by Addick

Actually, it kind of does matter. Both density and design are crucial in creating truly sustainable neighbourhoods and cities. With the similar sized condo units in your example, the inhabitants of the downtown condo would be able to have a much smaller footprint* than their suburban counterparts (e.g. they would have more opportunities to walk to work or shops). In regards to the single-detached houses, take Garrison Woods for example. It's density is below the current minimum for new subdivisions yet it's residents are able to have a smaller footprint that those living in newer suburbs; Garrison Woods it a compact and complete community.

*By footprint I don't just mean environmental but both economic as well (i.e. their social costs).

That might be correct. A good example of where that breaks down though is the lack of real grocery stores in the downtown core. With the Safeway and Co-op being the only two and on the West side of down town lots of the new buildings are out of what I would consider comfortable walking distance.

The design layout of the burbs should be changed to be closer to that of Garrison Woods. There is no reason not to design walkable communities. But again most burbs people would trade there houses for Garrisson Woods but again it cost 100k more for similar houses than the burbs. I take issue with penalizing the new construction that is required to add population while giving credits to those occupying a similar amount of space somewhere else. A person buying into a new neighbourhood doesn't really have a choice on how it is laid out. That is on the developer so additional restrictions on them would help.

So in my world Condo owners would pay significantly less than single family homes and the half size lots in the burbs would pay less than full size lots in the city. I also would apply a abilty to pay on it as well.

[Tyler]

Ric McIver promises to get rid of the $3 LRT parking fee.

That I like.

[SebC]

Originally Posted by Tyler

Ric McIver promises to get rid of the $3 LRT parking fee.

That I like.

So does Naheed Nenshi.

[Slava]

Originally Posted by Tyler

Ric McIver promises to get rid of the $3 LRT parking fee.

That I like.

It seems like every candidate is against this?

Anyone recall what McIver voted to do during the implementation of this?

[jdso]

Originally Posted by Slava

It seems like every candidate is against this?

Anyone recall what McIver voted to do during the implementation of this?

From the mayoralty forums, it appears he voted for it in the first place.

[Slava]

Originally Posted by jdso

From the mayoralty forums, it appears he voted for it in the first place.

That was my thought, but I wasn't sure. At the Oakridge forum he said that it was stupid....I didn't know if he was calling people that voted for it stupid or owning up to his own stupidity.

[jdso]

Yup, things like the $3 fee, the auditor fiasco, and apparently being unaware of rezoning some areas to allow secondary suites in R-1 and R-C1 zones are why I'm hoping some outsiders/new blood get elected to council.