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ION - Waterloo Region's Light Rail Transit
#78
(10-24-2014, 07:45 PM)mpd618 Wrote: There was never a meaningful referendum question to be asked, as The Record pointed out quite well when the issue was at Regional Council.

The kinds of transit referendums that have been useful are strict yes/no questions about new funding streams. E.g. do you support an extra sales tax of 0.5% to support a long-term transit plan (the details of which are decided separately). Once you get into shades of grey, you're mired in decades of decision-making and building nothing. Except more roads and sprawl, which apparently never need a referendum.

That Record article was pretty dismissive, not to mention insulting. Is it wrong for a politician to say, "You know, this project seems to be out of the scope of what I should be deciding for my constituents, maybe I should seek their direct approval?" Or are the citizens expected to speak up once, at the ballot box, and then shut up between elections? The politicians and staff seemed pretty sure of themselves throughout the consultation process that the majority of the population supported this plan, so what was the risk of putting it to a yes/no vote?  

As for a lack of a meaningful question, why not a referendum that asked the same question that Council was asked earlier this year (That is, "Do you support Stage 1 of the LRT project?")? It would have been simple and straightforward.  If the proponents had made a good enough case, their side would have carried the day.

As for the $1 million projected referendum price tag, since Ken Seiling considers paying $1.3 million to Guelph each year in Green Bin losses to be "In the overall scheme of the regional budget, it's not a huge amount, but it's still a significant amount," holding one, simple, referendum to get confirmation of a nearly $2 billion investment wouldn't bankrupt the public purse.

Or even better, what about a referendum question like, "Do you approve of 0.5% sales tax to improve transportation in our Region over the long-term?" after a few years of consultation to discuss what projects might be eligible for improvements?

I would rather have a decade or two of discussion to get the plan right, rather than pay for mistakes later.  As it is, this plan has been in public consultation for 9 years and, if we're to believe the politicians, been part of Regional planning since 1973. Instead of haveing the courage to pitch a fully-funded, multi-stage plan to the voters, what we'll be left with is a half-built LRT plan with aBRT tacked on for show that has no tangible funding plan for the second LRT phase beyond, "We hope that the higher levels of government will pay for it".

The Swiss seemed to have done something right in Zurich with their S-Bahn system. The system plan was put to referendum three times before the third version was accepted in 1983.  The system is now launching its fourth expansion since 1983. I wonder whether the Region will be ever be able to match that speed for future ION expansion.
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RE: ION - Waterloo Region's Light Rail Transit - by nms - 10-26-2014, 01:41 AM
[No subject] - by Spokes - 08-28-2014, 04:16 PM

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