06-14-2016, 08:24 AM
(06-13-2016, 10:40 PM)mpd618 Wrote: It depends on how uncertain you view the outcome. Kitchener and Waterloo are undeniably reshaping the city around the line; whatever the opening day ridership (and it isn't predicted to be much more than combined corridor bus ridership), it is already helping achieve the land use goals that the Region has.
Ottawa has gotten funding for phase 2 without having opened phase 1 of their proper LRT line. However, the Region of Waterloo maybe has not gone asking for funds yet.
I wouldn’t know how certain the provincial government might view the ridership forecasts, but obviously they’re not certain- forecasts are forecasts, and they can be low or high, and usually are to some degree. Does the Region have an ask for the province? We’d probably have to go through extensive debate about that, given that phase one funding was split three-ways, and since then we have seen LRT systems in neighbouring cities funded 100%. I would expect the Region would need to vote to formally say it desires 100% funding for phase two.
That last part might not be strictly right, and I did say that the province could easily choose to announce that it’s allocated $x to phase two. I’ll be surprised if that happens before Ion launches. Maybe it will, though, if the launch is pushed back past the 2018 provincial election.