GO Transit

[Acitta]

‘Buy the track and GO’: Cambridge wants to see action on passenger rail service
Tie in plans for a GO station with LRT, region told

[ac3r]

Like it'll ever happen in our lifetimes.

[bravado]

Silly me, expecting public services to go with my taxation  

I get it though, who is our humble little government for 14M+ people vs a behemoth like CP rail?

[ac3r]

It's a shame we let so much trackage get abandoned over the decades to the point it is unusable or was outright torn out over the years, but the slow decline of rail made it inevitable. Not that I would expect any government past or present have a long term strategy that could have included acquiring ownership of useful rail corridors, but it would have been nice. But all to often governments aren't thinking long term these days and strategizing how to best develop this province. We need someone who will platform on truly wide scale and long term infrastructure evolution and being it to fruition. I mean look how many decades they've all talked about HSR and no matter what side proposes an idea, it never actually goes anywhere.

[nms]

If I recall correctly, most of the abandoned rights-of-way still exist as easements and some of them are owned by either the provincial governments. They were usually preserved for current and/or future utility use.

[ac3r]

Ah yeah, I figured they'd still retain ownership over many of them. I bet even if they didn't want them it was just easier to hold onto them than try to figure out how to deal with the legalities of turning it all into private land. I just wish they saw more use than recreational rail trails now...sadly it's a bit hard to do anything now. 10 year old me can hear that SimCity 2000 jackhammer sound effect the game would make when you built something, as I connect villages in Grey County with 9 people living in them to Waterloo Region. :'P

[ac3r]

Here's a funny article just to remind you how stupid and full of bullshit our elected leaders are: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/kitchener...-1.7060368

The same mayor who hates rapid transit and housing is now trying to suggest a GO train line to Cambridge would be a great idea...haha. I'd rather take transit planning advice from a crackhead in a tent on the Speed River but at least she's trying. They must have showed her some polling or someone must have told her to start pandering to specific needs if she wants to see reelection. Even though she's nearing 4000 years old, she's probably seeking another term so perhaps her office has been saying, look, we need to at least act like we care!

[bravado]

Here's a funny article just to remind you how stupid and full of bullshit our elected leaders are: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/kitchener...-1.7060368

The same mayor who hates rapid transit and housing is now trying to suggest a GO train line to Cambridge would be a great idea...haha. I'd rather take transit planning advice from a crackhead in a tent on the Speed River but at least she's trying. They must have showed her some polling or someone must have told her to start pandering to specific needs if she wants to see reelection. Even though she's nearing 4000 years old, she's probably seeking another term so perhaps her office has been saying, look, we need to at least act like we care!

I'm happy that she specifically mentioned the Milton line - the Fergus route is a bullshit detour that nobody else would have to put up with.

But this is also the same Mayor who said that the LRT shouldn't go downtown because it's "too crowded", so I'm concerned that hell is freezing over. It also makes me a bit confused to see Doug Craig, the same guy who thinks that GRT passes should be 50% more expensive, claiming to advocate for rail back in 2017?

[KevinL]

The cynic in me is saying she's pursuing the GO option because that's a provincial issue and she can win political points without being the one making the decision; Ion is more of a minefield, as she's a serving regional councillor so has more skin in the game.

[bravado]

But also the traffic around Cambridge is absolutely wild, a level that KW doesn't generally experience since we're so car-centric. All the stroads are full, the 401 is closed daily, and I bet the Mayor might be getting a lot of heat from the commuting crowd.

[Bytor]

They must have showed her some polling or someone must have told her to start pandering to specific needs if she wants to see reelection. Even though she's nearing 4000 years old, she's probably seeking another term so perhaps her office has been saying, look, we need to at least act like we care!

It's the same reason why Doug Craig was always pushing GO to Cambridge and voting pro-LRT when he was mayor, but then flipped to ant-LRT when he became a non-mayoral regional councillor and didn't need as broad a base of support for that position as he did for mayor. Except she's not as smart or she'd see the support for Stage 2 ION like Craig did.

Of course, this is also the person who as a city councillor opposed a safe consumption and treatment services centre and then ran for mayor on a platform of concerns that residents were being ignored, mental health, addiction and homelessness issues and "respect for taxpayers' money".

[danbrotherston]

I think there is more at play here, and it relates back to things like classism.

While it's less true in Canada than the US (that Canadian identity at play) it is absolutely the case that many people including some in our government, look down on those who ride transit, and feel they are lesser/failures/whatever. I mean, Thatcher didn't actually say the thing, but that quote exemplifies the attitudes of many.

But like all prejudices, people will invent whatever imaginary classifications they need to justify their beliefs. GO Transit (and commuter rail in general) is not considered the same as city transit.

And if you don't like the implicit accusations of prejudice against transit riders by politicians, then you can simply remember that this is actually reflected in ridership...wealthier people who have much more political power tend to ride GO Transit more often than GRT.

So it is entirely reasonable (although not right) that politicians would support GO Transit but oppose (or at least disinvest in) local transit.

I do agree that the Milton line should be extended rather than the Guelph connection, this is a more valuable connection than the Guelph connection, but I think the politicians have just given up on that extension in light of CPs ownership.

I wish we'd have more ambitious politicians...but I also recognize that it's not unrealistic to expect very little when it comes to even GO Transit.

[bravado]

I think we also have a system in which only the angriest and most selfish voices are the ones heard by council. With turnout in the 20% range, it’s no surprise that your worst aunts and uncles are the only people that have the ear of mayors and councillors.

Despite Doug’s unique personality and set of skills, the province is inherently a more serious government with more voices being heard.

[ijmorlan]

Despite Doug’s unique personality and set of skills, …

I need to remember that. What a great, understated, way of describing him!

[bravado]

Despite Doug’s unique personality and set of skills, …

I need to remember that. What a great, understated, way of describing him!

I am a true master of diplomacy