<html><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; ">FYI<div>R<br><div><br><div>Begin forwarded message:</div><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"><blockquote type="cite"><div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><font face="Helvetica" size="3" color="#000000" style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; color: #000000"><b>From: </b></font><font face="Helvetica" size="3" style="font: 12.0px Helvetica">Robert Milligan <<a href="mailto:mill@continuum.org">mill@continuum.org</a>></font></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><font face="Helvetica" size="3" color="#000000" style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; color: #000000"><b>Date: </b></font><font face="Helvetica" size="3" style="font: 12.0px Helvetica">June 9, 2010 9:44:22 PM GMT-04:00</font></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><font face="Helvetica" size="3" color="#000000" style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; color: #000000"><b>To: </b></font><font face="Helvetica" size="3" style="font: 12.0px Helvetica">paul zacharias <<a href="mailto:pbz100@hotmail.com">pbz100@hotmail.com</a>></font></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><font face="Helvetica" size="3" color="#000000" style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; color: #000000"><b>Subject: </b></font><font face="Helvetica" size="3" style="font: 12.0px Helvetica"><b>LRT As Community "Saviour"</b></font></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; min-height: 14px; "><br></div> </div><div style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; ">Rev. Paul,<div><br></div><div>Thank you for your much appreciated response. As I said, yours is the most detailed and thoughtful that I have received on all of the versions of my LRT "reports" over the 2+ year period that I have been evolving them. One from Chair Ken Seiling might be the exception.</div><div><br></div><div>I realize that likely most people are against an LRT -- especially as currently designed with its very high cost and perceived potential white elephant status.</div><div><br></div><div>Besides not designing the proposed LRT system to be sufficiently cost-effective, the Region has not included Cambridge initially (if ever) -- to the Region's great disadvantage in so many ways -- in this major project so important to the viable future of our local environment and businesses.</div><div><br></div><div><b>I suspect that most of the people against the LRT and in favour of buses do not intend to ride those buses themselves -- they see their support for buses (with their stigma) mostly as social charity so that students and the working poor can get around! </b></div><div><br></div><div>On the other hand, these same people enjoy the status, freedom and pleasure of driving their car. Yet, as our urban spaces accelerate in their growth, traffic jamming on city roads is likewise accelerating. </div><div><br></div><div><div>If traffic jams continue to worsen, this will decrease our quality of Life and increasingly make this a much less desirable community for businesses, professionals, academics, etc. <b>This is the dimension of cost that you and your "no LRT" friends are conveniently overlooking!!</b></div><div><br></div></div><div>Therefore, to get you and your affluent friends on-board the LRT project, the LRT goal of high middle class <b>Ridership</b> most be given just as much weight -- or more -- than the interrelated goal of high urban core building I<b>ntensification</b> which combats countryside- destroying urban sprawl. </div><div><br></div><div>(Do us all a favour and help convince Ken Seiling & Mayor Carl Zehr of this as they seem stuck in a rigid belief in Intensification at all costs -- apparently forsaking all other goals. Do they unconsciously seek LRT failure?)</div><div><br></div><div>So, if the LRT system itself is designed to move fast enough using the existing rail corridor and inter-connected intensification road corridors, then -- with just-in-time bus connections -- sufficient people will be attracted out of their cars to help free our roads of traffic jams. </div><div><br></div><div>You and the majority of your friends might consider the LRT as an investment so road congestion doesn't destroy our leading-edge way of life. But again,<b> the LRT system must designed to minimize transit time so as to do that successfully. It is not so designed now!</b></div><div><br></div><div>Until our cars and buses can fly -- my God, wouldn't that be hell on Earth -- we will very much need an appropriately-enhanced LRT system design that includes Cambridge. And soon. It could even be considered a valuable make-work project if that second dip recession manifests as you prophecize.</div><div><br></div><div>Enjoy your trip and safe return.</div><div><br></div><div>Best wishes,</div><div>Robert</div><div><br></div><div>PS: 1. With synergistic collaboration with the railways and the many other new IDEAS, costs will drop dramatically and generally we will accomplish more with less money & other resources; </div><div> 2. LRT -- especially when on a rail right-of-way corridor -- fare extremely well with traffic congestion ("gates" would come down) and extreme snow storms (when buses are stuck);</div><div> 3. As I was about to send this, an engineer friend sent this, "<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; ">What with all of the parking garages/lots built, currently under construction and proposed especially in and around downtown Kitchener, I wonder if Kitchener council are permanently stuck in the past.<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; ">" (Although, even with a very successful LRT, some people will still need to bring their downtown. And we must accommodate them as their presence will also help intensify our urban cores.)</span></span></div><div> 4. I would be more than willing to meet with a group of people that you know who might wish to discuss the LRT. I would prefer to not include members of "Taxpayers for Sensible(?) Transit" as they -- incubated by right-wing UofW philosopher Jan Narveson and supported by flip-flopping Prof. John Shortreed (a bus transit "expert" who has apparently never heard of the IDEA of just-in-time bus connections with an LRT) -- suffer too much from that most serious brain-wasting disease, hardening of the ideological categories so that they get angry too easily when challenged!</div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><div><div>On 9-Jun-10, at 5:29 PM, paul zacharias wrote:</div><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"><blockquote type="cite"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0; "><div class="hmmessage" style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Verdana; ">Hi Robert,<br> <br>Thanks for sharing the LRT forward with me. I am very much impressed with the incredible amount of thought and research you have given to this project. The amount of detailed info is really quite astounding. This study must take up a great deal of your time and interest. However, it seems that we are coming from two different points of view. I have some major problems re: the proposed LRT proposal, for the following reasons.<br> <br>I think the estimated $1B+ cost figure is simply too steep at this time. I firmly believe we are in for a double dip recession and that the second dip will be more severe than the first one...this largely due to financial factors beyond our control in Europe and USA. If this comes to pass, the money will simply not be forthcoming.<br> <br>We read that Portland, Ore. is a comparable situation with the GKWA. I lived in Portland for 5 years, 1958-63, and am aware that the layout of the city is quite different from Waterloo Region. We need to compare apples with apples. Already 50 years ago Portland was recognized as a pioneer "Green" city. The majority of peope there, then and now, are very open to environmental issues and all things Green. I do not sense the same attitude in the GKWA. The general mindset of the two populations is so different.<br> <br>Over the past year I've spoken with several dozen local people about the proposed LRT plan,and I'd say that by a 3 to 1 margin they are opposed to the project...this for all sorts of reasons. I realize this is a small and very informal personal survey, but I believe it carries some weight. I am convinced we should have a plebisite in this region to obtain a fair reading of the local population re: the LRT idea. My sense is that the idea would be defeated.<br> <br>Assuming that the tracks would be laid on King St., or nearby streets, there would be dozens of intersecting streets that would need to have safety barrier systems installed, and I would envision some massive traffic problems as trains come along every 10-12 minutes. Also,how well does this type of transportation system work when serious ice and snow storms hit the region?<br> <br>I like to trust my feelings, and this whole massive project just doesn't feel right to me. The city is building about $65M worth of car parking lots in the downtown area...and yet people are supposed to leave their cars at home and use the LRT. It doesn't compute! I don't think we have the potential ridership to justify the LRT.<br> <br>For these reasons I would much prefer a more efficient, improved, more flexible bus system for the GKWA. We're told this would cost around $450M. This makes a lot more sense to me. Take care, Paul<br><br><hr>Enter for a chance to get your town photo on Bing.ca!<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://go.microsoft.com/?linkid=9734379" target="_new">Submit a Photo Now!</a></div></span></blockquote></div><br></div></div></blockquote></div><br></div></body></html>