Mayor says switch to light rail is non-starter

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 18/05/2016 (3428 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Coun. Russ Wyatt continues to beat the drum to convert the planned rapid transit corridor strategy from bus to light rail but Mayor Brian Bowman said “the bus has left the station on that issue.”

Bowman said the city’s research and its official Transportation Master Plan concluded that LRT is twice as expensive as BRT and it’s not an option until city hall has access to an alternative funding source.

Bowman said the eastern corridor will be designed for BRT but able to accommodate conversion to LRT if the city’s financial situation changes.

“The previous council was marked with indecision and delay and we’re showing steady progress on this file.”

Wyatt said during Wednesday’s council meeting that transit isn’t serious about preparing for a possible conversion from BRT to LRT when designing the southwest corridor. He pointed to drawings for a new transit corridor route through the former Southwood golf course site on the University of Manitoba campus, explaining that a right-hand turn in the route would not accommodate LRT.

However, transit director Dave Wardrop was following the council meeting and sent Wyatt an email, explaining that, while the corridor route appears as a right-hand turn, the bus roadway will be on a curve and can accommodate LRT tracks.

Wyatt circulated a copy of Wardrop’s email, where the transit director said all efforts are being made to design the southwest transit corridor to minimize any future costs if the route is converted from bus to light rail in the future.

aldo.santin@freepress.mb.ca