A Letter to all Waterloo Regional Councillors.
kseiling@regionofwaterloo.ca, LArmstrong@regionofwaterloo.ca, jbrewer@regionofwaterloo.ca, tcowan@regionofwaterloo.ca, craigd@cambridge.ca, rdeutschmann@regionofwaterloo.ca, tgalloway@regionofwaterloo.ca, jhaalboom@regionofwaterloo.ca, brenda.halloran@waterloo.ca, rkelterborn@regionofwaterloo.ca, glorentz@regionofwaterloo.ca, jmitchell@regionofwaterloo.ca, sstrickland@regionofwaterloo.ca, jwideman@regionofwaterloo.ca, carl.zehr@kitchener.ca
Subject: How many times must you be told that LRT is the correct solution?
Dear Regional Councillors, City Mayors and Township Mayors,
The Thursday edition of The Record has a disturbing article in it. It states that you are all still trying to gauge if there's support for light-rail transit. The article is available online here:
http://www.therecord.com/news/local/article/517072--councillors-still-trying-to-gauge-if-there-s-support-for-light-rail-transit
The article has some quotes from some of you in it. For instance, Mayor Halloran is quoted as saying that she has "heard from thousands of taxpayers who are very concerned and are opposed to the system." Also, Councillor Strickland has indicated that in the past two days, he has received a total of nine emails opposing the plans for LRT.
If phone calls and a grand total of nine emails is enough to sway your opinion, I would like to try to influence you as well. Please count this as one email, and one taxpayer, who is strongly in support of LRT.
I would hope that you are all well-informed enough on this subject that I don't have to repeat all of the information that is available to you in multiple reports, but here it is anyway, just as a reminder:
o The original rapid transit plan recommended LRT from Conestoga Mall to Fairview Park Mall as the optimum solution for our region.
o Several of you were elected at least partially on your support for rapid transit. I know that for many of my friends, the past regional election was a single-issue election, where choices were made solely on support of rapid transit.
o Public consultations were held, and at those consultations, a MASSIVE 78% of attendees supported rapid transit, and 66% supported LRT in particular
o A report was issued, directed towards the council, recommending the preliminary preferred option for rapid transit implementation. This report examined public support of the issue, as well as the financial implications involved. In a huge non-surprise, it recommends almost exactly the same plan as originally recommended - LRT from Conestoga Mall to Fairview Park Mall, with aBRT continuing down to Ainsle Street in Cambridge.
o For constituents that call you concerned about the cost of this system, I suggest that you point out the following:
1. The recommended LRT solution will cost the region approximately $395M
2. Implementing no rapid tranist options will result in the need for more roads, to the cost of $500M
3. Implementing BRT will cost the region approximately $168M, but the system is projected to require replacement in only 20 years.
o All of these reports have undergone extensive peer review, and all of the qualified reviewers have agreed with the conclusions.
One of the benefits of our system of government is that, ostensibly, it is supposed to prevent the tragedy of the commons. You are supposed to be taking into account not only the current desires of your constituents, but also their future well-being. You are supposed to be more well-informed on these issues than your constituents, and this is supposed to allow you to make a better choice. All of the information at your disposal states that LRT is the best choice for our region. What do I have to do to make you listen to all of that information, rather than to the small handfull of naysayers who object to a tiny property tax increase in order to prevent urban sprawl, gridlock, and larger property tax increases in the future?
Thank you for your time,
-P. Bike
Taxpayer, Kitchener Resident, Informed Voter
Subject: How many times must you be told that LRT is the correct solution?
Dear Regional Councillors, City Mayors and Township Mayors,
The Thursday edition of The Record has a disturbing article in it. It states that you are all still trying to gauge if there's support for light-rail transit. The article is available online here:
http://www.therecord.com/news/local/article/517072--councillors-still-trying-to-gauge-if-there-s-support-for-light-rail-transit
The article has some quotes from some of you in it. For instance, Mayor Halloran is quoted as saying that she has "heard from thousands of taxpayers who are very concerned and are opposed to the system." Also, Councillor Strickland has indicated that in the past two days, he has received a total of nine emails opposing the plans for LRT.
If phone calls and a grand total of nine emails is enough to sway your opinion, I would like to try to influence you as well. Please count this as one email, and one taxpayer, who is strongly in support of LRT.
I would hope that you are all well-informed enough on this subject that I don't have to repeat all of the information that is available to you in multiple reports, but here it is anyway, just as a reminder:
o The original rapid transit plan recommended LRT from Conestoga Mall to Fairview Park Mall as the optimum solution for our region.
o Several of you were elected at least partially on your support for rapid transit. I know that for many of my friends, the past regional election was a single-issue election, where choices were made solely on support of rapid transit.
o Public consultations were held, and at those consultations, a MASSIVE 78% of attendees supported rapid transit, and 66% supported LRT in particular
o A report was issued, directed towards the council, recommending the preliminary preferred option for rapid transit implementation. This report examined public support of the issue, as well as the financial implications involved. In a huge non-surprise, it recommends almost exactly the same plan as originally recommended - LRT from Conestoga Mall to Fairview Park Mall, with aBRT continuing down to Ainsle Street in Cambridge.
o For constituents that call you concerned about the cost of this system, I suggest that you point out the following:
1. The recommended LRT solution will cost the region approximately $395M
2. Implementing no rapid tranist options will result in the need for more roads, to the cost of $500M
3. Implementing BRT will cost the region approximately $168M, but the system is projected to require replacement in only 20 years.
o All of these reports have undergone extensive peer review, and all of the qualified reviewers have agreed with the conclusions.
One of the benefits of our system of government is that, ostensibly, it is supposed to prevent the tragedy of the commons. You are supposed to be taking into account not only the current desires of your constituents, but also their future well-being. You are supposed to be more well-informed on these issues than your constituents, and this is supposed to allow you to make a better choice. All of the information at your disposal states that LRT is the best choice for our region. What do I have to do to make you listen to all of that information, rather than to the small handfull of naysayers who object to a tiny property tax increase in order to prevent urban sprawl, gridlock, and larger property tax increases in the future?
Thank you for your time,
-P. Bike
Taxpayer, Kitchener Resident, Informed Voter