Wards 11 and 12 are profiled in our continuing series
Candidates have different opinions on transit project as construction underway
Donald Young and Thomas Dyck live in the same leafy, suburban community of Oakridge, but they are worlds apart on their vision for transit in their southwest Calgary neighbourhood.
Young, a retired auditor who spends most of his time in Oakridge, believes the rapid bus route planned from Woodbine to downtown is unnecessary, overly expensive and moving ahead despite protests by residents like him.
Dyck and his wife, Anne Marie Wetter, moved to the community a year and a half ago in part because they knew the so-called southwest bus rapid transit (BRT) line — which includes stretches of busonly lanes — was on the horizon.
Wetter works at Mount Royal University, which the controversial line will service, cutting her current transit commute by as much as half.
“I understand that people are afraid of change in their communities,” Dyck said. “But, the reality is that Calgary is growing.”
The controversial transit route — part of a citywide network of rapid bus lines that would provide direct service to southwest destinations such as Rockyview Hospital and Marda Loop — has been thrust into the municipal race in Ward 11.
Last year, city council endorsed the project, previously estimated to cost up to $66 million, after an opposition campaign waged by vocal critics.
For many, the southwest transit route is a controversy that came and went, but for people like Young, the BRT dust-up is far from over and will help drive their vote in the Oct. 16 civic election.
“They didn’t listen to us last year when so many people came forward (at the marathon meeting), and they’re not listening to us now,” Young said. “You can’t ignore the people that you govern.”
Jeromy Farkas, who is running to fill the seat left vacant by outgoing Ward 11 Coun. Brian Pincott, said the rapid transit debate is part of what he views as wider problems at city hall, such as overspending and top-down decision-making where projects are pre-determined and public consultations are window dressing.
REOPEN CONSULTATION
Worried the project is too expensive and won’t attract enough riders, Farkas wants to immediately halt the construction process, run a pilot project on the existing road network and reopen public consultations.
Still, city hall says construction has already begun on a transit-only lane at the Crowchild Trail and Glenmore Trail S.W. interchange. Construction companies are bidding on a second phase of work which involves building transit lanes, two pedestrian bridges and an underpass south of Glenmore.
Robert Dickinson, a small-business owner also running in Ward 11, said scrapping the transit project after years of planning would be a waste of money. While he believes the city’s initial approach wasn’t perfect, he’s now satisfied that planners have adjusted designs to address citizen concerns.
Janet Eremenko, a Ward 11 contender who works at an antipoverty group in Calgary, said the biggest problem with the southwest BRT is not the project itself, but city hall’s handling of consultations.
Eremenko said the project must go ahead, given that the area is “chronically underserved” by transit,” but she believes the city must hold a post-mortem on what went wrong, learn from it, and move on.
The city says it held dozens of meetings with affected groups and community associations, along with six public open houses, on the issue, but some in the ward say they were not properly consulted.
Linda Johnson, a former Progressive Conservative MLA for Calgary-Glenmore, said her concerns with city hall’s consultations on the project made her consider running for council.
Johnson said the bus line must be built because it’s part of a larger network, but if she’s elected she vows to call for an update on the project’s budget, design and expected ridership to determine whether changes should be made.
“We (want to) represent all residents in our ward, and so you have to acknowledge those who are upset,” she said. “You also have to acknowledge those who are happy with the project and are looking forward to having it.”
Keith Simmons, a former president of the Acadian Community Association also running in the ward, said he initially had reservations about the transit project, including concerns with the route, but added it would too expensive to pull the plug now.
“We need more transit in the city.”