Saturday, April 18, 2009

Does cynicism trump?

I've been having a debate recently over the commitment to electrify the Georgetown corridor, and I think it boils down to this question:

Is "I don't believe they can pull it off on time/on budget/at all" a valid criticism of the Metrolinx RTP?

I don't think it is a reasonable criticism, because such a statement could be used to argue against anything at any time. I am curious to see what others feel about this line of reasoning. Please comment.

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posted by Andrae Griffith @ 3:58 p.m.

3 Comments:

At 4/18/2009 5:21 p.m. , Anonymous Anonymous said...

I'm not sure what context this excuse was used in, but it sounds like faulty logic to me.

The real criticism of the RTP is that Metrolinx likes to pretend it was cast in stone by the devine lord himself.

Electrifying a passenger railway isn't exactly an unaffordable luxury in today's world.

 
At 4/18/2009 5:36 p.m. , Blogger Andrae Griffith said...

To give a bit more context, the argument was about the Georgetown corridor and how the current plan is to build the track expansions for frequent service in the 5 - 10 year timeframe and electrification in the 10 - 15 year timeframe. I support this position because a phased opening gets some services online faster.

The exchange was essentially this:

Other side: If they aren't going to electify the corridor from day one then they aren't likely to do it at all.

Me: The RTP commits to electrification within 15 years.

Other side: Unless there's a signed contract and funding arrangement I don't believe this will occur.

I support electrification and I don't think the plan should be set in stone either - that's why it has a 5-year review clause built in to the plan. I just think that we need to have some faith in a long term vision because its light-years better than than the ad hoc planning we used to use.

 
At 4/28/2009 11:24 p.m. , Anonymous Anonymous said...

The criticism is just silly, but Metrolinx should understand it cannot dictate the entire process.

We cannot afford to electrify the Georgetown corridor today and then discover in 10 years that because of increased congestion it would require a costly reconstruction of the line, thanks to short-sighted planning.

 

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