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| Transport Action Hotline - 14 May 2010 | |||||||||||
In this issue...This is the Transport Action Hotline, issue number 1072, for 14 May 2010.
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1 - Kill the $5-billion DRIC plan, Sierra Club and Transport Action urge"Sierra Club Ontario and Transport Action Ontario joined forces at Queen's Park Thursday in response to the Canadian government's $550-million offer last month to pay Michigan's costs for the binational feeder road and bridge project in Windsor-Detroit border corridor. "The DRIC plan is so flawed the offer is a desperate step to quickly start construction of the $5-billion project before it falls apart," said Natalie Litwin of Transport Action Ontario," the Windsor Star reported on May 14."'The governments of Canada and Ontario are ready to squander billions of taxpayers' money on (traffic) estimates of substantial uncertainty,' Litwin said. ... (She said) building of the DRIC bridge is also being paid for by government while Ontario defers $4 billion from Toronto's Transit City Plan," Dave Battagello wrote for the Windsor Star. "(Transport Action Ontario) suggests improved use of railways for freight in Windsor, citing the need for a new double-stacked Detroit River rail tunnel, greater use of the truck ferry and improved urban transit connections linking Windsor with Detroit and its suburbs," the Windsor Star reported. http://www.windsorstar.com/technology/Kill+DRIC+bridge+green+groups+urge/3025720/story.html
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2 - La pollution automobile en hausse au Canada: VUS dit David Jeanes, Transport Action Canada« Entre 1990 et 2007, la quantité de ces émissions a crû presque deux fois plus vite que la population du pays. «Ce n'est pas une grande surprise: on a connu les augmentations du nombre de VUS et de consommation de pétrole pendant la prospérité économique», dit David Jeanes, président de Transport Action Canada. Les émissions de gaz à effet de serre se sont poursuivies en dépit de l'augmentation du coût de l'essence en 2007, note le rapport » Cyberpresse a rapporté le 13 mai 2010.« Parce qu'ils sont plus susceptibles de posséder un VUS, ce sont les ménages les plus riches qui ont émis le plus de gaz à effet de serre (5737 kg par habitant). «C'est sûr que les gens qui ont les moyens prennent leur voiture, et les autres les transports collectifs. Investir dans les transports collectifs, c'est aussi investir pour le transport de ceux qui ont moins de moyens», estime Luc Rabouin, directeur du Centre d'écologie urbaine de Montréal. ... Toutefois, c'est la Saskatchewan qui émet le plus de gaz par habitant (2184 kg par habitant) ... Montréal et sa région métropolitaine ... 1219 kg par habitant » Anabelle Nicoud a écrit pour Cyberpresse.
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3 - Transport Action Prairie launches Friends of the STC: Saskatchewan Transportation CorporationOn May 8 Transport Action Prairie established a working group: Friends of the STC (Saskatchewan Transportation Corporation) to build a support network throughout Saskatchewan. In Regina, Friends of the STC are distributing information by posters and email, about the STC program: In May: Senior's Ride for $10 anywhere in Saskatchewan. Friends of the STC plans to contact community papers in towns served by the bus service. The Saskatchewan Transportation Corporation is provincial crown corporation.
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4 - Transport Action in Regina: Annual General MeetingFifty people attended Transport Action Prairie Annual General meeting. The May 8 event featured speakers: George Wooldridge on the Last Mountain Railway: a real success story, and Blair Wagar on the Regina Global Transportation Hub. "We were blessed by the attendance of our elders: George Burton from Humboldt, and Jim and Marjorie Richards from Melfort," Catherine Verrall reports. Organizers say a phoning campaign, as well as an article in the Leader-Post the morning of the meeting led to good results. Transport Action Prairie gained 5 new or long-lapsed members, promises of a few more, 4 renewals and donations. At its the AGM Transport Action Prairie members elected: President - Catherine Verrall, Vice-President Manitoba - Peter Lacey, Vice-President Saskatchewan - Ron Haskell, Vice-President Alberta - James Johnson, Treasurer - Bob Ivanochko, Secretary - Denise MacDonald, And Director of Disability Issues - Mellissa North.
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5 - Saskatchewan's Last Mountain Railway: George Wooldridge stresses use of existing infrastructureOn May 8 the Regina Leader-Post reported: "George Wooldridge, a senior associate with Future Rail, said there is no blueprint for how short-line railways come about. "It's really about having the right individuals in the right place at the right time," he said. "This particular situation has a commonality with most community-based short-line railways in that it's really about saying, 'There are some sparks here, can we make a fire?' Really the Last Mountain Railway was created by that."Wooldridge said: "Every time you have a semi truck barrelling past you at 120 kilometres an hour, throwing rocks at your wind screen, I think you want a short-line railway to take some of those trucks off the road. It really is about making maximum use of existing infrastructure," Pamela Cowan reported for the Leader-Post.
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6 - Hope for passenger rail in Regina: Catherine Verrall, Transport Action"Transport Action Prairie has about 100 members in the prairie provinces, but most of the action is in Saskatchewan, said president Catherine Verrall. "Our organization had a crucial role in getting the Last Mountain Railway on the rails," she said. "It became known that the CN was going to sell the track between Davidson and Regina for scrap so our organization called together a symposium of stakeholders in May 2007 in Saskatoon," the Leader-Post reported on May 8.The group formed a board and eventually the track was bought and saved, Verrall said. "Now there is some hope of getting passenger rail," she said.
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7 - Ottawa LRT worth $3B in spinoffs: Jeanes, "Hard to figure where the numbers come from""The city's light-rail project will generate $3 billion in economic stimulus, create a significant number of construction jobs and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, say two reports commissioned by the city and released Thursday. The city estimates 20,000 person-years of employment to be generated during the five-year construction schedule alone, a 38,000-tonne reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, up to $100 million in operational savings at OC Transpo, and quicker commutes," the Ottawa Sun reported on May 14."Transport Action Canada president David Jeanes, who sits on the project's advisory committee, said he hasn't seen proof of the lofty projections. "The various claims are interesting, but it's hard to figure where the numbers come from," he said. "And time saving; what does that mean? I still haven't seen hard numbers," Scott Taylor wrote for the Ottawa Sun. http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/ottsun/100513/canada/lrt_worth_3b_in_economic_spinoffs
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8 - Minister Baird to wait for mediator's report: Petition for more London-Toronto trains now"The federal minister responsible for Canada's railways will not intervene in a dispute over how much money Via Rail should pay an American-owned company for use of the tracks between Toronto and Guelph," the Guelph Mercury reported on May 9. "'There's something really wrong, when your government doesn't even respond," (Friends of the North Mainline's Paul) Langan said. "The question here is timeliness, and this has just gone on for so long already,'" Kim Mackrael wrote for the Mercury.The dispute is now in the hands of a Canadian Transportation Agency mediator. The Mercury reported: "(Agency spokesperon Marc) Comeau said. "We're probably looking at a couple of months before this is resolved." ... Via Rail spokesperson Catherine Kaloutsky said the company remains committed to improving the route, despite the delays." The petition is at: http://www.petitiononline.com/via2010/petition.html
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9 - Transport 2000 Québec: Audrey Baril, chargée de communicationsLe 10 mai le directeur de l'association Transport 2000 Québec tient à annoncer à ses membres ainsi qu'aux médias et aux intervenants divers en transport des personnes l'embauche de madame Audrey Baril à titre de chargée de communications. Cette nomination, tant attendue au sein de l'organisme, constitue un choix stratégique qui a été exercé avec rigueur, compte tenu du projet de guide national de l'usager, lequel projet est en préparation depuis l'an dernier et doit être complété cette année. En plus de sa collaboration aux communications et à l'information externe, madame Baril aura la tâche délicate d'assurer la cohésion du contenu de cet outil d'éducation et d'information dans le grand public.
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10 - Victoria Transport Policy Institute: Vehicle Travel Reduction TargetsThe spring edition of VTPI News includes an update to "Are Vehicle Travel Reduction Targets Justified?: Evaluating Mobility Management Policy Objectives Such As Targets To Reduce VMT And Increase Use Of Alternative Modes". This report evaluates the justifications and criticisms of such targets. Mobility management can provide many benefits, and specific policy objectives provide guidance for strategic planning.http://www.vtpi.org/vmt_red.pdf
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11 - U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood: Transportation for a New Generation"A proposed long-term vision to guide the U.S. Department of Transportation would focus on major freight system corridors, curb carbon use by freight operations and use more multi-jurisdiction planning instead of letting states decide how to spend much of the federal money budgeted for them," the Journal of Commerce reported in its May 4-5 edition."(Transportation Secretary Ray) LaHood and other DOT officials have indicated in recent months, the "Transportation for a New Generation" concept would shift more freight out of trucking and onto railroads, build community "livability" concepts into freight facility planning and put greenhouse gas considerations firmly into freight funding and regulatory strategies. The department offered its draft plan for public comment starting May 15," the Journal of Commerce reported.
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12 - Hexie: China's Cut-Throat Railway Revolution"The new challenger to Germany's ICE, France's TGV and Japan's Shinkansen is called "Hexie." The word means "harmony" -- in a respectful bow toward President Hu Jintao and his constantly evoked idea of fostering a "harmonious society."Beijing wants to use its new high-speed trains to bring the various parts of China's vast territory closer together. By 2020, its new rail network is set to increase in size from around 6,500 kilometers (4,000 miles) to 18,000 kilometers (11,000 miles)," Wieland Wagner wrote.http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,692969-2,00.html
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