I and I, are getting robbed. In Jamaican Patois, I and I, means we. We, as in the citizens of the great city of Calgary..How? Why? Who?.Three words… The Green Line. A massive, multi-billion-dollar boondoggle, that should have never been approved by City Hall..In fact, it was just another Mayor Nenshi “legacy ego project” that got caught up in the spider's web that is the city's “planning” department..A monument to ego..Current mayor Jyoti Gondek, or Nenshi Lite as some call her, is sticking to the program of course, without giving it any thought..But maybe, just maybe, we should pause and think things over. A friend of mine shared an interesting website with me, called Let's Rethink the Green Line. And I urge every citizen to read this..Basically, the site points out that the numbers we have been given keep changing..In 2017, they said it would cost $4.65 Billion, to build the entire 46-km line..In 2019, they said it would cost $4.65 Billion to build half of that line!.The total cost, will likely be much more than advertised — essentially, we are walking into a financial trap. (My words.).Much of the money won’t even be spent in Calgary. So-called economic benefits will go to multinational engineering, management and construction firms and a Spanish railcar supplier..And guess where the money will come from?.You and me pal, the taxpayers of Calgary. And “we” will also pay out millions to operate and maintain it. And do you think Mayor Gondek will hesitate in raising your taxes to pay for it? Again, my words..Ridership numbers are too low. It just doesn’t justify the cosmic spending..All of these things are very good points. So, in the words of Tolstoy, "what then must we do?".The website suggests: extending the line from 7th Ave. S.W. to the South Health Campus and Seton; cancel costly, unsafe underground tunnels in flood-prone downtown; hire more local contractors; just improve the bus service from downtown to the northeast, and; keep taxpayers fully informed of the cost..Easy peasy, folks, and that makes much more sense than Mayor Mini-Me’s current plan..And how about this one, from a good friend: “Instead of gouging us for the (blanking) Green Line, how about directing some of those funds to making the transit we have safer?".“How about some strategies to help people find ways to survive so we don't have desperate offenders putting innocent people in harm's way?”.Well said, I thought. Calgarians are frustrated with our existing service, let alone the Green Line monster..Don’t kid yourself, we are going to be paying for this debacle for decades, and perhaps beyond..I would suggest that this disaster will equal or surpass that of Montreal’s Big O — that took 30 years to pay off, earning it the nickname, “The Big Owe.”.The Big O, built for the Montreal Olympics, left the city with a $1.6B debt, a string of corruption scandals and economic and social decline..It was supposed to cost just $250 million!. River RunThe River Run condos... not that old but 23 pleasant units likely facing demolition if the Green Line proceeds. .Then there is the expropriation of the 23-unit River Run townhouse complex in Eau Claire — not even 30 years old, it is to be demolished to make way for a new underground LRT station..However, a worker sent to assess a unit in the complex, fully admitted to a renter, they really didn’t need it, because the whole thing is going under it, and will end up in a station at the fading Eau Claire Markets..Imagine, tearing down condos downtown, in the middle of a housing crisis..Also, somebody in this city stands to make a lot of money from the massive redevelopment, which will include condos and the northernmost station of the project. In prime land, downtown. Prime rental money too. Lots of it..Any ideas who will benefit? It’s not me and probably not you either..Let’s not fall into the same lake of fire..Let’s be patient, let’s be smart. Let’s slow down and have another look at this, and City Hall politicians be damned..I’m not saying cancel it, or stop it — let’s just have another go at it. We have power, political power. I say let’s use it and save our city from disaster..Let’s face it, they don’t have a clue what they’re doing. They don’t..The current civic administration thinks they can spend like drunken sailors and tax us to death, while they walk away with their golden parachute pension plans..According to Taxpayer.com, after just four years in office, a city councillor can expect to receive approximately $9,433/yr, rising with inflation throughout their retirement (plus CPP)..If he or she lives to 85, they can expect approximately $290,866 in benefits while only contributing approximately $42,037..Folks, their civic spending is out of control, and has been for a long time. This is despite denials from His Purpleness..We are being robbed, ladies gents. Robbed..The only thing missing are the cowboy bandanas covering their faces as they ride away with their ill-gotten loot.
