M II A II R II K
Senior Member
Bullet train concept worries Alberta towns
March 22, 2010
By Jason Fekete
Read More: http://www.calgaryherald.com/news/Bullet+train+concept+worries+Alberta+towns/2709735/story.html
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The province's smaller municipalities are worried about the fallout on rural Alberta of a potential Calgary-to-Edmonton high-speed rail link, and are examining a bullet train's impacts on their communities, economies and population trends. The Alberta Association of Municipal Districts and Counties, a group representing 69 rural municipalities in the province, is commissioning a study to review the wide-ranging effects of a high-speed train in the Highway 2 corridor and what it would mean to rural communities along the route.
- "Most of (the rural municipalities) are concerned about what the negative impact will be," said AAMDC president Donald Johnson. "Does this really make sense?" Several questions remain unanswered on key issues that the group is seeking clarity on, including the viability of high-speed rail and the direct economic consequences on communities near Highway 2.
- The government's new three-year business plan states one of its priorities in the next three years is to "develop high-speed rail and other transportation modes to support Alberta's social growth." The document says considering a bullet train, and other options, is necessary due to population growth and the need to "support the mobility of all Albertans, reduce urban congestion and decrease the travel time necessary to connect Albertans."
- All of those potential rail trips mean fewer cars on Highway 2 and, therefore, bypassing communities and their businesses along the way. High-speed rail could also drastically alter population patterns within the QE2 corridor, with short commutes between Red Deer and the two major cities meaning Albertans could work in one city and live in another. "One of the future changes that rural Alberta may need to adapt to is high-speed rail. . . . (It) could significantly alter the economic development of the province," says the AAMDC request for proposal.
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March 22, 2010
By Jason Fekete
Read More: http://www.calgaryherald.com/news/Bullet+train+concept+worries+Alberta+towns/2709735/story.html
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The province's smaller municipalities are worried about the fallout on rural Alberta of a potential Calgary-to-Edmonton high-speed rail link, and are examining a bullet train's impacts on their communities, economies and population trends. The Alberta Association of Municipal Districts and Counties, a group representing 69 rural municipalities in the province, is commissioning a study to review the wide-ranging effects of a high-speed train in the Highway 2 corridor and what it would mean to rural communities along the route.
- "Most of (the rural municipalities) are concerned about what the negative impact will be," said AAMDC president Donald Johnson. "Does this really make sense?" Several questions remain unanswered on key issues that the group is seeking clarity on, including the viability of high-speed rail and the direct economic consequences on communities near Highway 2.
- The government's new three-year business plan states one of its priorities in the next three years is to "develop high-speed rail and other transportation modes to support Alberta's social growth." The document says considering a bullet train, and other options, is necessary due to population growth and the need to "support the mobility of all Albertans, reduce urban congestion and decrease the travel time necessary to connect Albertans."
- All of those potential rail trips mean fewer cars on Highway 2 and, therefore, bypassing communities and their businesses along the way. High-speed rail could also drastically alter population patterns within the QE2 corridor, with short commutes between Red Deer and the two major cities meaning Albertans could work in one city and live in another. "One of the future changes that rural Alberta may need to adapt to is high-speed rail. . . . (It) could significantly alter the economic development of the province," says the AAMDC request for proposal.
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