10-14-2014, 02:12 PM
(10-14-2014, 10:12 AM)ookpik Wrote: Another anti-LRT missive from Shortreed: Light rail transit isn’t a very good investment
I would be interested to know what responses the Region/Grandlinq has to some of the specific financial points that Shortreed raises.
What is the budget figure that is being used when calculating the contingency? Is it the $818 Million Capital Cost; the total, 30-year cost of the project; or some other figure? Shortreed contends in the article above that the contingency has been reduced to 1%. This Waterloo Chronicle article suggests that there is $10 million built in for contingencies which is in the ballpark for the capital cost.
Given the amount of real estate that the Region will be tearing up and replacing in various brownfield locations, it would not surprise me if there were a few environmental surprises. For instance, 1 Victoria had an estimated $2.6 Million environmental cleanup before it could move forward. I wouldn't be surprised if contamination were found at the Maintenance Facility (former Bauer factory), in Uptown Waterloo (site of several now-long demolished factories), around King/Victoria (site of several factories including Uniroyal/Epton), or along Charles St (several factories including Lang's Tannery and the coal gasification plant where the bus terminal currently sits).
If the contingency is used up, who is left to pay the balance?