Winnipeg is breaking from recent tradition by borrowing money to pay for a $327-million bus corridor -- and is banking on taxes from new apartment buildings to pay back the loan.
On Monday, Mayor Sam Katz and Premier Gary Doer ended months of speculation by announcing they plan to build a dedicated busway that will eventually connect downtown to the University of Manitoba.
The first leg of the corridor -- which comes with a $138-million price tag -- will begin at Queen Elizabeth Way near The Forks and then snake 3.6 kilometres southwest to Jubilee Avenue near Pembina Highway, crossing over Osborne Street on a new bridge and then tunnelling below CN Rail's Fort Rouge Yards along the way.
The city and province each plan to spend $55 million toward the first leg of the 7corridor, and Ottawa will contribute $28 million.
"I've always said rapid transit is part of the city's future," said Katz, who offered a lukewarm endorsement of bus rapid transit four years after he cancelled a $50-million BRT plan proposed by former mayor Glen Murray.
"I do not believe bus rapid transit will get the majority of people to leave their cars at home," said Katz, who has always maintained Murray's bus rapid transit plan lacked sufficient detail and would have cost taxpayers much more than $50 million if it went ahead.
On Monday, Doer vindicated Katz by praising Winnipeg Transit for scrutinizing every detail of the new busway and declaring its design -- which calls for complete isolation from existing roadways -- will allow for faster bus travel than would have been possible under the former proposal.
"It will be rapid and it will be separate," Doer said.
Katz said he now supports a busway because it will serve as a precursor to a light-rail system, the form of rapid transit he has always preferred.
The new busway has been designed to accommodate a future upgrade to light rail transit by making allowances for clearances, grades and turning angles required for railcars, Winnipeg Transit director Dave Wardrop said.
"Light rail is just around the corner," Katz proclaimed. But he conceded the city has no plans to build light rail in the near or distant future.
In fact, the city does not know how it will finance the $187-million second leg of the bus corridor, beyond the fact the province has agreed to match the city's contribution and Ottawa will be asked to contribute as well.
Katz said the cost of the second phase could be reduced if CN Rail agrees to sell or lease its underused Letellier line, which runs parallel to Pembina Highway.
CN is willing to talk to the city and province about the bus corridor, provided it does not disrupt rail operations, regional spokesman Kevin Franchuk said from Edmonton.
The first leg of the corridor will feature a commuter bike path, some form of park-and-ride facility and at least three busway stations, which Doer and Katz hope will stimulate residential and commercial development.
Newly introduced provincial legislation will allow property and education taxes from new highrise towers and retail stores within the bus-corridor zone to pay back the cash that must be borrowed to build the project.
City property director Phil Sheegl said the city hopes to see 700 new apartment or condo units eventually rise alongside each of 12 new busway stations on the entire corridor. Based on $1,000 of taxes per unit, that could generate $8.4 million a year for the city, he said.
The bus corridor announcement garnered a mixed reaction from opposition politicians and transit lobby groups.
Fort Rouge Coun. Jenny Gerbasi and St. Boniface Coun. Dan Vandal praised the bus corridor plan, although Vandal accused the mayor of flip-flopping on rapid transit.
Manitoba Liberal Leader Jon Gerrard called the policy weak and said Doer should have spent $75 million on a more ambitious rapid-transit system.
Paul Hesse of pro-bus Rapid Transition Coalition called the plan a good start, provided new corridors are built in other areas of Winnipeg. Jim Jaworski of pro-rail group TRU Winnipeg panned the new plan.
More details about financing for the plan will emerge in coming weeks, transit director Wardrop promised.
bartley.kives@freepress.mb.ca
BUSWAY FINALLY ON THE WAY
Confirming months of speculation, Premier Gary Doer and Mayor Sam Katz announced their intention to build a $327-million bus corridor between downtown and the University of Manitoba.
Breaking with recent fiscal policy, the city plans to use debt financing to pay for its share of the first phase of the corridor. It will then backfill the loan with property taxes expected to flow from new residential and commercial developments near new busway stations.
Although it will be possible to convert the busway into a light rail corridor at some point in the future, the city has no actual plans to build a light rail transit system.
The city has already started planning to build phase 1 of the busway, but has no start date for phase 2 until it conducts negotiations with CN Rail and secures more federal financing.
PHASE 1
Cost: $138 million
Length: 3.6 kilometres
Route: From Queen Elizabeth Way (southern end of Main Street) to the intersection of Jubilee Avenue and Pembina Highway
Features: A new bridge over Osborne Street and a new tunnel below CN Rail's Fort Rouge Yards
Stations: Slated for Harkness Avenue, Osborne Street, Morley Avenue and possibly Jubilee
Financing: $55 million from the city, $55 million from the province and $28 million from Ottawa. The federal money is in the form of $17.5 million in transit funds announced last March, plus $10 million already granted to Winnipeg to purchase buses.
Construction: Could begin in spring 2009, pending council approval
Completion: Within three years
PHASE 2
Cost: $189 million
Length: six kilometres
Route: From Jubilee Avenue to Bison Drive
Features: New bridges over Pembina Highway and Bishop Grandin Boulevard.
Stations: Slated for Windermere Avenue, McGillivray Boulevard, Clarence Avenue, Chevrier Boulevard, Plaza Drive, Chancellor Drive, Markham Avenue and Bison Drive
Financing, construction and completion: Dependent on negotiations with CN Rail, which might be persuaded to sell or lease the underused Letellier Line that runs loosely parallel to Pembina Highway
