City Needs More Money To Fix Roads

LivingDead wrote:Unions are to blame for our shoddy infrastructure. And if you need me to explain why then you too are a part of the problem.

As much as I am not a fan of unions , it is not their fault. People in Winnipeg have priorites, they want parks, libraries , city owned golf courses and rec centres instead of good roads.

I prefer going to the Y , private golf courses instead of crappy roads.

I go to the wellness and I don't golf. The way I see it, is if you want a rec centre in your hood then fund raise and get it done! Why rely on tax dollars? I don't think the City should be giving any money to social programs, the arts to any of it. Concentrate on keeping our streets in good shape.

Goth_chic wrote:I go to the wellness and I don't golf. The way I see it, is if you want a rec centre in your hood then fund raise and get it done! Why rely on tax dollars? I don't think the City should be giving any money to social programs, the arts to any of it. Concentrate on keeping our streets in good shape.

Agreed.

I'm a golfer but I don't need the taxpayer subsidizing city courses. In fact, all city courses should be privatized.

Definitely concentrate on the infrastructure.

Once we have a prosperous city and province, the public and private sector will bring in new amenities that they taxpayer should not fund.

Goth_chic wrote:I go to the wellness and I don't golf. The way I see it, is if you want a rec centre in your hood then fund raise and get it done! Why rely on tax dollars? I don't think the City should be giving any money to social programs, the arts to any of it. Concentrate on keeping our streets in good shape.

Well there is one problem with that. The incredible gap between the rich areas (Tuxedo/River Heights, Richmond West, East St Paul) and the poorer ones (North End, Central, etc.).
I'm all favor of my tax money going to build and upkeep community centres and recreation facilities in the North End and Central. It would pay for itself in terms of reduced crime and gangs. If kids have something to do in their youth to escape their home situation, the less likely they will turn to drugs, gangs, and crime.

I live in the Maples...I am far from rich! I just know how to budget my money....

If we all got those horses that the co-op dairy used to pull the milk wagon around, and used them to get around ,then the infrastructure wouldn't have to be so good and so costly!

and we would have more natural fertilizer for the soccer fields

grumpy old man wrote:Out of curiosity what have sandboxers personally done to make Winnipeg, Manitoba and Canada better?

Personally I've volunteered in each of the last Winnipeg municipal, Manitoba provincial and federal elections. I'll likely volunteer in future elections. I'd also like to play a role in developing a new party that will change Canadian politics.

Speaking of sand boxes. I was at Kildonan Park the other day with my kids and the sand boxes there are the same ones I use to play in when I was a child back in the early to mid 70's. They look as if they may of had a coat of pain put on in 1985.

Triniman wrote:I'm a golfer but I don't need the taxpayer subsidizing city courses. In fact, all city courses should be privatized.

If you hadn't noticed...they are being.

Last year...there were 8 "city" courses...this year...there are only 3.

And on goes the endless argument. Its a matter or priorities and we live in a time when the value of money is not understood or appreciated. Spending money on social program and all the soft things without consideration of where its coming from is a sign of today. How many of us are probably overextended on debt? How many students are living a lifestyle based on debt provided through student loans? Our left leaning governments are merely following the same ideas, and remember who puts them there. The idea of government seems to be self perpetuating. What is good for the citizens is not a priority but getting re-elected is.

LEts not hide behind "its what the people want". At some point politicians at all levels have to step up and show some leadership. Doing what is good for us is not necessarily the same as what we want. The example of publicly owned golf courses is a classic example of government stupidity.

And if your job was on the line would you support it so fast , well I agree there is change needed we have to look at how and where we do it . There is something good about the public keeping control over some things like water and hydro.
Remember there is alot of people who make there living from those soft programs .

Then there is the assumption that were those "soft programs" to go away those currently making a living there will never work again?

So we've been increasing our capital infrastructure from $120M to around $500M over the past 10 years and our deficit is $7.5 billion? Really? Who's been watching the books during that time? Did this come up in the 5 year capital plan they put out at the end of November? I assume if you're putting together a 5 year capital plan something like this might get mentioned instead of announcing it up 6 months later.

Some of that deficit might be the treatment plants which the Province mandated monstrously expensive retrofits. This is why the province needs to play a greater role. If they are going to mandate retrofits to meet new standards they need to pay.

They had about $870M listed for capital on sewage treatment as of November to meet the costs of complying with Clean Environment Commission requiremetns.

I guess my question is if 6 months ago we decided to spend $2.1 billion over 6 years, how are we now $7.4 billion short?

Ummm, the a$$holes running the asylum don't know what they are doing?

Pavolo wrote:And if your job was on the line would you support it so fast , well I agree there is change needed we have to look at how and where we do it . There is something good about the public keeping control over some things like water and hydro.
Remember there is alot of people who make there living from those soft programs .

Since I work for an agency that receives a significant amount of public money, I guess you could say that my job would be on the line. But isn't that the point, it isn't about ME, its about US. Besides, I have enough confidence in my abilities to be able to work elsewhere.

Freeman wrote:

Pavolo wrote:And if your job was on the line would you support it so fast , well I agree there is change needed we have to look at how and where we do it . There is something good about the public keeping control over some things like water and hydro.
Remember there is alot of people who make there living from those soft programs .

Since I work for an agency that receives a significant amount of public money, I guess you could say that my job would be on the line. But isn't that the point, it isn't about ME, its about US. Besides, I have enough confidence in my abilities to be able to work elsewhere.

And like so many discussions, take a personal shot rather than debate and discuss. It gets tiring.

The numbers quoted re unsupported!
Facts not in evidence!
Why would we take those numbers as being bad?
By my calculations the city would have every road repaired within 17 years, and that is good!

Freeman wrote:

Freeman wrote:

Pavolo wrote:And if your job was on the line would you support it so fast , well I agree there is change needed we have to look at how and where we do it . There is something good about the public keeping control over some things like water and hydro.
Remember there is alot of people who make there living from those soft programs .

Since I work for an agency that receives a significant amount of public money, I guess you could say that my job would be on the line. But isn't that the point, it isn't about ME, its about US. Besides, I have enough confidence in my abilities to be able to work elsewhere.

And like so many discussions, take a personal shot rather than debate and discuss. It gets tiring.

What is so personal about would you mind your job going if it was for the good of country chill man . You want debate fire away any time you got the itch .

Can't be bothered.

Gee thats a cop out

Read the sign....No Fishing.

It is strange that there is talk of a calculated amount of infrastructure deficit, but no list of projects is provided. It would be nice to see what they consider to be part of the deficit, and what infrastructure is included. If you add water and waste to the roads, the figure certainly adds up, but it's only roads and bridges, the $7.5 billion does seem like an inflated number.

Are they adding social infrastructure to this total, too?

It's likely a ballpark figure some bureaucrat posited based on X miles of roads needs Y amount of upgrades.

A list should be posted on the city website that identifies what needs done, where it is located, how much it will cost and when it is scheduled. There might even be a prioritization number.

That is transparent government and allows input to help in prioritizing such things.