A lone effort by Coun. Harold Piercy to revive the debate on electric-powered rapid transit for Winnipeg won uniform support from fellow councillors yesterday.
Piercy's discussion paper and subsequent motion that city council approve in principle the goal of a light rail transit system (LRT) to replace diesel-fueled buses brought the councillor praise from fellow members of the civic works and operations department.
His motion to have a steering committee study the implementation of a light rail transit system similar to Edmonton and Calgary will now go on to the executive policy committee before final consideration by the whole council.
The motion calls for the over-all plan to be devised by the senior administrator and then made available to an LRT steering committee. The plan will outline route options, capital costs, and ongoing operating costs. After release of the preliminary report, Piercy recommends immediate talks with the province and then the federal government for funding arrangements.
"The only deterrent of this motion is the cost, but the longer we wait, the bigger the cost. Quite simply, we don't have any choice. The city must go for electrification because 10 years froom now, we may find ourselves in a situation where there is no diesel fuel to operate our buses.
"If we leave it for another 10 years, the costs will not only be prohibitive, but impossible. This is a political decision that must be made and a committment to a new way of life.
"Calgary, in the oil province, is almost half through their electrification program while we in Winnipeg, with an abundance of hydroelectricity, have no plans."
Piercy's proposal calls for a combination of an underground subway under streets like Portage Avenue and on-grade tracks such as existing CNR — CPR for light rail trains. Piercy said he recognized the costs would be staggering but with a little imagination, some costs could be recovered.
He suggested long-term financing can be achieved through various options such as an electrification account derived from proceeds fro mthe sale of city lands and properties; portions of Winnipeg Hydro profits; and a land transfer fee on commercial and subdivision land.
Piercy justified the changeover by comparing costs of diesel buses to that of transit cars in an LRT system. In the past five years, the cost of one diesel bus has escalated from $45,000 to $100,000 and it is expected the cost will rise to $200,000 by 1984. He said the life of a diesel bus is 10 years compared to double that for an LRT car.