Tuesday, November 7, 2006

Border and Arena



There are two big files that have dominated Windsor in this term of the Mayor and Council: the border and the arena. I had this strange thought that the way the arena file is being handled is very similar to what we've seen with the border file. See if you agree:
  1. In megaprojects, proponents overstate benefits and understate costs
  2. Are we getting a "Port Huron" solution for the new arena but NOT getting a "Port Huron" solution on a twinned bridge, at least not so far
  3. The Government wants to compete with private enterprise in a matter that is not a core function of Government
  4. No one knows how much money the Government will ultimately have to pay but we all know it will be a lot more than advertised
  5. No one knows exactly where the new crossing will go; no one knows exactly where the new arena will go
  6. The two arenas will be a mile apart; the two bridges will be a mile apart
  7. The consultant is at the borings stage with the border; the arena is at the boring stage
  8. The Government is prepared to spend all the taxpayer money it can to ensure that it owns/controls the new crossing or arena
  9. Government has an unfair advantage since it is a competitor of the private enterprise entrepreneur and can impact the private project negatively
  10. Government action is undertaken in secret in a less than an open and transparent manner
  11. Private proponents do not seem welcome
  12. Beztak and Project Ice Track were chased out of town by Council; DRIC and the City (via Sam Schwaratz) chased DRTP and the Ambassador Bridge Co. away
  13. Senior Levels are fighting amongst themselves on the border; Windsor and Tecumseh are fighting over the arenas
  14. It is a "horse race" to see who builds the new crossing; it is horse racing at the Project Ice Track Tecumseh complex
  15. Sam Schwartz wanted a Horseshoe road in Windsor; Gary McNamara got horseshoes in Tecumseh
  16. Gridlock Sam was involved with the City over the border; gridlock will be involved if we have 2 arenas in the same location
  17. There is underutilzation at the existing arena, the Barn, so we want to build 3 new ones; there is 58% utilization of the Ambassador Bridge and Government wants to build a new crossing
  18. Overcapacity can mean financial problems or bankruptcy of a new or existing crossing or arena
  19. There are threats of lawsuits over the arena decision; there are threats of lawsuits over the crossing decision
  20. The Bridge Co. does not need a Presidential permit from President Bush to build its crossing; Wayne Gretzky does not need a permit from Mayor Francis to build his restaurant in Tecumeseh at the Project Ice Track Arena.
  21. Were the choices in the arena and border pre-determined
  22. The Spits will play at the arena; the border file makes me spit

1 comment:

JoeBlog said...

A reader writes:

I want to puke. This morning the Windsor Star announced the site of the Windsor Arena replacement. It came as no surprise to me or the Blogmeister as it was the worst kept secret in Windsor. I am sure the Toldo-Rosati group was aware of that but what irks me is this.

I live in that area. I can walk from my house to that announced site in 15 minutes. So great you say...yeah...great! I have lived in that area for 7 1/2 years and every few months it becomes busier and busier.

Planning...particularly traffic planning was and is a joke. But now I read in the Windsor Star this morning that magically there will be access from all points on this planet. My question.................WHY THE @##%#$# did it have to come to that when road access should have been completed a long time ago. Some of the residents of certain roadways have inordinate amounts of traffic due to minimal access in and out of East Riverside. Any plans for a Fire Hall? The area is full of elderly and ambulances are up and down everyday...any thought of planning for that. Getting to a hospital quicker improves the chances of survival or quicker recovery. So now we have a bridge built at Riverdale and Wyandotte. How convenient. It was there two years ago but with no road access to Clover or Little River or Banwell or Greenpark.

As for Mr. Farhi and his great redevelopment of downtown London, Mayor Francis needs glasses. That is one seedy downtown. I prefer Windsor's.