Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - January 13, 2009, Winnipeg, Manitoba C m y k Page b1 Call 944 7150 or toll free 1 866 950 1691 wow. . Ca watch you Mailbox for a full brochure a guaranteed millionaire will it be you Winnipeg businesses give Clement an earful / b4 City & business City editor Paul Samyn 697 7292 City. Desk free press. My. Ca i Winnipeg repress. Com tuesday january 13, 2009 b 1 Send news tips and photos to tips free press. My. Ca for breaking news go to Winnipeg repress. Com t Here might still be some life in former mayor Steve Jubas dream of a Monorail for Winnipeg or at least a stripped Down High tech version. City officials Are looking for ways to follow up Winnipeg Gas bus Way plan with Light rail or some other form of fixed rapid transit such As Ultra lightweight aluminium trams suspended above Street level. Mayor Sam Katz has asked senior members of the civil service to explore the feasibility of leapfrogging Over the Cit yes planned bus corridor by either converting it to a different form of people moving technology or augmenting it with another Mode of rapid transit several sources confirmed. In september the City and province announced a $ 327 million plan to connect downtown and the University of Manitoba with a 9.6 Kilometre bus corridor. Work is supposed to begin this summer on the $ 138 million first phase of the project a 3.6 Kilometre link Between Queen Elizabeth Way and Jubilee Avenue. When the project was unveiled the word bus did not appear anywhere in the official announcement. Katz who has favoured Light rail transit Over bus ways since he was first elected in 2004, made it Clear he viewed a bus corridor As the first step toward another form of rapid transit. Light rail is just around the Corner Katz told reporters when the bus Way was announced prompting questions about the specific timeline for rail based rapid transit. In 2005, the Katz commissioned rapid transit task Force concluded it would Cost Winnipeg up to eight times More Money to build a Light rail track and Purchase train cars As it would to build a bus corridor. But the City is exploring the idea of using alternative technologies that would require less Money to put in place than it takes to build conventional Light rail which is expensive because of the High Cost of steel and Concrete. One of the technologies that has caught the Cit yes Eye is a form of Ultra lightweight aluminium Tram that could run above Street level. The tracks could be anchored without the need to pour As much Concrete As it would take to create a conventional Monorail. The fact Winnipeg is still a few years away from securing the financing for phase 2 of the Southwest rapid transit corridor a six Kilometre stretch from Jubilee Avenue to Bison drive has presented City staff with a rare Opportunity to think big and explore All possible forms of rapid transit the sources said. Winnipeg is already planning to borrow Money to pay for its share of the by sways first phase. The $ 138 million Price tag will be shared by the City province and Ottawa. The City and province will each spend $ 55 million on phase 1, while Ottawa has committed $ 28 million. Right of Way negotiations with in rail could reduce phase 2 s projected Cost of $ 189 million Katz said in september. But future growth alongside the rapid transit corridor could help pay for a portion of the project in that property taxes from new residential and commercial developments at bus Way or rail stations could be dedicated to loan repayments the mayor has said. Light rail would do a better Job of generating new revenues for the City than bus ways said st. Norbert coun. Justin Swan Del City councils finance chairman. The fixed nature of rail stations creates genuine new growth while bus ways just encourage existing developments to relocate he said recently. If a rapid transit technology that does not involve buses proves feasible the City has an Opportunity to partly wean itself off diesel fuel said Transcona coun. Russ Wyatt the former chairman of the rapid transit task Force. Ive always thought we could use our electricity a lot More effectively especially because were a Hydro province he said on monday. Bartley. Kives free press. My. Ca City explores Light rail options Ultra lightweight aluminium Tram above Street level is one possibility by Bartley Kives treaty one leaders Are turning Down an offer from Treasury Board president Vic Toews to take the houses at Kapyon Barracks and leave the land claim behind. I heard about that through the Media chuckled Norman Boudreau the lawyer for the seven treaty one first nations suing Ottawa Over the site. I dont think its a real offer. The aboriginal leaders and Ottawa Are in a protracted Legal tangle Over the Fate of some of the richest real estate in Winnipeg. Last summer a senior Federal official claimed in a court document that the seven first nations have no Legal right to the former Kapyon Barracks at Kenaston Boulevard and Grant Avenue As part of their bid to Settle longstanding land claims. So it came As a Surprise when Toews prime minister Stephen harpers senior minister in Manitoba suggested otherwise. In a Csc radio report Toews suggested the first nations take the houses instead. My clients Are interested in acquiring the land not the houses Boudreau said monday. Meanwhile in Ottawa a spokeswoman for Toews said he Hadnot meant to suggest Ottawa would take a Trade and hand Over the houses in return for the first nations dropping their lawsuit. This is the latest Salvo in what is expected to be a prolonged court fight Between Ottawa and the seven treaty one bands further delaying the development of the former Home of 2nd battalion Princess patricians Canadian Light infantry. The battalion left the base for cab Shilo in 2004. The bands want to turn the land into an Urban Reserve with housing and educational centres. They re asking for an injunction to Stop the Transfer of the former base to Canada lands corporation a Crown development firm that handles the disposition of surplus Federal land. The chiefs have said Ottawa failed to consult with them on the Transfer and they want Kapyon As a Down payment on thousands of acres they say they re still owed from a 1871 treaty. Ottawa maintains it is under no obligation to sell Kapyon to the first nations for anything less than fair Market value $ 42 million. Alexandra. Paul free press. My. Ca whats the history the Long vacant Kapyon Barracks and nearby housing site at Canadian forces base Winnipeg have been a source of Contention since the 2nd battalion Princess patricians Canadian Light infantry left the base in 2004. Whats at stake the Barracks site occupies 65 hectares of hot property West of Kenaston Boulevard with 358 housing units sitting on another 25 hectare plot. More than 100 of the units have sat empty for years while the rest Are rented out to Canadian forces members and government workers. A hons affected the site has hosted numerous protests Over the years by groups who think the housing should be made available to Low income Winni Eggers. Whats the Holdup a Long awaited Transfer of the former base to Canada lands was tied up last year by a lawsuit by seven treaty one first nations who want both properties As part of an outstanding land claim. The court Battle could take years. Chiefs to Toews forget about offer refuse to take Homes and drop land claim by Alexandra Paul the late mayor Steve Juba dreamed of a Monorail for City. Phil Hossack / Winnipeg free press these vacant military houses in Tuxedo Are the subject of a prolonged court Battle Between treaty one bands and the Federal government. Tim Smith / Brandon Sun archives Vic Toews shunned by chiefs a 01_ Jan 13 09. Ind b1 1 / 12/ 09 10 32 35 pm ;