The Waverley West "Deal"

I have been meaning to start this blog for quite some time now. There was the small matter of finding a subject to kickstart my inaugural post. That all ended Thursday July 27, 2006 when a “deal” for Waverley West was finally hammered out.

This suburban development was supposed to be a revolutionary overhaul of suburbia as we know it. Unfortunately, we have an inverted pyramid where City planners have more strategic vision that the pointy heads at the decision making level. I guess Spirited Energy is NDPspeak for diminished expectations and the steadfast vigour with which some pursue mediocrity.

To quote Bartley Kives’ article in the Winnipeg Free Press:

“NDP troubleshooter Eugene Kostyra agreed to a deal that will see the province provide $21 million toward a stripped down $38-million Kenaston Boulevard that will not include any flyovers, which cost $13 million apiece.”

Translation: get ready for idling at more red lights folks.

Let me preface what follows with the caveat that I am not one of those extreme leftists that feels we should all be living in 10 foot by 10 foot rabbit hutches downtown. I believe consumers should be given the choice to live where they want to. Downtown living suits some and suburbia suits others.

My support for a market driven economy includes the fundamental premise that consumers who CAUSE the need for infrastructure improvements should be the ones to PAY for said improvements. Therefore I am perplexed at why this “deal” is solely predicated on governments picking up the tab.

In isolation, $26 million seems like a big chunk of change for any government to digest. Waverley West is projected to house some 60,000 residents over the course of the next few decades. If one is to assume a 4 person household, this translates into 15,000 housing units, which subsequently translates into $1,733.33 per house. On a $180,000.00 house, this represents LESS THAN ONE PERCENT of the total purchase price.

My solution? A $2,000.00 per lot levy on each home sold in Waverley West to cover the extra infrastructure improvements necessitated by the exodus to the suburbs. The remaining $266.67 would go to fund interest payments on a bond issue used to finance the flyovers. Surely future Waverley West residents could forego 2-3 months worth of new minivan or SUV payments to fund a problem they were directly responsible for creating…