There have been decades of talk, countless reports and studies on the feasibility of high-speed rail in Alberta and the Town of Olds wants the provincial government to act and pick a spot for a potential corridor.
ìEssentially, alternatively, the best time is now to try and figure that out for the future. Today is the future if you're looking for land to do some kind of corridor,î said Doug Wagstaff, the town's director of community services.
At a policies and priorities meeting on March 17, Wagstaff briefed council on a public consultation he attended, held by the Legislative Assembly's Standing Committee on Alberta's Economic Future.
Wagstaff offered input at the consultation on Feb. 25 in Red Deer, along with the Olds Institute of Community and Regional Development's business retention committee chair Mitch Thomson and Larry Wright, the town's operational services director.
The town's concerns have more to do with economic development and planning impact than what technology is used for the potential project, Wagstaff said.
"Down the road, diversifying the province's economy is a boon and it's prudent to look at potential right-of-ways and station locations and plan accordingly," he said.
If the province designated a strip of land to build the rail line, it would allow local governments to plan around it, Wagstaff added.
Coun. Mary Jane Harper put a motion before council to present a written submission to the standing committee encouraging the province to do so.
ìWe're not saying we're in favour or against it,î Harper said. ìSet the land aside. Let us start making decisions.î
ìWe'd look pretty darn stupid if we approved major residential developments and then all of a sudden the government in 15 years say, oh by the way, we want to put a high-speed rail right through this residential area,î she added.
The motion carried and brought support even from a council member opposed to high-speed rail.
ìI'm not willing to support high-speed rail because to me it's basically a pipe dream by a bunch of people that think they're being futuristic that want to go and spend a whole bunch of money when we can't even basically maintain the infrastructure that we have," said Coun. Wade Bearchell. ìThat being said, 30 years from now I don't want to be sitting looking stupid just because I didn't support high-speed rail and high-speed rail's the greatest thing ever. However, setting aside land for such a thing is maybe something in the future that's good.î
Wagstaff also suggested the province consider building collection points along the rail line, similar to an LRT network in the city. That would create hubs where people could live in rural Alberta while travelling to the major cities for work and play.
There are a few possible locations the province would consider for the rail line, including west of Highway 2 or parallel to the existing utilities power corridor.
