WHEREAS automobiles are an inefficient way to move people and freight,
AND WHEREAS, emissions from automobiles are a large contributor to greenhouse gases causing climate change,
AND WHEREAS, peaking oil makes our current dependency on automobiles unsustainable,
BE IT RESOLVED THAT the GPS advocate to maintain existing rail infrastructure and to revitalize the rail system for transportation of both people and freight.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the GPS advocate that a major portion of the funds currently being used for the expansion and maintenance of roads and highways be transferred to the rail system and alternative transport.
Re transferring a major
Re transferring a major portion of funds-This could be a hardship for communities that are not served by rail and are not likely to be. Perhaps significant would be a more appropriate word?
What is meant by alternative transport? Can this be more specific?
Passenger rail is only
Passenger rail is only economic at high traffic volumes, while Sask has the world's loneliest roads, overall. Perhaps we could try to attract passengers between Regina and Saskatoon, although we might have to haul their cars, ferry-style. We should definitely haul bikes on busses and trains.
Traditional railways gain by drafting the cars closely together, and by riding on steel wheels. They loose by needing the weight to resist buffing loads in the switchyard, and by the gathering and re-distribution of large loads. We could retain the first two advantages, while blending in the convenience of road vehicles by installing two steel "trolley tracks" in highway express lanes. Once in the lane, the driver could switch to steel wheels and safely maintain contact with the vehicle ahead through a simple interface.
Have we really studied this
Have we really studied this issue enough to know we can let our roads decay (they're already far from great in a lot of places) if we just focus on rail? It seems unlikely. Maybe compressed-air cars on our roadway system would make as much sense as anything for passenger transport? I don't know for sure. Just an example. A motion saying we should encourage greater use of rail where it makes sense would be fine. A motion saying we should transfer most of our road-maintenance funding to rail should only be put forward after we have a well-researched and balanced transportation plan to put forward.