Wake Up Winnipeg - Episode 41

  

Wake Up Winnipeg - Episode 41

Hosted Live/Produced/Recorded by: Andru Valpy,

Air Date: 4/29/2010 on CJUM 101.5 FM
Download Location: iTunes.
Web: http://wakeupwinnipeg.com/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/wakeupwinnipeg 

Become a FaceBook Fan: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Wake-Up-Winnipeg/180565651965105
Rebroadcast: 5/05/2011 on CJUM 101.5 UMFM - 6:30 AM

Hello and welcome to Episode #41 of Wake Up Winnipeg.

On today's show we covered some of the events happening your city, including the most recent "Plants and Animals" and "Said The Whale" show at The West End Cultural Centre!




Both bands put on a GREAT show and we had a blast getting to know Ben and Tyler from Said The Whale. Pictures will be found on our Aimless & Andy fan page located in Face Book!

Thank you Ben AND Tyler for having us out! It's always fun watching music live, and your show was certainly a perfect way to spend a Wednesday night.

Said The Whale played some favorite hits and new tracks from their recent album "Island Disappear" which was released back in October of 2009.

One lucky winner (Danielle) won herself a copy of Island Disappear just for calling in.

Plants and Animals played to their hearts content with tracks from their freshly released album "La La Land" which was released on April 20th of this year.

Something worth noting, a Winnipegger brought a pie just for the occasion! How friendly is that!?

We also talked about our visit to City Hall which we blogged about on Wednesday of this week.

We asked you for your opinions on the motion passed by Mayor Sam Katz and city council to invest additional costs of up to one hundred thousand dollars to research the benefits of LRT vs BRT.

Some of the responses we got on our Twitter (http://twitter.com/wakeupwinnipeg) were as follows:

"LRT is the way to go! But BRT is better than nothing and a step in the right direction."

"Something will have to be done eventually, and it's not getting any cheaper over time while City Council drags their feet.."

"They should just do it. Enough reports already!"

I am personally not opposed to additional research if it means that the overall project will help our city grow.

It is my opinion that any investment our tax money goes towards is spent wisely, as is the case with most of our population and the world!

If an additional report concludes that LRT is cost efficient, and long lasting then by all means, please build it!

But, as Winnipeg is a rapidly growing city (more so with the development of Waverly West, and the soon to be built Bomber Stadium at the University of Manitoba) it is my opinion that something needs to be done soon.

I understand that these things take time, and I'm okay with that. I get it, and it's cool.

BUT it would seem like we are so far behind when it comes to our transportation system!

I have been to many a city across North America and was at one point a Winnipeg Transit user for a period of three years.

Though many improvements have and are continuing to be made in our bus system, there are still some tie ups that occur during daily commutes for citizens across the city to no fault of the bus driver or routes.

Train tracks and rush hours. It happens.

But the property is already there, and the funding was already approved for most of the project.

Local citizen, Ken Klassen surprised city hall with his independent report which outlines LRT use in various major cities in Canada.

Some of the facts included in this study found that LRT use has significantly gone down in construction fees.

City hall will be looking into this report and considering it for sure.

This motion raised a couple of questions from city councilors, fans of Wake Up Winnipeg and local citizens and businesses.

1) Where is this additional funding coming from?

2) When will this project be finalized?

The Mayor has gone on our shows record as saying that a report will be generated within 90 days to determine the benefits.

I am inclined to believe the Mayor in this comment, and believe that our city will do the research make a wise decision soon. This was agreed upon by all members of council as they have been working on this project for a very long time.

The commitment is still there.

It is also understood, and appreciated that all of members of City Council and The Mayors office want this project to be finalized as soon as possible.

There is for sure no doubt in my mind that the end result of this project will truly go down in Winnipeg's history books, and will benefit citizens for years to come.

Hopefully, it's not the world book of records! :) (Said friendly, and jokingly of course!)

Please be sure to join us next week on Wake Up Winnipeg, and if you missed this weeks episode you may tune into UMFM at 6:30 AM on Wednesday Morning, or find us in iTunes.

Until next time, rock on to the music, learn about your city, and grow in all ways!

Take care and Merci to all of those who support us!

-Andru

Track Listings

1) Said The Whale - Camilo (The Magician)
2) Simon & Garfunkle - Like A Bridge Over Troubled Water (Live from NY)

(c) 2010, Andru Valpy - CJUM 101.5 FM.