This Ross’s Ramblings will be way out of my lane. I almost always try not to get “too deep” and I usually try to steer clear of potentially controversial topics around our town.

There are much wiser local people who are willing to do much more research in their areas of expertise and skilfully articulate their arguments.

But one almost guaranteed result of any big public project is a delayed and then late-finish date. Almost guaranteed.

Currently in Toronto, the long-overdue Eglinton Avenue rapid transit project has become almost cartoonish in its multi-year lateness.

With no finish date imminent, it has become a joke, and even the head people at Metrolinx ceased blushing several years ago.

This government agency was set up in 2006 to better coordinate transportation projects that affect the people of Ontario. What happened, we may ask?

But it’s not funny to local business people and residents. Their stores and streets have been closed for several more years than expected, and so many of them have had their lives upended.

Why? Because over the years, we have become conditioned to “grin and bear it” when it comes to scheduling and completing public sector projects.

How did the very large Great Wolf Lodge get planned, built and open so fast? How do the good folks at Disney World in Florida almost always meet their opening date promises? Not a year or a season, but an actual calendar date.

These incredibly successful companies are fair with contractors and builders. They agree to terms of reference and then agree to a reasonable date when they will be able to welcome paying customers.

They essentially say, “You have done this before, so no surprises, even strikes and extraordinary acts of nature. Plan contingencies, and tell us the date when you can finish the project.”

The parties agree to penalty clauses, always punitive and expensive, and then the work begins.

Back about 2006 in Orlando, Universal had a big sign in front of a planned new attraction that read “Opening Spring 2007. Down the road, Disney had an even bigger sign that read “Opening May 17, 2007.”

Guess what happened, and who was welcoming smiling and money-spending guests first? It was almost magical, and it was an unbelievable amount of hard work.

Now let me deftly ramble back to Queen Street in Niagara-on-the-Lake.

I don’t pretend to understand the many issues involved with the Royal George Theatre project. Many well-qualified and concerned people are on the case and there have already been many changes in direction and thought. The finish line is far in the distance.

But let me put in my informal two cents’ worth.

This ambitious undertaking is brave and necessary. Something must be done, and in the end, something will be done. During the process, when the time comes to firm up schedules, let us take a lesson from Disney and Jim Pattison, the owner of Great Wolf Lodge.

Agree to the details, work with well-experienced and honest people and get to work. Make the penalties for missing deadlines punitive. And stick to them.

Please don’t say 2029 and then take a year or two or three longer. Or even longer. The pain to local businesses and residents will be unbearable. To everyone involved.

What do I know, but if Disney and Great Wolf Lodge did it, so can we here in NOTL.

Way back in the 1970s, I worked in the food service areas of the Olympic Games in Munich and then four years later at the Montreal Olympic Games.

To say the least, they both had well-publicized opening dates. I watched it happen and was involved at a very low level.

Meeting those deadlines wasn’t easy or pretty. Sometimes it got nasty, and many people worked around the clock to bring the projects home.

Big penalty clauses were in play, and the world was watching, waiting for the Games to open.

The pressure was on. During the last days, carpets arrived, paint was painted, and beds were made in the Olympic Villages. Food arrived for more than 50,000 meals each day.

It was amazing, and it is very possible here in NOTL with the Royal George project.

Think private sector and think punitive penalties for lateness.

Let’s raise the curtain at the new Royal George Theatre in 2028.