Calgary moving ahead with Green Line development despite unclear downtown connection

Calgary city council voted to move forward with the long-embattled Green Line LRT project, but how the line would connect to the city's downtown remains unclear.

Council voted on Tuesday evening to begin construction later this year on the southeast leg of the project.

That portion of the Green Line runs from Shepard to the planned Grand Central Station near the site of the future Scotia Place arena and event centre.

Council also approved a plan to study the project's downtown connection. When the province released its own proposed Green Line alignment in December, the plan suggested elevated train tracks to connect to Calgary's downtown rather than tunnelling.

But some downtown and industry groups have criticized the idea to use elevated tracks as "reckless," citing concerns about noise, market value, shadowing and sight lines if an elevated track is introduced downtown. 

Moving forward, council committed to exploring the downtown connection with the province, which will include public consultation and validating the province's cost estimates.

Mayor Jyoti Gondek said she had no problem on Tuesday supporting the Green Line's well-studied southeast section. But she maintained an elevated track would be terrible for downtown business.

"There are all kinds of safety concerns that must be considered, you are taking away lanes of traffic, you stand to devastate street-front businesses. There's so much wrong with an elevated line," Gondek said.

Ward 10 Coun. Andre Chabot noted a need to advance the project forward, adding that while the province has said it won't support a Green Line alignment that includes tunnelling, the city and province could explore other options aside from the elevated tracks.

"I'm hoping through this assessment of the downtown core that we can come up with a solution that all Calgarians, including downtown businesses, can live with," Chabot said.

Ward 12 Coun. Evan Spencer said he's not enamoured with the provincial government's actions as partners on the project, but voted in favour because of the growing city's need for more public transit.

"The province really does feel like it has us staring down the barrel of a gun, but I am supportive," Spencer said.

Limitless risk

Gondek added she's also concerned about responsibility for cost overruns and legal risk on an alignment pitched by the province being placed on the city, especially with the prospect of an elevated track downtown disrupting businesses in the area.

"Right now, the risks we have to assume on this project are limitless, because the province has made it that way," Gondek said.

Ward 3 Coun. Jasmine Mian was one of several councillors who voted against each recommendation surrounding the Green Line on Tuesday.

She criticized the wisdom of approving a project before figuring out how it will connect to downtown and noted many residents in her ward are concerned about how the project will still reach north Calgary.

Mian announced during the meeting that the Green Line vote was the last straw leading her to opt not to run for re-election this fall.

"We're backed into a very unenviable corner where you either light billions of dollars on fire or you accept that you're probably going to have to pay a lot of money in the future. I just think both of those situations are completely untenable," Mian said.

"In the private sector and anywhere else, this would never fly. So the fact that we're accepting it here today is unfair to Calgarians, it's unfair to city council and we need to find a different way."

Devin Dreeshen, Alberta's minister of transportation and economic corridors, commended council's decision in a social media post.

He said the province's proposed alignment is longer and will serve more people.

The new alignment was designed by infrastructure consulting firm AECOM in a 165-page engineering report that maps out plans for five additional stops in South Calgary.

The Alberta government said its version of the project would come to the same $6.2 billion price tag as the city's previously approved alignment.

But in December, the city contended the province's revised alignment would cost $1.3 billion more than the province's report would suggest.

City administration will now work to develop a business plan that the province must approve, which will then go to the federal government for its own approval.