“All aboard?” or “off the rails?”
Khaoula Choual, Contributor |
Planning for the Green Line LRT started in 2011, but recent developments, such as the Alberta government’s decision to halt funding, has placed the project on an indefinite hold. This has left stakeholders confused and frustrated as they consider what this means for Calgary’s transit future.
The next iteration of Calgary’s Green Line LRT project may be significantly shorter—and more expensive—than the initial vision. According to CBC, the Alberta government is withdrawing funding for Calgary’s Green Line LRT, according to a letter sent to Mayor Jyoti Gondek.
Since the mid-1980s, the city council has been considering the need for a light rail transit (LRT) route in the southeast sector of the city. It began as part of the city’s strategy to address population growth, efficient transportation and traffic jams.
The existing transit systems, such as the Red Line and Blue Line, have proven inadequate for Calgary’s rising population. Calgary’s population has grown dramatically during the last decade. According to the Government of Alberta’s website, in 2023, Calgary had the largest population in the province, with 1.5 million people. Calgary’s population has grown by 6.20 per cent year on year and 13.4 per cent during the last five years. Expanding the transit line was a necessary step to improve the Calgary Transit System.
In 2011, approximately 2,150 Calgarians visited open houses. The City of Calgary considered building an LRT route along Nose Creek, Edmonton Trail, or Centre Street North. A recent planning study determined a path along Centre Street North or along Edmonton Trail.
The original plan for the Green Line according to CBC showed early maps of the Green Line running from 160th Avenue North to Seton in the south. However, despite numerous statements from city authorities, including the former mayor Nehad Nenshi, this was merely a sketch and that no design work had been done.
Gondek said that the city’s Green Line LRT project is essentially disbanded, at least in the near future. The cost estimates grew as development went on for a number of reasons, such as inflation, growing building expenses, and modifications to the project’s scope.
According to Gondek, the most recent provincial action has drastically altered the project’s prospects.
“As a result of that … we are no longer as a city able to afford the cost of this project,” she told CBC earlier this month.
The province says in the letter that it will proceed by contracting a third party to submit substitute ideas for the LRT line that unites the Red and Blue Lines along Seventh Avenue S.W. and the Grand Central inter-city railway station the province envisions in the east-end entertainment district.
Premier Danielle Smith’s United Conservative government (UCP) is blaming former mayor andNDP leader Naheed Nenshi, for prior negligence, while the Calgary city council is blaming the province for withdrawing previously pledged funds.
As of now, Calgary has spent more than $1.4 billion on the Green Line LRT project, which includes $350 million in site purchase, $400 million in utility construction, and a new fleet of light rail vehicles that will arrive in late 2027.
Transportation and Economic Corridors Minister Devin Dreeshen termed the city’s revised Green Line LRT plan “unacceptable,” stating that the province will not support it.
The proposed new route will go from Eau Claire to Lynnwood/Millican rather than Eau Claire to Shepard, making it far shorter than expected.
To address escalating costs, the council decided 10-5 in late July to eliminate six stations from the Green Line’s initial phase while increasing its budget by $700 million to more than $6.2 billion. The expectation was that the province would contribute $1.53 billion toward the project which now has been pulled.
In recent developments according to Gondek, the province has granted her request to attempt rescuing some of the Green Line LRT project’s work while it explores a different route.
It follows a letter that Gondek wrote to Dreeshen and Premier Danielle Smith, which the mayor shared on social media.
Gondek stated that the province might temporarily preserve up to 700 jobs and taxpayer money if it used some of the city’s current work in its new alignment in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Several setbacks, political choices, and escalating expenses have continuously modified the project’s schedule and extent.
The project’s future is uncertain right now because other options are being explored, especially in the absence of the required provincial money.