Listen to this article
Estimated 5 minutes
The audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology. Mispronunciations can occur. We are working with our partners to continually review and improve the results.
After more than a decade of planning, Calgary is once again taking the Green Line back to the drawing board.
City councillors voted Tuesday to direct administration to present alternative routes by September for how the long-gestating LRT project can connect to downtown Calgary. The current plan, proposed by the provincial government, is an elevated track running along 10th Avenue and Second Street Southwest.
In a project update on Tuesday, city staff said public engagement found that while most respondents had a positive impression of the elevated track, the majority of people surveyed who live and work nearby oppose the design.
The negative feedback is no surprise, said Mayor Jeromy Farkas. But he said his top priority while in office, aside from repairing the city’s water system, is to realize a full build-out of the Green Line from the city’s far north to its far south.
“Green Line has always been about city building. It’s been about setting up the city for the next 50 to 100 years,” said Farkas.
A rendering of the above-ground elevated track for the Green Line, presented by infrastructure consulting firm AECOM in its 2024 presentation on a new alignment for the train. (AECOM)
Construction on the southeast portion of the Green Line broke ground last June. It’s designed to include 10 stations, running from Shepard to the new arena near Victoria Park. The long-term vision for the full Green Line is to run 46 kilometres from Seton in southeast Calgary to 160th Avenue in the north end.
The $6.25-billion project is the largest infrastructure investment in Calgary’s history.
But its future has been unclear since the province derailed the project by pulling its funding in 2024.
The province and city came to an agreement later that year to move the project forward, even as it remained unclear how the train would reach downtown Calgary.
The elevated track has been criticized in the past, including by Calgary’s Chamber of Commerce, which cited the risks it raises for development in the city’s downtown.
City administration said on Tuesday it heard criticism through public feedback for the elevated track, which includes its potential to hurt nearby property values, create noise, and dampen downtown vibrancy and businesses.
LISTEN | Local concerns on Alberta’s proposed elevated track for the Green Line:
Calgary Eyeopener8:12Elevating the Green Line LRT downtown
Calgarians are split over the idea of an elevated LRT through downtown. We hear about the latest round of engagement on the Green Line.
“To proceed with an option that would potentially sterilize the downtown or have a significant impact on property values, that is a significant concern of ours,” said Farkas.
Alternatives administration could present in September include other routes for elevated tracks, or paths for ground-level or underground alignments.
City officials said the new direction does not delay their goal of bringing forward a plan for the downtown alignment by the end of the year.
The city is eyeing a 2031 opening date for the project.
Downtown tunnel not on the table: Dreeshen
The city favoured a downtown tunnel for the Green Line, prior to the project hitting roadblocks in 2024.
Since then, Alberta Transportation Minister Devin Dreeshen has argued elevated tracks give Calgarians the best value for their money.
But on Tuesday, Farkas said the province has indicated it’s flexible about finding a different downtown alignment. In response, Dreeshen reiterated his opposition to an underground tunnel.
Alberta Transportation Minister Devin Dreeshen said a tunnel into downtown Calgary is still off the table for the city’s long-delayed Green Line LRT project. (Peter Evans/CBC)
“We’re open to discussing refinements to the alignment, but a downtown tunnel is not on the table,” said Dreeshen in an emailed statement on Tuesday.
“The elevated alignment will reach more neighbourhoods, deliver five more stations, and boosts commuter ridership by 60 per cent. Our focus is delivering an above ground alignment that respects commuters and taxpayer dollars.”
Wendy Tynan, the Green Line director, said administration will use the city’s past research on possible alignments to inform the options it brings to council this fall, and to build on public feedback.
“There are a finite number of options to connect into the downtown. What has changed is the decision-makers around the table,” said Tynan.
Green Line’s north connection unclear
Ward 3 Coun. Andrew Yule said he’s long been skeptical the Green Line will ever reach the communities he represents in north Calgary, after seeing the project’s northern terminus slowly drift farther south. He said he’s still unsure the project will reach his ward in his lifetime.
He noted the project’s turmoil was even part of the reason his predecessor, Jasmine Mian, chose not to run for re-election.
“That’s why I didn’t run on the Green Line in Ward 3, because the writing has been on the wall that it’s going to be many decades before Ward 3 ever sees this Green Line.”
The Green Line needs to reach north Calgary to build the level of ridership required to match the level of investment in the project, Farkas said.
He added that while the province has supported an elevated track for economic reasons in the past, criticism its current path plan has raised about cratering property value and hurting downtown business raise long-term economic concerns.
“We need to course correct. We need to adjust. But we can’t afford stalling momentum,” he said.