Committee gives Green Line LRT alignment thumbs up
Posted Oct 15, 2015 8:05 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
A report on the Green Line LRT has received the green light from the Transportation Committee.
That includes the finalized recommended alignment of both the line and the stations for the southeast leg.
While there are still concerns about parking and funding, it’s another hurdle passed for the project.
Jeff Binks, President of LRT on the Green, says a quick drive on Deerfoot during rush hour shows how badly this line is needed, adding a three-car LRT train holds about 600 people.
“You can’t typically count 600 cars when you’re stuck in traffic so to have those removed every five minutes is going to be a massive improvement for everyone in southeast Calgary,” he explained.
Most of the concerns people have over the project have been put to rest, except for perhaps the biggest one: funding
“The provincial government seems to be very supportive of public transit and seems to see the need for the Green Line in Calgary, the real question will become budget time here at the end of October and whether or not the money goes where their mouth is,” he said.
Knowing the alignment of the line is also good for people looking to buy and sell property, as explained by Calgary Home Boys and CIR Realty’s John Mayberry, who looked at what’s happened in the past.
“Values in areas like Rosscarrock, Glendale, Killarney and Shaganappi were either at or below the city median in 2010 and then in 2012 those communities within one kilometre of the new stations were at or above the city median by as much as 10 per cent,” he said, adding while it’s a long term play, it might be worth it to buy now
Still, he cautions prices tend to go the other way if the line passes right by your backyard, but he says there are lot of factors that go into real estate prices, and the LRT is just one.
