Calgary officials call for more transparency from province on new Green Line alignment

Calgary officials say they want the province to publicly release the completed report on their proposed new Green Line alignment, arguing there is not much they can say about it since its marked confidential.

The city was given the new Green Line alignment and financial summary last Friday, 11 days after AECOM submitted the report to the province on Dec. 2.

Mayor Jyoti Gondek said Monday the 165-page report is labelled confidential, which puts the city in a difficult position.

“We wish to be as transparent as possible with Calgarians about what has been proposed in terms of a new alignment as well as the financial summary,” she says. “But, we are not sure what we can share publicly.”

“In short, there is a lot more information that is needed.”

Ward 10 Coun. Andre Chabot says the public’s input on the Green Line is necessary before the city can make a decision, especially considering residents and businesses who would be directly impacted by construction.

“The fact that it’s going to have significant impact on buildings and neighborhoods warrant the public’s right to be able to engage in discussion,” says Chabot.

The map of the province’s new alignment shows 12 stations stretching from 7 Avenue SW downtown to Shepard station near Deerfoot Trail and 130 Avenue SE. But, Gondek says a station at Eau Claire that was included in the city approved Green Line cannot be overlooked.

“The promise of the Green Line from the beginning was a north to south transit line,” says Gondek. “Getting to a point like Eau Claire where we can connect a line across the river to the north is critical.”

The province claims the new route will result in more than $1 billion in savings by elevating tracks and shortening the route through downtown.

The Beltline Neighbourhoods Association also called on the province to increase transparency. The group’s director Peter Oliver says they have concerns about the UCP government’s plan to build an elevated track along 10 Avenue.

“It could potentially sterilize up to 19 blocks from the private sector investment and development, just putting some big hulking elevated train up,” says Oliver.

The province contracted AECOM in July to come up with an alternative at-grade and/or elevated route for the Green Line through downtown, after the City of Calgary and province couldn’t come to an agreement on which way to go.

In July, the city learned the project’s budget had ballooned to $6.248 billion and approved several changes to the line.

The UCP ultimately wasn’t happy with the changes, pulling its $1.5 billion share of funding and effectively bringing the project to a halt.

Calgary council voted 10-5 mid-September to wind down the project, which was estimated to cost over $2.1 billion and impact more than 1,000 jobs.

Weeks later, after discussions with Calgary City Council, the province recommitted funding and both sides agreed to a December deadline for decisions on re-alignment.

City officials plan to discuss the report in more detail on Tuesday and determine what questions should be addressed to the province before making a decision.

With files from Tiffany Goodwein