Province's independent Green Line report to come later this year, says mayor after meeting

Any details on what could become of Calgary's Green Line will hinge on an independent report commissioned by the province, which will not be released until later this year, says Calgary Mayor Jyoti Gondek. 

Gondek's comments come after a virtual meeting she had with Premier Danielle Smith and Transportation Minister Devin Dreeshen on Monday. 

The LRT project was halted last week after the province withdrew its pledged funding from the $6.2-billion megaproject.

"I asked if they would consider any components of the existing alignment that we approved," Gondek said at City Hall on Tuesday.

"They said that it's premature to talk about that until they get their consultant's report, which is anticipated by the end of this year. So really they're just waiting on this report to make a decision on what they wish to do."

In a statement, a spokesperson from the premier's office said Danielle Smith "remains committed to the project and a new above ground alignment that will benefit more Calgarians."

Gondek said the premier was in support of extending the line further to the south than the city's planned first phase.

She questioned the province's preference for an elevated track through downtown as opposed to any tunneling, which city council had approved in its plan.

"I have had several conversations … about how running the Green Line up to the Red and Blue lines at City Hall doesn't meet the need of riders because there's no trains for them to get onto, there's no capacity to manage that," said Gondek.

"You would have to add more trains, which will either result in gridlocking all traffic downtown, or you would need to find a way to divert the Red Line away from [Seventh Avenue] and that's probably going to require a tunnel. So we shared all the city's information. We have looked at this option before." 

It's still unclear whether the province will take over the construction of an adjusted Green Line plan, said Gondek. 

Details on the costs for winding down the current LRT project will go to city council next week.

Gondek said that even if the province's report does come in at the end of the year, an extended timeline will have to be tacked onto that.

"There's still probably going to be two or three months where the proposal would have to go to the federal government. It would have to go to treasury boards at the provincial and federal level more than likely, and council would have to weigh in as to whether or not it could afford to be a partner."