Albertasaurus
Active Member
Based on the speed at which government typically moves, I am going to say years. Especially considering it took us 9 years to get to today. Although I hope I am wrong.
- Thread starter Surrealplaces
- Start date
UrbanWarrior
Senior Member
Also especially considering they’re now talking (nonsensically) about adding the Green Line to the 7th avenue FFZ.
CBBarnett
Senior Member
The article:
"In the letter, the province says it will move forward by contracting out a third party to provide alternative proposals for the LRT line that integrate the red and blue lines along Seventh Avenue S.W., and the province's envisioned Grand Central inter-city railway station in the east end entertainment district. "
The UCP-backed Rethink Greenline group's Plan B from years ago https://greenlineinfo.ca/plan-b-our-solution/
Rethink Green Line Board -
Some of those names will be familiar as long-time UCP folks. Stay tuned for who gets this taxpayer-funded "third party" contract to provide counter proposals and/or who is appointed to the "blue ribbon" panel to review those proposals
In this province, the real money is in the politics of transit, not actually building, transit.
Paper Boy
New Member
I am disappointed in my city and my province over this boondoggle. Smith is simply flexing her power making sure everyone knows who is in charge. This is about politics for her. Kenney looks better and better every day.
The 3 Billion that the Feds and Province put up in 2015 is worth 70% of what it was then. So the reality is the delays caused by our provincial government have reduced the spending power of the grant. The subway needs to be built ( or a skytrain styled elevated line connected to the plus 15) We cannot have intersecting lines in the downtown. It would reduce the capacity of the other lines. Wish this city and province could go back in time to their “CAN DO” roots.
The 3 Billion that the Feds and Province put up in 2015 is worth 70% of what it was then. So the reality is the delays caused by our provincial government have reduced the spending power of the grant. The subway needs to be built ( or a skytrain styled elevated line connected to the plus 15) We cannot have intersecting lines in the downtown. It would reduce the capacity of the other lines. Wish this city and province could go back in time to their “CAN DO” roots.
aryanoboi
New Member
I mean at this point the best we can hope for is a Nenshi government in 2027 that’s willing to fund the green line. Frankly, the stub proposal being shelved might be a good option for now.
It just shocks me how we can’t build a simple train line. The provincial government is perfectly fine throwing hundreds of millions of dollars to improve one highway interchange, but can’t fund a massive transit expansion? God this place is backwards sometimes…
It just shocks me how we can’t build a simple train line. The provincial government is perfectly fine throwing hundreds of millions of dollars to improve one highway interchange, but can’t fund a massive transit expansion? God this place is backwards sometimes…
darwink
Senior Member
The feds believe in subsidiarity, that if the local government has skin in the game, the local government must value it, and not be wasting their own money.
darwink
Senior Member
Elevated.If they propose building a surface running line downtown and in the beltline I will explode
CalgaryTiger
Senior Member
IMO, this is a delay tactic to get to the upcoming releases, first of a Airport rail-something (fall '24) and then of the provincial rail plan (spring '25). I see the province taking over all rail after the plan comes out. They'll delay any outcome on this until then while they thumb through the paperwork provided by the city. Honestly, a centralized rail-something isn't the worst but to get here we had to go through hell.
Hell as in Billions in wasted money on utility work, studies, and other administration. Multiple false starts and people patting themselves on the back when there was nothing to celebrate.
Hell as in Billions in wasted money on utility work, studies, and other administration. Multiple false starts and people patting themselves on the back when there was nothing to celebrate.
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Joborule
Active Member
Auroa Business Park should have ample enough space. It's serving no purpose currently. It was designated to be the storage facility for the Nose Creek alignment I believe.
kora
Active Member
Calgary used to be a leader and a model for other cities to follow when it comes to light rail. Now it's a cautionary tale. That's not what we want our city to be.
darwink
Senior Member
Getting that far north is an issue. Centre St has a lot of utilities under it. Probably cheaper to take a row of houses out on either side of Centre than try to move all those utilities. Given how construction is now way more expensive, but houses are somewhat flat.
Joborule
Active Member
True, but with how the current project for the stub line is about what, ~6billion dollars? Would it be worth it to do say 8 Billion from North Pointe to Downtown or Highfield if it can make it that far within that price point? Seems a lot better ROI if you're going to be paying a lot up front of the first phase.
ahuch
Active Member
I suspect that's what the Green Line team likely wanted but when you have 3 levels of partners funding a project and only one partner is willing to absorb any sort of cost increase you get what you get.
darwink
Senior Member
The downtown tunnel ate the rest of the project.
The downtown tunnel is now gone.
Where the project ends up now is a total guess.
Buying Aspen Square, and making it grand central, solves many problems. The can even make it no tunnel, even stay on the south side of the CPR, and still be mostly functional, without breaking the Red and Blue lines (unlike the Steve Allen group proposal).
Silence&Motion
Senior Member
There was a time when building Calgary up into a model city was a centrepiece of the Alberta Conservative agenda, and part of what made the PCs such a big tent, dominant party. Remember when Ralph Klein was the champion of the LRT network?
Now that UCP is a rural grievance party focused primarily on identity politics and scraping off just enough suburban and ex-urban Calgarians to maintain a slight seat advantage in the legislature. They have basically ceded most of Calgary to the NDP, which they can do so long as all the ridings outside Calgary, Edmonton and Lethbridge remain in lockstep with the party.