[googspecial]

Do we know where the "bad soil" is? Maybe a portal could be done on island, and tunnel under the lagoon.
Here?

This would keep the west end wetlands connected to the rest of the park... Though I still think a bridge over the island is not great...

 

[darwink]

^ possible but having an above ground station would probably save an extra $100 million

 

[Mountain Man]

There's no way they will block the river pathway with all the work they have just done, there's got to be a better way.

 

[Alex_YYC]

Here's another question. Would tunneling be easier if done around 4th or 5th street instead of 2nd? It would also allow the LRT to move deeper into the Beltline...granted that would cost extra money.

 

[darwink]

There's no way they will block the river pathway with all the work they have just done, there's got to be a better way.

Yes there is - you just shift a bit here and there, increase the grade, and it will be fine.

 

[darwink]

Here's another question. Would tunneling be easier if done around 4th or 5th street instead of 2nd? It would also allow the LRT to move deeper into the Beltline...granted that would cost extra money.

Possibly. One of the PDFs posted this week has the rough outline of the sand trap that causes some of the issues. Risk is that after coring on another route, it could be challenging in other ways.

 

[darwink]

Any chance they can get rid of Eau Claire market, and have it come out of the ground there? It should allow enough distance to have it go up over the path.

Yes, just need to coordinate and provide some compensation.

 

[UrbanWarrior]

 

[Surrealplaces]

Any chance they can get rid of Eau Claire market, and have it come out of the ground there? It should allow enough distance to have it go up over the path.

Yes, just need to coordinate and provide some compensation.

Seeing as the Eau Market re-do project is dead, maybe the station could be the catalyst for redevelopment? Instead of Eau Claire market it becomes Eau Claire Station. Retail, residential and some office, but with a station...if the station has to be above ground, that might be the best way to turn the situation around.

 

[Mountain Man]

Evan Woolley is now also pushing for a pause on the Green Line, I'm nervous for the future of this project now.
https://www.facebook.com/notes/evan-woolley/getting-the-green-line-right/1282864208559650/

 

[Cowtown]

I'm anxious to see the Green Line get built, but the pause isn't making me nervous, as I believe it's getting built one way or another. I don't see any harm (other than the general delay) of revisiting some aspects. for $5 Billion we might as well get our ducks in a row.

Seeing as the Eau Market re-do project is dead, maybe the station could be the catalyst for redevelopment? Instead of Eau Claire market it becomes Eau Claire Station. Retail, residential and some office, but with a station...if the station has to be above ground, that might be the best way to turn the situation around.

Eau Claire Station has kind of a nice ring to it. Maybe this is just the type of use that would make actually make Eau Claire work as a node and public space.

 

[Mountain Man]

My concern is if this isn't started under the current council, then the next one will nickel and dime it and we will have another half assed system that runs at grade. Or even worse, it gets shelved for another 20 years in the name of saving tax dollars.

 

[darwink]

Fortunately, the LRVs will be ordered, the contract issued for at least the SE surface section. The path dependency will be strong to push through.

 

[Surrealplaces]

Pause or revisit? A pause is okay, but I don't want them to revisit the whole project, as they have spent a lot of time on it already. Pausing to look at the tunnel vs bridge over the Bow is okay, given the issue with the soil that wasn't known the original plan.

I'm anxious to see the Green Line get built, but the pause isn't making me nervous, as I believe it's getting built one way or another. I don't see any harm (other than the general delay) of revisiting some aspects. for $5 Billion we might as well get our ducks in a row.

 

[Silence&Motion]

What exactly does "pause" mean? I have to admit, I'm interpreting Woolley's announcement as nothing more than political grandstanding in anticipation for future run for mayor. His announcement is just full of platitudes about "measuring twice and cutting once", and a bunch of "fiscal conservative" baloney about the project being "a burden to tax payers". Some of the reasons he gives for "pausing" are crazy: because they need to better integrate the line with the non-existent new Flames area, and because he's worried it will delay an LRT connection to the airport (why do we want that again?).

I voted for the guy, but he's coming across as a huge flake.

Again, if I had something more concrete to go on than just the term "pause" I'd have a better sense of how to evaluate these statements. On it's own, Woolley's announcement just seems to undermine the project for the sake of scoring cheap political points.