Calgary's mayor floats temporary pause on downtown Green Line to extend further south

Calgary Mayor Jeromy Farkas is considering a strategic pause on the downtown segment of the Green Line LRT project, suggesting officials prioritize extending the line further south first. Farkas believes this approach would provide crucial additional time to determine a viable alignment through the city's congested downtown core.

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For me, personally, I’d be looking at perhaps parking some of the more contentious portions of the downtown route, potentially stopping a little bit shorter in the downtown, giving us more time to solve for that portion of the alignment, and taking some of the cost savings and pushing even further south into suburban Calgary.

"For me, personally, I’d be looking at perhaps parking some of the more contentious portions of the downtown route, potentially stopping a little bit shorter in the downtown, giving us more time to solve for that portion of the alignment, and taking some of the cost savings and pushing even further south into suburban Calgary," Farkas told reporters. This idea comes as project officials are evaluating an elevated alignment proposed by the provincial government, a condition for its $1.5 billion funding contribution.

Concerns from downtown businesses and residents regarding the proposed elevated route have prompted city councilors to schedule a debate on exploring alternative alignments through the core. Alberta Transportation Minister Devin Dreeshen indicated the province is open to discussing refinements but firmly stated that "a tunnel is not on the table." A previously planned tunnel for the downtown alignment was scrapped when the province withdrew funding due to cost overruns and a reduced scope for the line.

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a tunnel is not on the table

Farkas suggested that buses could serve as a temporary connection between the Event Centre Station and the MAX Green bus line on Centre Street, bypassing the need for a train through downtown until a potential partnership with the federal government for an underground option could be secured. He also proposed building within the current southern envelope and having the city and federal government partner on a potential underground downtown phase. Construction on the southeast leg of the $6.2 billion project is already underway, with the current terminus planned for Shepard. Experts note that extending the line further south to Seton is feasible due to a protected right-of-way, but a decision on the downtown leg is critical, as at-grade options are not plausible and provincial funding for a tunnel is unavailable.

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We know an at-grade option isn’t plausible because the trains are too long for the blocks, and we know the province isn’t interested in a tunnel.