Calgary unsure how to proceed on province's Green Line plan

Jyoti Gondek says there is no way they can decide on the province's Green Line alignment proposal given that there are far too many questions still left to answer, likely the most important of which is the abandonment of Eau Claire in the project.

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During a media conference on Monday morning, she said the province provided a verbal briefing on its plan on Dec. 13, but it was only at 10 p.m. that day that council received a copy of the province's report.

To make matters even more complicated, Gondek said the 165-page report itself is marked "confidential."

"We're in a really tough position because we've been given a document that's marked confidential," Gondek said.

"We've been told this is a better alignment, but we can't talk about what's in this report.

"This puts the city in a difficult position where we wish to be as transparent as possible with Calgarians about what has been proposed in terms of the alignment as well as a financial summary."

On Friday, Transportation Minister Devin Dreeshen announced the province's take on the Green Line project, building off a third-party report by AECOM.

The province's plan ditches the idea of a downtown tunnel and adds five more stops, extending the Green Line all the way to Shepard.

After announcing the province's vision, Dreeshen said "the ball is now in Calgary city council's court."

On the weekend, Premier Danielle Smith told Albertans that her governments proposal is the best way forward for the project.

"I think we just have to come to terms with the fact that this project is a $20-billion project overall. It is a lot more expensive than anyone anticipated," she said during her weekly call-in radio show on Saturday.

"We're trying to make the best of getting a reasonable amount of it built at a reasonable price and we hope that council looks at that and balances it and makes a decision on it soon."

Alignment just a small part of the Green Line

Gondek said the route the line will take is "just a small part of the puzzle" for the project.

"We are still waiting for our provincial government to state they will take on the financial risk for this new project. We also do not have an understanding of how impacted parties were engaged on this new alignment," she said, adding that more discussions will need to happen before the city can make any decision on the province's proposal.

Given what was publicly released on Friday, the province's alignment appears to move away from a route that would take the Green Line through Eau Claire.

Gondek said this part of the route is "critical."

"That's something that council will have to consider given what's in front of us with the new consultant's report."

Ward 10 Coun. Andre Chabot said council needs the time to properly review that report and deciding without doing that would be "irresponsible."

"(Then) having the opportunity to go back to the provincial government and saying, 'Here's our findings. Here are the cost implications of decommissioning the previous alignment as well as the future financial requirements to make this alignment happen.

"There's a lot of things that need to happen."

Peter Oliver, director with Beltline Neighbourhoods Association calls the new provincial proposal disastrous.

"You have all the stations, the escalator banks, the emergency exit staircases on each end of the platform, either they're going to have space to build those, which it isn't really obvious where they would go," he said.

"Or they'll have to issue parachutes in the overhead of the train cars so that people can jump off the side of the tracks. We don't know, because it's all the secret."

Oliver adds that the elevated tracks would cause more crime, construction chaos and reduced accessibility.

"Today we're advocating for the best alignment downtown, not something that is being rammed down our throats," said Oliver.

Green Line remains 'a Calgary project'

Dreeshen's office, in an updated statement on Monday, said the province's realignment reflects the original goals of the Green Line and will ensure many more Calgarians benefit.

"It’s important to note that this remains a City of Calgary project," said Husam Khalo, Dreeshen's press secretary in an email to CTV News. "I encourage the city to thoroughly review the report and bring forward any questions or feedback they may have as we continue to work toward delivering a cost-effective and functional transit solution for Calgarians."

Gondek says she will be meeting with her council colleagues on Tuesday to further discuss the province's proposed realignment.