Green Line report says elevated track through downtown Calgary needs study

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith speaks to the media during the fall meetings of Canada's premiers hosted by Ontario in Toronto, Monday, Dec. 16, 2024. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette)

A report on the Alberta government's proposed alignment for Calgary's Green Line light-rail transit project says noise, ease of construction and impact to existing properties need to be studied further if the city moves forward.

The report was initially kept confidential by Transportation Minister Devin Dreeshen over concerns about bidding integrity, but a partially redacted version has been publicly released.

The province commissioned the report in September after it pulled its funding commitment over costs and a plan to have trains tunnel through downtown.

The report says "high-level" impacts of an elevated track were considered, and the city would needs to study those in greater detail.

Premier Danielle Smith has said council needs to make a decision by early January on whether the city will spend billions of dollars on the new alignment.

The city also needs an approved plan by the end of March or it will lose the federal government's $1.5 billion commitment to the project.

"Although Calgarians were originally told this was not possible, it was clear to me all along that there had to be a solution or a compromise,” she wrote. 

"As it turns out, there was.” 

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 19, 2024.