BUILD THE GREEN LINE
Mayor Naheed Nenshi is correct that it would be best to build the entire 46-kilometre Green Line LRT all at once. There’s been some discussion about dividing the megaproject into three stages — the first being a core section stretching from Beddington in the north through downtown to a proposed storage and maintenance yard at 130th Avenue S.E.
The problem with such a notion is that it would continue to starve many communities of the transit service they deserve. It was just last week that Statistics Canada released its latest census, which found deep-south neighbourhoods such as Auburn Bay and Chaparral doubled their populations between 2011-16.
The other shortcoming about building the line in stages is that it would deny the system of the volume of passengers it needs to ensure its feasibility. If the service doesn’t extend to some newer communities for decades to come, ridership is likely to suffer.
“You can’t really build it in a bunch of phases, because in order for it to work, it has to go pretty far,” the mayor said of the Green Line.
“It needs the population, particularly on the southeast portion of the line. There’s a lot of low population in between.”
The Green Line is supposed to end in Seton, a bustling community that’s home to the South Calgary Hospital. A transit terminus near the new hospital will be important for people needing care, but also for those wanting to visit relatives or conveniently commute to their jobs in the area.
A decision about how the Green Line will proceed will be made in June, but predictably, the prospect of further delays in the $4.5-billion project is worrying to people like Sami Amery, general manager of the McKenzie Towne Council.
“They were talking about our LRT before the southwest LRT line to 69th Street was built,” said Amery.
The southeast quadrant of the city is Calgary’s most neglected when it comes to transit. City council has committed $1.56 billion to the Green Line and the federal government has pledged $1.53 billion. That leaves the provincial NDP government sitting on the sidelines, which is extraordinary when you consider how much it goes on about the need to reduce our toll on the environment.
Taking scores of cars off Deerfoot and Stoney trails by building the Green Line is the type of initiative the NDP should embrace, even with the high cost. The Rachel Notley government should offer its support and ensure the line is built all at once, so it meets its potential.