City moves forward with plans for Green Line

The city is moving forward with plans for Calgary Transit’s Green Line to connect the south to the north and is working to put the funding in place to pay for it.

The Green Line will be 46 kilometers long and will run from the far north end of the city, along Center Street, through the downtown and Inglewood and then down to McKenzie Towne and the South Health Campus and finally on to Seton.

The federal government committed to provide funds for one third of the project’s cost earlier this summer and now the city is considering a motion to formally ask the province for the same.

Some councillors say the province should contribute and are looking for the NDP government to add about $1.5B to the project.

Locations for the southeast stations have been determined and the north-central stations will be selected after more public consultation.

Ward 12 Councillor Shane Keating says shovels could be in the ground by 2017 and portions of the new line could be open as early as 2021 and the project completed by 2023.

“If we start in 17 what can happen is land acquisition, grade separated interchanges can be planned from now until the. That gives us two years to actually look at the components.  The southeast line has been set. The stations have been planned so a portion of that could begin quite in earnest, could actually begin very, very soon,” said Keating.

The city will still have to come up with about $1B to cover its share of the project.

"The city has half a billion in place, we have to find the other one billion and the province has not yet committed but I anticipate that they will. The real question is, is it all at once? Is it over 30 years? How do we manage the debt?" said Mayor Naheed Nenshi.

For more information on the Green Line, click HERE.

(With files from Shaun Frenette)