The back and forth between the city and province over Calgary’s Green Line LRT continues with the mayor now inviting Premier Danielle Smith on a walking tour of the contentious proposed route.
Mayor Jyoti Gondek sent a letter to Smith and Transportation Minister Devin Dreeshen on Tuesday to invite them on the walk — saying she wants to show them “first-hand” the potential impacts that a proposed elevated line downtown would have.
Gondek says she is hoping the premier and Dreeshen, if they accept the invite, will listen to business owners in the area and go into the tour open-minded.
“I urge the premier and minister to accept this invitation,” says Gondek. “This is something that needs to be done soon so that people can see what an elevated line could potentially do in terms of harm.”
The beleaguered project’s plans have proven polarizing, with provincial officials disapproving of initial plans to utilize tunnels downtown. Meanwhile, the mayor has long disputed the concept of an elevated track saying it could disrupt traffic, public spaces and small businesses.
“It’s important to go in there and experience what the business owners and their patrons will be experiencing,” says Gondek.
The mayor has asked Smith to pick a date that fits her schedule.
Dreeshen was non-committal when asked about the invitation from the mayor, only saying in a statement to CityNews that he is looking forward to construction starting this year.
“Regarding the downtown alignment, there is more than a year’s worth of detailed design work that needs to be done,” reads Dreesehn’s statement. “Local concerns regarding the downtown alignment will be carefully considered and resolved during that time.”
Last week, Calgary city council approved all of the recommendations from city administration to move forward with the province’s proposed realignment.
The province put in place a deadline for the city to make a decision on an elevated downtown alignment that they believe will make the line cheaper.
Gondek voted against several of the the proposed recommendations with four councillors voting against all of them.
The recommendations to the multi-billion dollar transit project include starting construction on a line that extends from 160 Avenue in Southeast Calgary north to the new events centre — with future plans to extend the line through downtown along 10 Avenue and 2 Street SW.
Four organizations representing real estate and business communities in Calgary’s downtown and Beltline wrote a letter to Smith and Transportation Minister Dreeshen last month expressing opposition to the elevated track through the downtown core.
Construction is expected to begin on the southeast leg of the Green Line this year.