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Condensed timeline puts pressure on Calgary council to approve Green Line project

5 days ago

CALGARY With timelines tightening Calgary city council is asking for an urgent meeting with the Alberta government to discuss a reworked plan to build a multibilliondollar lightrailtransit line connecting the citys southeast to downtown The Alberta government announced its revamped Green Line proposal on Friday saying it would save more than 1 billion with the next step a decision from Calgary council on whether to proceed The plan includes an elevated track instead of a tunnel downtown and five more stations A public presentation on the new proposal at city council Tuesday was limited as ordered by the province for confidentiality reasons Council was required to go behind closed doors to discuss the full details Mayor Jyoti Gondek said she only learned of the reworked plan at a 7 am meeting with the province on Friday Some details were released to media less than an hour later Council didnt receive the detailed proposal until late Friday evening Gondek said she told Alberta Transport Minister Devin Dreeshen there needed to be another meeting We did indicate at that Friday morning meeting I remember looking at the clock its 738 Weve had 38 minutes to digest everything youre telling me I dont have a report in front of me You are not going to get a decision from council on Tuesday Gondek said Councillor Sonya Sharp asked if there was a timeline for a meeting Was there a reachout to the province to have a discussion before yesterday she asked Gondek replied We had a request in at the administration level to have a more urgent working group meeting Dreeshens office did not immediately return a request for comment Calgary city council voted to wind down the 62billion project in September after the province said it would pull its 153billion in funding without a major project overhaul The province contracted consulting firm AECOM in July to find alternatives to the citys latest proposal which would have involved a tunnel through downtown and run a drastically shorter distance than previously planned The AECOM report lays out a longer transit line reaching to near the edge of the city and no tunnel under downtown The federal government has also committed 153 billion but that window is closing Unfortunately theres not an option for them to extend the timeline because they have a new program for transit funding that begins immediately after said Wendy Tynan executive director of public affairs for the Green Line Our last window to retain the 153 billion commitment from the feds out of this existing fund thats been there is to have it approved by Mar 31 and that was made clear Coun Raj Dhaliwal asked if there was a deadline for council to make a decision We need to have a recommendation in front of council and if it was approved have time for it to go to the province to have them approve it with a new business case and then for the province to approve to get it to the federal government to approve all by Mar 31 Tynan said It is a very condensed timeline Dhaliwal expressed frustration that Calgarians are being kept in the dark about an important issue We talk often here about transparency This is secrecy he said The province expects us to make a decision just because they are throwing the ball in our court This is not even a ball Its not even a puck Its like a little ping pong ball This report by The Canadian Press was first published December 17 2024 Bill Graveland The Canadian Press

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