New committee created as council seeks solution to downtown Green Line route

CALGARY (660 NEWS) — Following concerns about rising costs over a certain section of the Green Line LRT project, the city is hopeful they will have a solution in January.

Also, a new committee is going to be formed in order to clear the air about this complex project.

“There may be some changes, let’s bring it together, let’s consolidate it, let’s make it more focused,” said Ward 12 Coun. Shane Keating, after a Transportation Committee meeting on Wednesday.

Councillors also heard another update on the Green Line situation, as officials are evaluating affordable routes to identify the most attractive one.

There’s a debate on if they should build a tunnel under the downtown core, or build the line at street level.

“They’re not proposing anything today that we haven’t seen before,” added Keating. “All of those aspects have been done in the city for decades. So it isn’t the big issue of changes, what really needs to be done is that we have the ability to go and engage with the population.”

READ MORE: Council proceeds with Green Line with some revisions

That will be the next crucial piece for the officials on the Green Line file, said Transportation Manager Michael Thompson.

“We have a lot of information from Calgarians about what their dreams and aspirations are, and also what the concerns and risks they see in the area.

We’ve already done a lot of that work, we’ve been in the background looking at that over the past couple of months,” Thompson said.

“So it’s nothing new, we’ve already talked about this with the council, we’re just working through that process right now and we’ll be back in January with an update as to where we’re at.”

Meanwhile, Keating stressed that construction on the first leg of the Green Line must begin in south Calgary while the questions about the downtown are worked out.

“The vast majority of that 20 kilometres is staying exactly the same. So, there’s a small portion of the 20 kilometres that has to be revisited. How that’s revisited, how you engage the public in that time, what needs to be done and where.”

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