With preparation for the Green Line LRT pushing forward toward a shovel-ready plan, concern remains over when — or whether — the provincial government will pony up the necessary dough.
Now, a report to city council’s transportation committee draws a line in the sand.
Funding for the project must be secured by October 2016, or construction of the train line could be broken up into stages.
Routing of proposed Calgary Transit Green Line CTrain service.
The city has committed its third of the funding for the approximately $4- to $5-billion LRT line, which will run down Centre Street North through downtown and out to southeast suburban areas.
Federal funding was first promised by the previous Conservative government, to be spread out over 20 years.
“We can’t say officially, but we’ve had indications that the new (federal) Liberal government is planning to commit their funding much quicker than that,” said Ward 12 Coun. Shane Keating, the committee chair.
“The faster we get the funding, the more we can actually build, because there’s less financing charges.”
The provincial government, however, has played coy on funding details, with no timeline for the decision.
The official request for project funding was submitted by Mayor Naheed Nenshi in January.
Keating has no doubt the province will come through before the deadline.
“If you look at reality, it has to be done,” he said.
The province has suggested that its new carbon tax could be used to fund the province’s portion, something Keating has vocally supported as a win-win idea: get the train built, and put the carbon tax revenue towards a clear and simple purpose.
“My view is, whether we agree with the carbon tax or not, it’s coming. And it only makes sense to make it as transparent as possible.”
In the event that funding can’t be secured, Keating said a number of staging options would be considered. But there are two key parts of the Green Line that must be built in the initial stage: the inner city segment, and the maintenance barns, which are slated for the southeast leg.
That means if the project gets split up, north-central Calgary will have to wait for its train.
But Keating is confident it won’t come to that.
“I truly believe that if the province doesn’t fund it, they’re making a rather disastrous political decision,” he said. “It fits with their philosophy and they need to find some way to fund it.”
GREEN LINE: BY THE NUMBERS
– 46 km train line (current LRT system: 58 km)
– 27 stations, from North Pointe to Seton
– will serve 456,000 Calgarians
– City’s commitment: $1.56 billion over 30 years
– downtown alignment and Bow River crossing to be determined
– construction planned to begin June 2017
– tentative completion 2025
