Temporary CTrain station to be built as part of plan to bring 17th Avenue into Stampede

Plans for a new LRT station at Victoria Park/Stampede will involve building a temporary platform during construction.

Gone will be the old concrete walkway that leads pedestrians to the current platform and in its place will be a street-level stop. 

It's the first step in creating a permanent platform and extending 17th Avenue into Stampede Park over a level crossing of the tracks.

"It's been a challenge to figure out how do you usher so many Calgarians through the site, through to downtown and beyond, and keep construction working and the team has come up with a really ingenious solution to do a temporary platform closer to Macleod Trail," said Kate Thompson, the CEO of the Calgary Municipal Land Corporation, which is overseeing the project and the transformation of the Stampede Grounds. 

She said there are three tracks in the location, which frees up space. 

Thompson said the overhead walkway will come down in the spring. 

Inside Stampede Park, most of Weadickville is being demolished or moved, the wooden stockade fence has been cut down and the Coca-Cola stage will be torn down to make way for the new roadway. 

Opening the park to 17th Avenue is happening at the same time as the extension of the BMO Centre gets underway, with the $500 million project slated for completion in 2024. 

That project involves demolishing the old Corral, which will begin next week. 

Also pegged for a 2024 opening date is the new arena on the north end of the grounds.