Advocacy group takes the city to court to halt Valley LRT construction
If successful, an injunction would cost the city hundreds of thousands of dollars per day
A local advocacy group has asked the court to halt Valley LRT Line construction in the river valley in the hopes the city will draft a new route that's less harmful to the protected park space.
On July 5, Eric Gormley filed an affidavit asking for an injunction on behalf of Save Edmonton's Downtown Footbridge Community, a group opposed to the Valley Line route approved by council.
The route calls for the demolition of the Cloverdale footbridge and the creation of a new river valley crossing in its place. But the group fears the river valley will lose its natural character with a new vehicle crossing.
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- TransEd Partners picked to build, operate Edmonton's Valley LRT Line
In the court documents, Gormley claims the city has not received proper approval from the provincial environment minister to develop in the river valley, which is required under the Capital City Recreation Park (CCRP) land agreement of 1975.
"We had discovered a document in the provincial archives that was an agreement between the province and the city which effectively said that the (city) has to consult with the province," Gormley said.
Group hopes for action before footbridge demolition
The allegation has not been proven in court. Gormley said when he reached out to the province and the city to learn more about the agreement, neither appeared to be aware of it.
In his affidavit, he asks the court to call for an immediate stop to all Valley Line construction between the Muttart stop and the Quarters stop until the province can weigh in on the route's impact on the river valley.
The province has already committed to contribute $600 million to the first phase of the project, including a $150-million interest-free loan to be repaid by the city over 10 years.
Gormley said he hopes by filing the request for an injunction, the province will take responsibility for the park space in the river valley.
He also hopes the court takes action before the footbridge is scheduled for demolition in September.
Gormley, his wife Raquel Feroe and fellow group member Kristine Kowalchuk are paying for the legal fees themselves, and have started a crowdfunding campaign to help cover the costs.
Injunction would cost the city 'hundreds of thousands of dollars per week'
They would like the city to redesign the route using existing road crossings in order to save the footbridge.
Brad Smid, the city's project director for the Valley Line, filed an affidavit on behalf of the city in response, calling for the case to be adjourned.
In his affidavit, Smid says the city complied with its own bylaws when it approved the route.
The first phase of the Valley Line construction on the new LRT line began in April. The line is expected to be open for service in December 2020.
Smid also says in his affidavit that if the court stops construction on the project now, the city would be on the hook for hundreds of thousands of dollars per week in delay costs.
CBC could not confirm Monday if the city filed a further response to the group's request for an injunction, as the court was closed for the holiday.
On Tuesday the city confirmed no further affidavits have been filed, and declined further comment.
The case will be heard Aug. 16.