Calgary groups slam province's Green Line plans, say offering support would be 'reckless'

Some downtown and industry groups are pushing back against the Alberta government's plan to build elevated Green Line LRT tracks in Calgary's downtown core.

A letter sent by four organizations to the province said supporting the proposed above-ground alignment would be "reckless."

The province's new plan for the Green Line is "leading to a sense of rushing," according to Bill Black, president of the Calgary Construction Association, one of the groups that signed the letter. 

"Too many question marks are still there," he said.

"The routing of the elevated line will have a significant impact on the look, feel and operability of downtown."

The letter lists soundproofing, assessment values, building safety and the loss of tenants as concerns. 

The Calgary Downtown Association, The Building Owners and Managers Association of Calgary (BOMA Calgary) and the Calgary chapter of the Commercial Real Estate Development Association (NAIOP Calgary) also signed the letter. 

In September, Alberta Transportation Minister Devin Dreeshen sent a letter to Calgary Mayor Jyoti Gondek saying the province was unable to provide support for the city's Green Line alignment, which he said was becoming a "multi-billion dollar boondoggle." 

The province unveiled its reimagined alignment in December, designed by AECOM, featuring no downtown tunnelling. 

A 165-page engineering report from the consulting firm maps out plans for an elevated track in the city centre and five additional stops in South Calgary. 

But the document failed to convince BOMA Calgary executive director Lloyd Suchet that an above-ground alignment is the better option.  

"We don't know how vibration, noise, privacy will be mitigated. We don't have the impact of shadowing," he said.  

"An elevated train line is not conducive to street-level activity. And so we have serious concerns of how this will impact those businesses and residents along the route as well as the safety issues this type of infrastructure could create, particularly the shadowing and at night."

NAIOP Calgary strategic initiatives director Guy Huntingford also has a set of questions he says haven't been answered. 

"We want to make sure that it's something that the City of Calgary can be proud of, and so above ground just doesn't cut it," he said. 

"The biggest issues are assessment and market values. Have those been considered? Those buildings pay a great amount of property taxes. What's going to happen to that and to the city budgets?"

All four groups support building the Green Line from Shepard to the planned Grand Central Station near the future Scotia Place arena and event centre on the condition that the beltline and downtown alignment is revisited.

In a statement, Alberta Transportation Minister Devin Dreeshen said an above-ground alignment downtown saves more than a billion dollars in tunnelling costs, which can be used to extend the project further south. 

The Minister also said the revised alignment will serve more Calgarians because it is 76 per cent longer than the final City of Calgary plan.

Many of the challenges identified can be addressed as the design progresses, he added. 

Calgary City Council will discuss the Green Line project behind closed doors on Tuesday.