Alberta Transportation and Economic Corridors Minister Devin Dreeshen and Calgary Mayor Jyoti Gondek said the provincial government and City of Calgary have been engaging in productive talks about the Green Line LRT. Through these discussions, Dreeshen and Gondek said the Alberta government and City of Calgary have agreed to advance the work on the Green Line from Four St. SE to Shepard. “This decision not only works to preserve more than 700 jobs, but also builds on the shared investments we have made towards the Green Line,” said Dreeshen and Gondek in a Thursday statement. “As part of our meetings, the province reaffirmed that the previously committed funding of $1.53B remains available to support the continuation of this work during the interim period.”At the same time, they said AECOM is developing a revised downtown alignment on behalf of the Alberta government. They added this alignment will be at grade or elevated and will connect into the Red and Blue Line, the Event Centre, and southeast Calgary communities. Dreeshen and Gondek concluded by saying the City of Calgary is assisting in this review and meeting with the Alberta government and AECOM to speak about its efforts. “We are committed to continuing this work and remain optimistic that we will continue to reach decisions that are in the best interest of Calgary commuters,” they said. Dreeshen said on September 3 the Green Line “is fast becoming a multibillion dollar boondoggle that will serve very few Calgarians.” .Dreeshen says Alberta government to halt funding to Calgary’s Green Line LRT .In response, Dreeshen said the Alberta government is unable to support or provide funding for the revised Green Line Stage One scope as detailed in the City of Calgary’s most recent business case. “To be clear, we recognize your and the current council’s efforts to try to salvage the untenable position you’ve been placed in by the former mayor and his utter failure to completely oversee the planning, design, and implementation of a cost-effective transit plan that have could have served hundreds of thousands of Calgarians in the City’s southern and northern communities,” he said.
