Calgary Mayor Jyoti Gondek said the City of Calgary can no longer afford the cost of the Green Line LRT because of the scope change demanded from the Alberta government. However, Gondek said the City of Calgary has been fiscally responsible with the Green Line. “We have tried to deliver it within the budget we had before us with our other two funding partners,” said Gondek in a Wednesday statement. “Unfortunately, the delay that will come with this review that's been requested and the uncertainty in the market will elevate costs on this project.”At the moment, she said the City of Calgary “can no longer be the order of government that's holding the debt financing and all of the financial risk on this project.”“So today we will be having a conversation as a council on how to transfer that financial risk away from Calgarians and over to the provincial government,” she said. Calgary city council approved a revised Green Line Phase One project scope, capital funding request, and delivery model as recommended by the Green Line Board in July. READ MORE: SHORTER & COSTLIER: Calgary Green Line LRT moves ahead with $6.2 billion smaller lineTo respond to rising costs and potential future escalations and maximize the Green Line’s benefits, the City of Calgary said the Green Line Board’s recommendations were based on work done to reduce costs and contractor negotiations during the Development Phase. “Today's decision is more than a decade in the making and sets Calgary up for success for years to come, especially at a time when we are the fastest growing city in the nation,” said Gondek. Alberta Transportation and Economic Corridors Minister Devin Dreeshen said on Tuesday Calgary’s Green Line LRT “is fast becoming a multibillion dollar boondoggle that will serve very few Calgarians.” READ MORE: Dreeshen says Alberta government to halt funding to Calgary’s Green Line LRTIn response, Dreeshen said the Alberta government is unable to support or provide funding for the revised Green Line Stage One scope as outlined 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,” said Dreeshen.
