'Green Line is dead': North Calgary councillors push for rapid bus service

It's been a question at City Hall for decades, how to get rapid transit to North Calgary. On Tuesday, City Councillors discussed two different options, extending the Green Line north and building out a rapid bus corridor. Green Line is dead in Ward 3. I can't wait 20 years for the potential of a green line to reach Ward 3. Construction on the green line is already underway. Now city officials are looking to Council for $16 million to plan future extensions. Council has already confirmed an alignment from Shepherd to the Beltline. Now administration wants to develop its plans for an extension to Seton in the south and from downtown across the river and all the way north to 160th Avenue. Admin estimates the northern extension would cost about four billion dollars, but some councillors are questioning whether a green line north will ever become reality. We haven't even managed to be able to get the green line that we've currently approved into downtown, let alone across the river, let alone to the north where the ridership is. I don't see the political will to get it up to my ward and I need service now and so that's what we're doing with the Max Green. Instead, Kelly and Ewell want to prioritize building out the Max Green Bus Corridor, which would run from Keystone Hills to downtown, with dedicated bus lanes and new stations along the way. On Tuesday, city officials presented councillors with a few options for the corridor. Councillors opted to focus on the least expensive, $500 million option, which admin says would be the quickest to deliver. We spent $6 billion going to the south for an LRT. I think that folks in the entire north are worth $500 million all the way up to Keystone. Administration is expected to report back in the second quarter of next year with more details on the potential impacts of building out the bus line and opportunities for funding from other levels of government. Council will decide whether to fund planning for the northern Green Line expansion during budget talks later this month. Brendan Coulter, CBC News, Calgary City Hall.