More C-Train stations on Red Line to be studied by city

On Monday, council directed administration to examine the possibility of adding stations to Red Line of the LRT, the original line that stretches from the deep northwest to deep southwest.

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Ward 9 Coun.Gian-Carlo Carra brought forward the motion, arguing it was worth looking at the potential for transit-oriented development (TOD) opportunities in existing areas and whether new stations could boost ridership.

He said one such area is around Fisher Park, south of Chinook Centre.

"Fisher Park was acquired by significant development interest," he said, adding the developer wants to put"significant transit oriented development" in the area.

There's also the area around Northland Village Mall, which was alsoapproved for a major redevelopment Monday, and50thAvenue in the southwest.

Studying, not building

At this point, it's simply an issue of examining the areas along the line to determine the feasibility of adding stations, and also looking at the potential for TOD.

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MacLogan, the general manager of transportation for the city said the feasibility studies could be done by the fall, with development studies by late 2017.

Some councillors, including Ward Sutherland from Ward 1, worried about the city overextending itself, with lots of work to be done on bus rapid transit corridors and the LRT Green Line.

"I'm really concerned about the broad scope of this motion and that we're going to put too much on the table for the department," he said.

Ward 4 Coun. Sean Chu worried more stations would mean longer commutes, something Logan said would be part of the feasibility studies.

Logan also assured council this would not interfere with existing and priorityprojects. At this time, he said, there isn't even funding in place should new stations eventually be approved.