Portland transit lends advice to Calgary on future Green Line project

A group of Calgary city councillors and staffers istouring light rail networks in several west coast cities this weektohelp them make some critical decision on the future ofthe upcomingGreen Lineproject.

After the delegationvisitsVancouver and Seattle, the director of Portland's MAX light rail systemwill show the group which includes councillors Druh Farrell, Jim Stevenson and Shane KeatingaroundPortland's publictransportation system.

"The system that you have in downtown is high ramps that get you into your light-rail vehicles, ours are all down at the curb level," saidDaveUnsworth.

He says Portland's low-rail light rail networkoffers universal accessibility for wheelchairs, the elderly andpeople pushing baby strollers.

"It alsohelpsthe transit to fit into the downtown fabric. From an urban design standpoint, from how you view things ... there's not as much as a blockage. I think it actually helps retail on the retail streets that are adjacent and on our light rail [network]," he said.

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The Green Line will run from Calgary's northern outskirts, down Centre Street, through downtown and into the deep southeast to the South Health Campus.

Council has notyet voted on whether the tracks through Calgary's corewill be raised, underground or at street-level likePortland's MAX.

"In the downtown and for the north segment of the line, there's still some work we have do on our end from how we're going to get from point A to point B," said city transportation spokesperson,Julie Yepishina-Geller.

"This decision needs a lot of study as we have no experience with low-floor trains," Ward 7 Coun.Druh Farrell told CBC News.

"We have to engage with Chinatown, Crescent Heights and Eau Claire about the options and that starts in the fall," she said."There is no need to rush to [a] decision. It is still underfunded."

Project not fully funded

In July, thefederal government pledged$1.53 billion in funding for the Green Linetransit project, which will nearly double the size of Calgary'scurrentC-Trainnetwork.

The overall cost of themega-projecthas been pegged at about $4.5 billion.In 2013, council voted to use $52 million in yearly tax surpluses from 2015 to 2024 to fund the Green Line project.

Coun. Shane Keating says if that policy were stretched out to 20 years, the city would be able to pay for about one third of its cost.

It remains to be seen whether the province will commit to funding the remaining third of the Green Line's price tag.

In November, city administration will present the Green Line's proposed southeast route, station locations and transit development plans to council.

Recommendations for the north route from downtown over the Bow River to 16th Avenuewill be presented to the city's Transportation and Transit Committee in December.

Construction will get underway in 2017 and the project is expected to be finished by2024.