Green Line Engagement Update

Posted on May 14, 2020 by Shane Keating

Green Line Update round up

I wish to extend a thank you to all the individuals that have been working hard on refining, developing and communicating these Green Line Developments. I would also like to thank all of the Calgarians that spent the time to participate with the online and in-person engagement opportunities.

Public engagement on the updated Stage 1 alignment, with a focus on Segment 2- Elbow River to 16 Avenue North took place from January 29 to April 30 ^th 2020, with the purpose of gathering feedback understand public sentiment

In-person events included:

• Four open house events held in March in communities where changes to the alignment were proposed, including Beltline, Eau Claire, Chinatown and Crescent Heights

• Six pop-up information sessions held in various locations along the entire Green Line route from North Pointe to Seton

• Five drop-in storefronts held in Crescent Heights

Online engagement was hosted on The City of Calgary engage portal www.engage.calgary.ca/greenline and via The City of Calgary’s Citizen View Panel survey.

Feedback was also collected via email and 311. In total, in-person engagement events were attended by nearly 1,300 Calgarians and over 5,000 online comments were received.

Before we proceed with the new updates, I would like to draw you attention to some key dates to be ready for.

Mark your calendars for:

Online Presentations – May 20 & 21, 2020 , More details to be posted soon . Check Here

• Wednesday, May 20 – 12 p.m. to 1:30 p.m.

• Thursday, May 21 – 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

Participation in the Green Line Committee Meeting on June 1

The Green Line Committee meeting on June 1 will have a public feedback component . To limit the spread of COVID-19 and to avoid mass gatherings, people can participate in the meeting virtually and by telephone.

How to provide a public submission:

• Written public submissions are due at 12 p.m. on May 25. Use the online form to provide a written public submission. Form can be found here: www.engage.calgary.ca/greenline

• Members of the public can sign up to speak at the meeting until June 1, just so long as the item they want to speak to hasn’t already passed .

• Public wishing to speak are invited to contact the City Clerk’s Office by email at [email protected] to register and to receive further information.

• City Clerks will send out instructions on how to speak during the meeting by phone to members of the public who register leading up to and on the day of meeting.

You can watch the committee meeting online HERE

And now a summary of the Updates

Centre Street North

Recommending a middle-running alignment on Centre Street N to balance community desire for pedestrian realm improvements, like comfortable and safe for pedestrian sidewalks, opportunities to plant trees, access to businesses/ community and efficient LRT operations with top LRT speed of 50km/ hour

Surface-running LRT in the middle of Centre Street N provides dedicated left turn bays at

16 Avenue N in both the southbound and northbound directions
12 Avenue N in both the southbound and northbound directions
10 Avenue N in the northbound direction
9 Avenue N in the southbound direction
7 Avenue N in the northbound direction

The City is recommending a station at 9 Avenue North as part of Green Line Stage 1

Would allow better connection to Crescent Heights
Enable more opportunities for transit-oriented development in Crescent Heights
The smaller community sized station that would be constructed at 9 Avenue North will help manage project costs and fit into the context of the Neighborhood

Bow River Crossing

The city is continuing its refinement of how the bridge will connect on the north and south sides of the Bow River, and how it will integrate within the surrounding natural and built environment.

The City is recommending that the new LRT bridge include a multi-use pathway for pedestrians and cyclists. Details of how this will be incorporated into the structure will be determined during the next stage of bridge planning.

What happens to existing Centre Street Bridge?

To support improved travel time reliability for BRT users in north Calgary, the two centre vehicle lanes on the Centre Street bridge will be re-purposed as permanent dedicated BRT lanes.
Outer lanes will remain useable for vehicle traffic

Downtown

Architectural sketch commissioned by The City that depicts what a station entrance at 2 Street SW and Riverfront Avenue SW might look like once integrated into the future redevelopment of the Eau Claire Market site

Integration of the 2 Avenue S.W. Station and Portal into the Eau Claire Market redevelopment site

The Green Line Team have responded to concerns expressed by area businesses and property owners by revising the 2 Avenue S.W. station area by moving the portal and station out of the road right-of-way and integrating the LRT infrastructure directly into the future Eau Claire Market redevelopment site.

By integrating the portal and 2 Avenue S.W. station into the redevelopment site, the LRT alignment will remain partially underground until the train exits through a portal at the north end of the property, in the vicinity of Waterfront Mews S.W. This new station layout could mean that Green Line will not impact the existing public road network in the area.

Opportunities for integrated stations: Downtown and Beltline

The City is continuing to work on the planning of underground stations at 7 Avenue S.W., Centre Street S, and 4 Street S.E. to determine exactly where station and their entrances will be located
Over next few months the Green Line Team will be meeting with developers and landowners in station areas to explore potential opportunities to collaborate on integrating station entrances into existing or future private developments.