Green Line Next Steps: In-Person and Online Feedback Wanted

Since the Green Line LRT was approved by City Council in June we’ve started preparing for major construction and now we need your help!

Starting this month, The City of Calgary will be hosting events from 16 Avenue N to 126 Avenue S.E. Construction on stage 1 is set to begin in 2020 and work has begun to develop technical documents that will guide that construction.

We want to hear from Calgarians how you want the LRT to integrate into your neighbourhood. Over the next couple of months, The City will be hosting in-person and online opportunities for you to provide feedback on things like street furnishing, fencing, crosswalk treatments, and more.

We also want to know how you see yourself and your neighbours using Green Line stations and plazas as community space, and what would make you feel safer using the LRT.

There’s plenty of in-person opportunities for you to participate, but if you can’t make it out you can provide your feedback online. 

Station design

The City has developed a cohesive look for Green Line LRT stations that will be applied across the entire alignment. Having a consistent design for all stations along the Green Line allows The City to utilize what is known as a “kit of parts.” Green Line – stage 1 will span 20 kilometres through many different communities. The cohesive design has been developed to be easily integrated into each distinct neighbourhood, while maintaining a recognizable look along the line.

At our upcoming sessions we’ll be introducing preliminary concepts for stations. You’ll be able to provide comments on your initial thoughts and speak to the architects who helped create the designs.  

There’s almost 20 opportunities to see us in person! Find an event near you or participate online.  

Green Line LRT: All Aboard

2017 has been an eventful year for the Green Line. The City has been working closely with Calgarians  over the last three years on planning the long term vision for the Green Line LRT, including setting the route and station locations. This year, the full 46 kilometre vision was approved by Council, and funding commitments were made by all three levels of government. Council also approved the first stage of construction, which includes building 20 kilometres of track from 16 Avenue N to 126 Avenue SE; 14 stations (including four underground stations); four park and rides; a new maintenance and storage facility; and a new fleet of light rail vehicles. Since these approvals, the team has been hard at work mapping out next steps and ramping up Green Line construction projects.  

We need your help to move this project from vision to reality.

First things first: please subscribe to our email distribution list. This is the best way to ensure you’re getting the latest Green Line information from The City. We won’t always send snail mail about engagement opportunities and construction activities, so subscribing to receive our regular email updates is best. 

Ogden Station Area Rendering – Opening Day 2026

Tell us how you want to see the Green Line integrated into your community.

We’re refining the design of the Green Line and want your input on safety and security, aesthetics and landscaping, and access to stations. From January to March 2018, we’ll be hosting sessions and online opportunities where you can provide feedback on how the LRT will look and feel in your community. Input collected from the public will be reflected in the technical documents that will guide the construction of the Green Line.

Subscribe to our email distribution list and watch for Facebook ads and other promotions in your community in the new year for session details, dates and times. 

Lynwood/Millican Station Area Rendering – Opening Day 2026

Green Line construction projects in your community

Calgarians living or working along Stage 1 of the Green Line will have already started to see construction activity along the future Green Line route. These construction activities include items like utility relocation, environmental remediation and land preparation. Doing this work now means it will be easier to build the Green Line LRT tracks and stations in the future. 

Construction on sludge line relocation near 130 Avenue S.E.

A full list of the projects under construction, in design or undergoing public engagement is available at www.calgary.ca/GreenLine.

Getting you there: 21 projects we completed in 2017

With 2017 coming to a close, we’re finishing 21 transportation projects that will make getting around Calgary better today and for years to come. Work underway in all four quadrants results in city-wide improvement of traffic management, goods movement, transit reliability, and safe, comfortable travel for everyone. Here are the highlights:

Acting Director of Transportation Infrastructure, Kerensa Fromherz, goes into details, “It’s been a big year for us. The Glenmore Trail/Ogden Road and the Bowfort Trail/Trans-Canada Highway interchanges are key to improving how we move goods in and around Calgary. The new 12 Street S.E. bridge (opening celebration on Dec. 9!) means maintaining that Bow River crossing for another 100 years, plus it creates a much better pathway space. Our road upgrades on 1 Street S.W., 61 Avenue S.W., and at the 16 Avenue/Home Road N.W. intersection are in popular places, so the sidewalk and crossing upgrades mean a safer space for people walking and a more predictable space to drive.”

 Looking west at the new 61 Avenue S.W./Chinook pedestrian bridge (opening celebrations December 8!)

The 21 projects make up a $400 million investment to help manage traffic and help people move around the city. Fromherz explains, “We look at getting the best value for the investment not just for today, but how an interchange, like at Macleod Trail/162 Avenue, or an intersection upgrade, like at 16 Avenue/29 Street N.W., will work as development happens around it in the short and long term.” But it’s more than just value for the future: “We were also able to take advantage of the market to get good prices on material and put people to work,” Fromherz adds. More than 3,200 jobs were created by these projects.

Looking east at the redesigned Zoo Road, pathway and flood mitigation measures

With these transportation projects touching 30 communities, improvements are also happening at the community level. People living in the residential neighbourhoods around the Bowness Road, Northmount Drive and East Memorial road improvements now have a more comfortable place to walk and cycle in areas that can also be busy driving roads.

These projects, along with 223 km of new pavement on Calgary roads, help manage traffic better and connect people between their communities and destinations. Offering safe, affordable, and reliable options to travel around Calgary is important to developing and growing a resilient and vibrant city for decades to come.

See the full list of 2017 projects:

Improvements to 1 Street S.W. celebrated

Victoria Park BIA Executive Director David Low

Even though winter has now arrived in Calgary, David Low, Victoria Park Business Improvement Area’s Executive Director, is still eager to get out on his daily walking tours. These days he seems to be more energized than ever after his walks.

That’s because the project to improve the streetscape along the Beltline’s 1 Street S.W. corridor between 10 Avenue to 17 Avenue S.W. is now substantially complete.

Low says the City of Calgary has done an outstanding job of improving the streetscape and in connecting with the businesses and property owners along this corridor. “I’ve appreciated how the project team put such emphasis in working with all the stakeholders while working hard to complete these improvements over the past six months.”

The City and Victoria Park BIA will jointly celebrate this important milestone on Thursday, Nov. 9 as City and BIA representatives plan to distribute cookies at the corner of 1 Street and 13 Avenue S.W. starting at 4 p.m.

On Friday, Nov. 10 an ‘experiential’ lighting demonstration will be held on 1 Street between 12 and 13 Avenues from 5:30 – 7:30 p.m. We’d like to hear your feedback about how these state-of-the-art colour changing lights add to the streetscape atmosphere.

Improvements to the corridor include:

• wider sidewalks & prominent crosswalks
• upgraded LED pedestrian and street lighting
• 41 new tree plantings
• additional bike racks & 14 new on-street parking spaces
• centre median with a banner pageantry program.

“These improvements build on the character of the blocks located between 12 and 14 Avenues, extending that streetscape design along the full length of the corridor,” said Graham Gerylo, Urban Strategy project manager with the City. “This work has created a safer, more comfortable and inviting environment for the thousands of pedestrians and transit riders that travel along 1 Street each day.”

New banners along 1 Street SW

The City accelerated capital funding for this project as part of the City’s economic stimulus efforts. Final project costs are estimated to be around $5 million, which is more than $1 million under the original budget estimate. Both Gerylo and Low agree that the project is an investment in the street and local economy with the goal of continued community revitalization by attracting private developments, new businesses and more residents to the area.

For more details on the project, visit www.calgary.ca/1stcorridor.

Play area, public art, new trees and a rain garden all part of the 4 Avenue Flyover project’s final concepts

Students from Langevin Science School, the University of Calgary’s Landscape Architecture program, with support from The City, unveiled their final concept for the green space under the 4 Avenue N.E. Flyover.

The final design includes safety elements, public art, play opportunities and a rain garden which will all enhance the walkway between Bridgeland Riverside and Calgary’s downtown and river pathway network.

After reviewing the public’s top choices of the six concepts that were presented in April, a final design was created from those preferred components, along with technical advice from City experts.

These final design features are:

• Better lighting
• Play area and adventure play opportunities
• Colourful public art – including a community banner on the flyover
• New trees, organized to feel like an orchard
• A rain garden to clean and slow storm water 
• A boardwalk through the rain garden (wheelchair accessible) 
• Street art created to be playful and allow students to leave their mark. 
• Shipping container artist spaces 
• Location for an artist to create a gateway feature
• An inclusive space to gather and play games

The project will be funded through grant applications, some existing City programs and community donations and will be built as budget becomes available and according to opportunities for greatest impact. To-date, the project has already been awarded a Soul of the City grant, a local developer is donating rocks for the rain garden and The City will be planting carefully selected trees for the environment near Memorial Drive.

The City would like to say thank you to our many partners in the community, Langevin Science School and University of Calgary for giving life and ideas to this hidden opportunity.

To learn more about the project, visit Calgary.ca/flyover.

Recommendation for Green Line LRT in the Beltline: Connecting Victoria Park to Inglewood/Ramsay Station

After several months of intensive evaluation and stakeholder engagement, Administration will formally recommend a Beltline alignment to City Council later this June.

While the tunnel under 12 Avenue S between 2 Street S.W. and MacLeod Trail S.E. was approved by Council in April of this year, the alignment for the stretch between MacLeod Trail S.E. and the Inglewood/Ramsay station had not yet been determined.

Administration evaluated four possible options against criteria that included technical feasibility, cost, connectivity, property impacts, and development potential.  We also met with stakeholders and nearby community members to understand the opportunities and challenges presented by each of the options. (Learn more about the four options and evaluation criteria here.)

No single option serves all stakeholders and meets all program objectives without trade-offs, but Administration believes that Option 4: Transition to 10 Avenue S presents the best balance across all evaluation criteria.

Some benefits of the recommended alignment include:

• Minimizing traffic access and circulation impacts in Victoria Park
• Reducing impact to community of Ramsay
• Improving station access for community of East Village
• Supporting future development

The recommended alignment requires land acquisition in the form of partial (only a part of the property is required), full (all of the property is required), and underground strata (property is required underground for the tunnel). The exact land requirements are still under review. Once the alignment is approved by Council, Administration will advance design and arrange to meet one-on-one with all impacted property owners. Land acquisition is a risk for any project. If The City cannot acquire the required land, Administration will re-evaluate the remaining alignment options and determine the best course of action.

Administration will recommend Option 4: Transition to 10 Avenue S to the Standing Policy Committee on Transportation and Transit on June 21, 2017, and then to City Council on June 26, 2017, where we will seek approval to proceed with additional design and stakeholder engagement. Council could approve the recommendation as-is, or could require Administration to take additional steps before granting approval.

Drop in to our upcoming information session to see details of the recommended alignment:

Thursday, June 15
4:00 – 7:00 p.m.

Kahanoff Centre – 105 12 Avenue S.E.

Tune in to the Committee and Council meetings via Calgary.ca/Council, and be sure to subscribe to our email distribution list to get the latest updates from the Green Line LRT team. 

Two transportation projects keep south Calgary communities connected

As south Calgary continues to grow and develop with people and communities, the City of Calgary wants to make sure these communities are well connected.

That’s why construction has now begun on a connector road between Macleod Trail and Sheriff King Street, ultimately connecting to Spruce Meadows Way.

The new road will provide access to communities west of the CPR tracks and future growth areas in the West Macleod region, identified as a Priority Growth Area by City Council. It’s anticipated that the area will eventually have a population of more than 30,000 people.

“This project provides for better transportation of people, goods and services, and will energize growth of future and planned development in the area,” said Project Manager Nik Danilov. “By investing in this roadway, the City is building the infrastructure that we know we’re going to need in the future, and allow people and communities to connect more easily.”

Crews will construct a four-lane divided roadway with multi-use pathways on both sides and will overpass the CPR tracks and future LRT tracks. There will also be some modifications to the intersections at Macleod Trail and at Sheriff King Street.

The City places a high value on the natural environment and is committed to achieving environmental sustainability. This includes a unique wildlife corridor underneath the new road through a large wetland area known as the Priddis Slough. Working with Alberta Environment and The City’s Parks department, plans have been put in place to minimize any environmental impacts.

Project completion is anticipated to be late 2018. For details about this project, visit www.calgary.ca/macleod194ave.

Meanwhile, with work currently underway on the Southwest Calgary Ring Road (SWCRR), the City wants to ensure that strong connections are maintained for local communities.

As a result, the City has now started construction on widening Spruce Meadows Way S.W. to four lanes between the SWCRR and 194 Avenue SW. This will provide improved access for surrounding communities, including Silverado, area businesses and future development areas.

“We want to make sure that current and future communities in south Calgary remain connected to the existing road network, especially during the construction of the Southwest Ring Road,” said Julie Radke, Manager of Ring Road Integration. “These improvements provide more efficient movement of people and goods and another option for motorists travelling to and from the ring road.”

This project will also provide better traffic flow and access into the Spruce Meadows event centre, attended by thousands of Calgarians annually. Construction is currently underway on the northbound lanes of Spruce Meadows Way while construction on southbound lanes is being planned for September. Project completion is anticipated to be late 2017.

The Government of Alberta has committed to completing the Southwest portion of the Ring Road. Although the majority of these construction costs will be covered by the Province, the City is responsible for funding and building a number of connections along the SW Ring Road. These connections will require upgrades to the existing infrastructure.

Other City-led projects related to the SWCRR include:

·         Extending 90 Avenue S.W. and Southland Drive

·         Extending 162 Avenue S.W.

·         Construction of Westhills Way

·         Widening of Anderson Road

·         Widening Bow Trail and intersection upgrades at Bow Trail/85 Street S.W.

·         Widening Glenmore Trail and modification of Glenmore/Crowchild Trail interchange.

For more details on the Spruce Meadows Way widening project, go to www.calgary.ca/sprucemeadowsway-swrr. To learn more about the City-led projects connecting Calgary’s road network to the ring road, as well as information on SWCRR, visit The City’s southwest ring road home page, www.calgary.ca/swrr.

Infographic: Investing in Inglewood and Ramsay

The City of Calgary is doing something different in Inglewood and Ramsay. With more than 20 projects under consideration or under construction, The City is investing a projected $200 million in one of Calgary’s oldest neighbourhoods to keep it safe, beautiful and vibrant.

From replacing century-old bridges to upgrading public space, implementing new transit service to building new playgrounds, there’s a lot going on in and around the city’s oldest main street.

Click to enlarge

We’ve been working hard to coordinate all of these projects in their planning and project management to ensure the best possible value to the community. We’re working across City departments and business units to find opportunity for collaboration. We’ve begun mapping out the long term construction strategy to ensure we keep business open and people moving in the area while these projects are being implemented.

While all of this work is very exciting, we know it can be overwhelming for the communities to keep track of all the work taking place in their neighbourhood. We want to make sure residents and business owners have the information they need, and the opportunity to ask questions and provide their input, so we’ve brought all these projects together under one coordinated communications and engagement program. All area projects now report in to a single resource to make it quick and easy for the community to participate in city projects. We’ve held a number of joint information sessions and stakeholder meetings to make the most of Calgarians’ time. Community members can now visit calgary.ca/InglewoodRamsay and subscribe to our email list to get the latest news on everything happening in the area.

We’re wrapping up for the summer, but will be out in the community again in the fall. Our satisfaction survey is available for another week, so be sure to let us know what we’re doing well and how we can continue to improve.

Thanks to all of you in Inglewood and Ramsay for participating so actively in your communities. Have a safe and happy summer!