Three Routes Proposed For Green Line

Calgary is back at a familiar Green Line decision point, but this time the fight is over how the line gets through downtown rather than whether the project proceeds at all. City administration has spent the summer evaluating alternative alignments for the downtown segment and is due to present “feasible options” to the Executive Committee on September 8, 2026, according to the City of Calgary’s Green Line project pages. The downtown work sits on top of a project that is already under construction in the southeast. Phase 1 of the Green Line runs from Shepard near 130 Avenue S.E. to 7 Avenue S.W., with the SE segment under construction and the downtown segment still in planning and design, the city says. The immediate issue is route choice. Calgary had been studying an elevated alignment along 10 Avenue S. in the Beltline and 2 Street S.W. downtown, but council directed administration on June 30, 2026, to examine alternatives and return in September with an assessment. (calgary.ca) ### Why is Calgary looking at new downtown routes again? June 30, 2026, is the turning date in the current process. (calgary.ca) After hearing an update on public outreach and research, council directed administration to “explore and evaluate potential alternatives” for the downtown segment rather than proceed only with the previously studied elevated route, according to the city’s project update. (calgary.ca) The earlier concept the city had been studying was an elevated route from Event Centre/Grand Central Station along 10 Avenue S. and 2 Street S.W. That concept was itself a product of a 2024 agreement with the Alberta government that restored funding on the condition that the downtown segment would not include a deep tunnel, the city says. ### What exactly is being decided now? (calgary.ca) September 8, 2026, is not the date of a final route approval. The city says administration will outline its assessment of feasible options to help council decide the path forward, and council will determine which option or options advance for further study and design. The current phase also has a clear boundary on what kinds of options are on the table. (calgary.ca) The city says its analysis is not considering a tunnel in this phase and that alternative alignments will only consider at-grade or elevated options. ### What do cost and funding have to do with the route debate? C$6.248 billion is the committed funding for Phase 1 from the City of Calgary, the Province of Alberta and the Government of Canada, according to the city’s FAQ page. (calgary.ca) That Phase 1 scope runs from Shepard to 7 Avenue S.W. and includes both the SE and downtown segments. December 18, 2024, offers a clue to why route selection remains contentious. (calgary.ca) In a city statement at the time, administration said a provincial elevated downtown alignment had a C$6.2 billion rough-order estimate from AECOM, but the city identified another C$1.3 billion in known costs and risks not included in that work, bringing the total to C$7.5 billion. The city said that exceeded the C$7.2 billion estimate tied to its 60% design for the Shepard-to-Eau Claire tunneled alignment presented in July 2024. (calgary.ca) ### What has Calgary heard from the public so far? A June 2026 city engagement update showed split views depending on who was asked. The city said 65% of Calgarians in a representative survey indicated some level of support for the proposed elevated route through downtown, while 83% of 44 interest holders along the proposed route gave it a negative score. The city said participants raised concerns about impacts, alignment and implementation. (newsroom.calgary.ca) Those issues are central to the current review because administration says the functional study is intended to validate cost estimates and understand impacts to existing infrastructure before construction of the downtown segment begins. ### What is already moving ahead while downtown is undecided? (engage.calgary.ca) Construction began on the SE segment in June 2025, according to the city’s Green Line materials. The city says the first phase will include 17.2 kilometres of twin-track LRT infrastructure, 12 stations, 28 low-floor light rail vehicles and a maintenance and storage facility when the downtown segment is included. (engage.calgary.ca) The map and station pages show the downtown segment is expected to include stations at Event Centre/Grand Central Station, Beltline and 7 Avenue S.W., where the line would connect into Calgary’s existing Red and Blue LRT lines. September 8 is the next public milestone. The Executive Committee is scheduled to receive administration’s assessment of feasible downtown options, after which council will decide which route or routes move forward into further study and design. (calgary.ca) (calgary.ca) (mapgallery.calgary.ca)