Calgary Green Line launches 'get to know us' campaign ahead of major construction

With work underway and major construction slated to begin in late 2024, Calgary's Green Line team saw Valentine's Day as a good time to get serious about citizen engagement.

Starting today, the Green Line will answer more questions Calgarians have about the $5.5 billion project. This is the result of ongoing field research and engagements in the latter part of 2023 and January 2024.

According to Wendy Tynan, Green Line's executive director of public relations, the research was conducted using scientific surveys, an open-ended survey instrument and focus groups.

While the crowd was supportive, Calgarians had questions — lots of them.

“We're moving into the next big phase of the project, and we wanted to take the opportunity to make sure Calgary had the answers to these questions,” Tynan told LiveWire Calgary.

“So we're really launching an awareness campaign with Greenline that's really focused on the facts and the benefits and dispelling some of the misinformation that's out there.”

Repair work in the southern part of the network has been going on for almost seven years. Utility replacements downtown and on the Beltline should begin in 2022 and be completed this year. Tynan said more than $400 million in “construction” has been done on the Green Line.

“I don't think people always realize that it's an approved, funded project, that there's active construction — I can see it right now out the window,” he said.

Main construction is expected to begin in late 2024. This includes actual road construction and station construction. They are still working with a development partner to determine the details of the project.

What do Calgarians want to know about the Green Line?

Tynan said many Calgarians still have questions about the basics of the project: the alignment, the start of construction, the length of construction, who is responsible for the project and more.

“There's a lot of feeling that the City Council is leading the project, that there's no such expertise, no independent board behind it,” Tynan said.

Green Line is overseen by an independent board led by Chairman Don Fairbairn and CEO Darshpreet Bhatti.

Of course, there are questions about cost. Tynan was clear: This is not a $20 billion project. They understand that there are concerns about potential ballooning costs, given inflationary and labor pressures. He said they have a budget and they have to stick to it. If changes are made to this budget, they must go through Calgary City Council.

“We can't go rogue on our own and sign the city up for something without real decision makers. So that part was always clear,” he said.

Also, according to Tynan, there is still the idea that for some reason they will tunnel under the Bow River. They are not. It's not in the Green Line's plans since 2019, he said.

Calgarians — especially those downtown — have questions about road closures, access to parking and support for small businesses. Tynan said he will run a special digital campaign at convention centers downtown, including elevator docks.

“We really wanted Calgarians to always feel like they could get answers to the questions they needed to make and that the project was moving forward,” Tynan said.

The campaign starts today and will be regularly updated on the Green Line website as more questions arise about the project.