Advocates of Calgary’s Green Line LRT are calling on the city to make several “transit-first” changes to Centre Street, citing uncertainty around the LRT project’s future extension to north Calgary communities.
LRT on the Green Foundation along with the Crescent Heights Village Business Improvement Area have sent a letter to the City of Calgary’s general manager of Infrastructure Services with several proposed changes to Centre Street between 4 Avenue South and 20 Avenue North.
Those changes include the permanent removal of rush-hour lane reversals, the designation of both the northbound and southbound curb lanes as bus-only lanes during rush hour, public realm enhancements and new traffic signals every two blocks to improve pedestrian crossings.
Jeff Binks, who heads LRT on the Green, argued Centre Street is “broken” with busy bus routes getting stuck in rush hour traffic.
“We have tens of thousands of Calgarians a day moving up and down Centre Street on buses, and those Calgarians are stuck in traffic,” Binks said. “It’s time to get them out of traffic and get them moving again.”
The second phase of Calgary’s Green Line LRT project would see the train line extend across the Bow River and run up Centre Street to north central communities.
However, the project remains in limbo as the province seeks a new alignment for the southeast and downtown phase of the line.
Binks said it’s time for the City of Calgary to take a “transit-first approach” to Centre Street in the meantime.
“We’re hoping the City of Calgary finally acknowledges reality, that Centre Street for the last few years has been a transit-primary street and not really a street to move cars,” he told Global News in an interview Tuesday.
Camie Leard, executive director of the Crescent Heights Village BIA, said the proposal to remove lane reversals and create bus-only lanes would help with pedestrian safety and improve mobility for the area.
Leard said she feels Centre Street south of 16 Avenue North has been a “purgatory” for new investment, as public realm upgrades were set to be part of the Green Line’s northern alignment — which would require the closure of the two centre lanes to traffic.
“It’s really important the city commit to a plan,” Leard told Global News. “The area has fallen into a bit of disrepair… investment has slowed because of that, a lot of our sidewalks are in pretty bad repair, just in anticipation of a Green Line coming through.”
In a statement, city officials said they’ve received the proposal from LRT on the Green and the Crescent Heights Village BIA, noting the Centre Street corridor is the “busiest transit corridor in the city,” with more than 1,000 buses travelling the route daily.
“We are currently working on new bus stations along Centre Street that will be completed throughout the remainder of 2024 and into 2025,” a city spokesperson said in a statement. “These new stations will support the future MAX route and any dedicated bus lanes that may be added in the coming years along the Centre Street corridor.”
According to the City of Calgary, the current improvements are being made based on recommendations in the short, medium and long term from the North Central BRT Functional Planning Study completed in 2021.
City council also approved an additional $60 million in funding for bus-rapid transit in north Calgary in 2023.
However, Binks noted those investments are for areas of Centre Street north of 16 Avenue N.
“If you’re spending tens of millions of dollars to make the bus trips faster north of 16th, and you don’t do anything to address the gridlock south of 16th, I think you’re just throwing your money away,” Binks said.
Ward 7 Coun. Terry Wong, who represents the stretch of Centre Street in question, said he isn’t opposed to studying the idea but wouldn’t commit to moving forward without consultation with the community.
Wong said he realizes the BRT buses are full, but is concerned with traffic volumes in the area during rush hour.
“Three lanes heading downtown is very tight as it is, closing one lane, it would be backed up beyond Centre Street,” Wong said. “I’m not sure, from a traffic perspective, if that’s a wise thing to do until we find a way to offload some of that volume.”