Although a two-thirds majority of respondents expressed support for an elevated Green Line alignment through Calgary’s downtown, those who live and work where the future train tracks are slated to be built feel the opposite.
City administration will present a quarterly update on the Green Line to council’s executive committee Tuesday, highlighting progress on the $6.25-billion transit project.
The report includes the findings of a recent survey that found 65 per cent of Calgarians are supportive of a downtown alignment that would see elevated track built above 10th Avenue S.W. in the Beltline and 2nd Street downtown.
Third-party research led by Stone Olafson was undertaken earlier this year to gauge the level of support and understand Calgarians’ perspectives on an overhead downtown segment, which is the provincial government’s preference.
A public survey of 1,250 Calgarians indicated 65 per cent of respondents are supportive of an elevated alignment through downtown. Proponents cited the Green Line’s importance as a city-building project and becoming a key part of the transit network.
Eighteen per cent of respondents had a negative impression to some degree of the elevated concept, while 26 per cent of respondents who live downtown were against the proposed overhead track, the survey found.
The survey included Calgarians from across the city, though downtown residents were oversampled.
“Perceptions of the elevated route are generally positive across Calgary, but downtown residents in particular hold stronger reservations,” Stone Olafson stated.
However, the report indicates that in one-on-one interviews, businesses and property owners along the proposed route expressed much more steadfast opposition, with more than 80 per cent against the concept of an aboveground LRT.
The site of the proposed elevated Green Line on 2nd Street between 7th and 9th Avenues S.W. in Calgary on Sunday, June 7, 2026.
Although support for expanding Calgary’s transit network remains high among directly impacted stakeholders, 83 per cent had a negative impression of the baseline elevated alignment, the report says.
“While participants expressed support for the Green Line overall, the elevated concept drew strong opposition, with many urging reconsideration of an underground tunnel or alternative options,” the report states.
Key concerns included impacts to downtown vibrancy, property values, safety, noise, shadowing and long-term city-building goals.
“Participants recommended that the city reconsider a tunnel instead of the proposed elevated concept with some suggesting that the downtown segment should be canceled entirely if an underground route was not a viable option,” it states.
Councillor looks to suggest alternative alignment
The findings of the public engagement are not necessarily surprising, said Ward 8 Coun. Nathaniel Schmidt, whose ward encompasses the Beltline.
He said it shows Calgarians, above all, just want the project to proceed in some capacity.
“They don’t want to see it stop,” Schmidt said. “What they’re telling us is we’re between a rock and a hard place. We’ve gotten to this point (of construction) but I still think this report reflects they want us to get it done right and for me, that still means the underground option downtown.”
However, another councillor said the degree of public opposition suggests the project team should consider an alternative alignment.
“Not too many people are that thrilled about going up 2nd Street,” said Ward 13 Coun. Dan McLean.
He said he will bring an amendment to Tuesday’s meeting that requests continued analysis of alternative routes for the downtown segment, including either 1st Street or MacLeod Trail.
“I’m hoping it gets to a better scenario that is more favourable for the majority, because we’re not there right now,” McLean said.
“Right now, nobody is happy.”
Councillor Dan McLean during city hall council in Calgary on Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2025.
The elevated route the city is studying is based on a revised concept put forward by third-party consultant AECOM, whom the Alberta government commissioned in late 2024.
While he conceded that re-evaluating the downtown alignment would result in further delays, meaning additional cost escalations for a project that has already been mired in politics for more than a decade, McLean said that as Calgary’s largest-ever infrastructure project, it’s important to get the Green Line done properly.
“We’re talking about ripping up downtown,” he said.
“This isn’t like we’re pausing anything because downtown work wasn’t scheduled to start for years down the road anyway.”
City responsible for most of the cost, plus overruns
According to the city’s report, a little over $1.74 billion has been spent on the Green Line project since 2015, while more than $2 billion has been committed.
A June 30 update to council will include updates on cost validations and an exploration of property value impacts, according to the report.
Construction of the southeast segment, stretching 16 kilometres from Shepard station to Victoria Park, broke ground in late June 2025. Seven projects are currently underway, including foundational work on a maintenance and storage facility at the Shepard station, piling and road reconfiguration and an elevated guideway at 114th Avenue S.E. and Barlow Trail; and bridges over 78th Avenue and Blackfoot Trail. Crews are also realigning Ogden Road to accommodate the train’s route.
City officials have expressed 2031 as a target date for the southeast segment of the train to be operational.
“We need to get this done because the other part is in the works and we need to get this across the river,” Schmidt said, adding he’s opposed to McLean’s suggestion of assessing other elevated alignments through the downtown. “It’s time for everybody to come to the table and say how we can do this.”
The project’s current budget is being shared unevenly by all three orders of government. The province is committing just over $1.7 billion and the federal government is contributing $1.64 billion, while the city is responsible for the remaining balance of $2.9 billion, as well as any cost overruns.
This is only for the first phase of the project, however. The overall vision is to eventually stretch the line from Seton in the south all the way to 160th Avenue N.
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