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City staff are ready to make a recommendation to City Council regarding a particularly contentious section of the Green Line LRT, proposing an alignment between MacLeod Trail SE and Inglewood/Ramsay that they say "presents the best balance across all evaluation criteria." Beating out three other choices, the plan would see the line jog north underground from the Centre Street station on 12 Avenue S through to 10 Avenue S, where it would resurface and run parallel to the south side of the CP tracks. The recommendation follows Council's April approval of a tunnel under 12 Avenue S between 2 Street SW and MacLeod Trail SE.
The decision comes after an extensive evaluation and stakeholder engagement that considered the technical feasibility, cost, connectivity, property impacts, and development potential of the four options. The City says the recommended alignment minimizes traffic and circulation impacts in Victoria Park, reduces impact to the community of Ramsay, improves station access for the East Village, and supports future development.
An alternative plan would have had the line make sharp turns around the Victoria Park Transit Centre (VPTC), a scheme officials said would slow train traffic and cause severe wear and tear to the vehicles. Another option was met with fury from Ramsay residents, where a number of houses would have been put under the chopping block in order to accommodate track along MacDonald Avenue SE. The final losing alternative would have seen staged track construction to allow the relocation of the VPTC.
Since the alignment would be placed underground, minimizing traffic and public realm impacts in the process, it would be one of the more difficult options to build. It would require a tunnel under the existing Red Line LRT and some historic properties. An information session to be held on Thursday, June 15 from 4 to 7 PM at the Kahanoff Centre (105 12 Avenue SE) will detail the recommended alignment in full. The proposal will then go to the Standing Policy Committee on Transportation and Transit on June 21, followed by City Council on June 26.
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