Ward 1 - Sonya Sharp

Winding down the Green Line: Councillor Sharp's thoughts

Councillor Sharp's thoughts on Winding down the Green Line LRT

On September 17, 2024, Council voted to wind down Phase 1 of the Green Line LRT, with a 10-5 vote. Councillor Sharp voted against the motion, along with Councillors McLean, Spencer, Chu and Chabot. The cost to wind down the project includes a minimum of $850 million, on top of the approximate $1.3 billion already spent.

Councillor Sharp did not want to see this project come to an end. Although she had concerns about the scope of the project, Building the Core, she was invested in, and still is committed to finding a more efficient alignment to better serve Calgarians. 

In an effort to facilitate a step back and pause to the wind-down process, Councillor Sharp brought an amendment for the City of Calgary to work with the Government of Alberta to build the Green Line LRT. In the amendment, Councillor Sharp proposed that the Government of Alberta create a working group with representatives from the City of Calgary, the Government of Alberta, and the Government of Canada and that the group would come up with a plan in the next 90 days to speed up the delivery of the Green Line LRT. Unfortunately, the amendment failed with a 9-6 vote. However, Council approved the working group portion of the alternate recommendation in a motion arising following the wind down vote.

Councillor Sharp believes that by winding down the project, Council is abandoning the people of Calgary – both those who supported the project and those who did not. She thinks that winding down the project is neither financially nor reputationally responsible of Council to approve.

Now that the project is set to wind down, the Green Line board will be dissolved, along with the termination of almost 250 employees and consultants that were involved in the Green Line on behalf of the city, and about 800 staff that were brought in as contractors.

Councillor Sharp believes that this project is well underway that to not take the time to think creatively, work collaboratively, and facilitate a railway forward, would be failing Calgarians. She is hopeful that a version of the Green Line project will be resurrected with the support of the Province and other funding partners. 

Councillor Sharp's closing remarks on the wind-down of the Green Line LRT

Councillor Sharp's thoughts on Building the Core, previous Phase 1 alignment
September 17 Council Meeting minutes
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