New Green Line Board Approved

Green Line update

The past couple of months have culminated in the Green Line LRT program achieving a number of important milestones.  As the largest public infrastructure project in our Province, the Green Line is a significant infrastructure program for the City of Calgary and we are committed to continuing to keep citizens updated on its progress.

New Green Line Board

On Tuesday, July 21, Council approved the Green Line governance model and creation of a Green Line Board, delegation of authority from Council to The Board and the appointment of Don Fairbairn as the inaugural chair.

The new board will help improve Green Line decision making, accommodate the speed at which the project is moving and bring in dedicated experts that will provide guidance to Administration on delivering megaprojects.

Don Fairbairn has been appointed inaugural chair of the board to provide leadership through February 2021.  Don has over 35 years of infrastructure development and financing experience and has held leadership positions in the development, implementation and operation of transportation, electricity generation and transmission, water and wastewater treatment and accommodation projects. He has led acquisitions on behalf of corporate and pension fund investors and led the creation of Streetohome, a successful non-profit initiative to develop supportive housing in the City of Vancouver. He has governance experience in public, non-profit and private sector organizations, currently chairing the Capital Regional District Wastewater Treatment Project Board, the Board of Houle Electric Ltd. and is an Advisory Board Member of Norland Ltd. He was formerly Board Chair of the Transportation Investment Corporation and Vancouver Community College.

Our next step is to select a search firm that will hire 3-9 board members to be in place by November 15, 2020.

Project update

On June 16, 2020 Council approved the updated Stage 1 route. Changes to the route address previous concerns around project costs, construction risks and customer experience.  The construction staging plan segments the 20 kilometres that make up Stage 1 into three different contracts. This strategy will help Green Line move the project forward in the south where the project is shovel ready while taking the time to complete more comprehensive planning and contract document creation in the northern section from 16 Avenue N to the Elbow River.