The third and final phase of Line 203 represents both the redemption of a promise to the citizens of northern Calgary and an overture to those who would reside in the city’s southeastern precincts. Extending the Centre Street Metro northward to join the existing Harvest Hills Boulevard right of way north of Beddington Trail will close the gap between Calgary’s downtown core and the nascent and maturing residential communities between Beddington Trail and the planned Symons Valley Parkway near the northern city limits, providing an effective and efficient mass transit option for Calgarians living and working north of the Bow River. At the same time, laying the foundations for Line 203’s southeastern expansion now permits the city to avail itself of an opportunity to integrate light rail transit mobility and development planning from the outset into emerging residential community proposals that draw from higher-density building principles. Fittingly, the completion of Line 203 Phase III will extend the reach of the C-Train to its greatest overall length.
The northward extension of Line 203 would continue underground from Highland Park Station for 1,600 metres beneath Centre Street to arrive at Thorncliffe Station, at the intersection with 56 Avenue and Northmount Drive NW. It would then proceed underground for another 800 metres before surfacing in the existing Centre Street surface right of way north of 64 Avenue NW and arriving after a further distance of 700 metres at a street-level Huntington Hills Station at the intersection with 68 Avenue NW. From there, the line would run at grade for 900 metres before tunnelling under the intersection of Centre Street and Beddington Boulevard a further 400 metres to Beddington Station, midway between Beddington Boulevard and Bergen Road, and 1,000 metres beyond that under Centre Street across Beddington Trail to emerge into the current surface right of way in the median of Harvest Hills Boulevard, leading an additional 600 metres at grade to Aurora Park Station at the intersection with 96 Avenue N. The northward extension of Line 203 would then proceed 700 metres to Harvest Hills Station, at the intersection with Harvest Oak Gate NE, and a further 900 metres across Country Hills Boulevard to Coventry Centre Station, before continuing 700 metres to Panorama Hills Station, at the intersection with Panamount Boulevard NW, and 800 metres to Panatella Gate Station, at the intersection with Panatella Gate NW. To complete the buildout of the Line 203 northward extension, the line would proceed a further 1,800 metres to cross Stoney Trail and arrive at its terminus of Symons Valley Parkway Station, at the intersection of Harvest Hills Boulevard and the Symons Valley Parkway.
In contrast, the southeast extension of Line 203 would be much shorter, extending southeast from Seton Station across Deerfoot Trail for a total length of five kilometres to cross the Bow River adjacent to the 212 Avenue SE right of way and serve several suburban communities in the early planning stages at Jamieson Station, Pine Creek Station, and Walden Station. Although the southeast extension would be designed to operate in a dedicated surface right of way, the formal demarcation of the route would be contingent on formal subdivision and base mapping of the communities being served by this extension.
The total capital investment required for the final buildout of Line 203 comes to $1,222-million, a figure that could be carried over thirty years in instalments of $61-million from 2025 onward, or financed through an MSI-equivalent funding mechanism from 2022 to 2024 in three instalments of $407-million. The details of the necessary capital investment are identified as follows:
Centre Street Metro Track and Way of 2.00 km
@ $155-million per km: $310-million
In contrast, the southeast extension of Line 203 would be much shorter, extending southeast from Seton Station across Deerfoot Trail for a total length of five kilometres to cross the Bow River adjacent to the 212 Avenue SE right of way and serve several suburban communities in the early planning stages at Jamieson Station, Pine Creek Station, and Walden Station. Although the southeast extension would be designed to operate in a dedicated surface right of way, the formal demarcation of the route would be contingent on formal subdivision and base mapping of the communities being served by this extension.
The total capital investment required for the final buildout of Line 203 comes to $1,222-million, a figure that could be carried over thirty years in instalments of $61-million from 2025 onward, or financed through an MSI-equivalent funding mechanism from 2022 to 2024 in three instalments of $407-million. The details of the necessary capital investment are identified as follows:
Centre Street Metro Track and Way of 2.00 km
@ $155-million per km: $310-million
plus two metro stations (Thorncliffe, Beddington)
@ $92-million each: $184-million
Centre Street Surface Track and Way of 9.00 km
@ $25-million per km: $225-million
plus seven surface stations (Huntington Hills, Aurora Park, Harvest Hills, Coventry Centre, Panorama Hills, Panatella Gate, Symons Valley Parkway)
@ $10-million each: $ 70-million
Southeast Surface Track and Way of 5.00 km
@ $25-million per km: $125-million
plus three surface stations (Jamieson, Pine Creek, Walden)
@ $10-million each: $ 30-million
Aurora Park Yard: $200-million
Rolling Stock of 32 LRVs (Avanto)
@ $4-million each: $128-million
In addition to meeting the immediate light rail service needs of north Calgary residents living in close proximity to Centre Street and to Harvest Hills Boulevard, the buildout of northbound Line 203 presents the opportunity to operate connecting service for the 54,000 residents expected to live in the region defined between 14 Street and Sarcee Trail NW in the Symons Valley Community Plan, which foresees a series of neighbourhood transit nodes “[promoting] transit use and social interaction and [serving] as a gathering place for residents” (City of Calgary, 2001:4). Furthermore, the completion of northbound Line 203 would provide for the accessibility of a major commercial and light industrial development to a truly effective mass transit spine, in accordance with the expectations of the “Aurora Business Park Area Structure Plan” that public transportation “facilitate access from major transit corridors serving commuters living in the surrounding residential communities and working within the Plan area” (City of Calgary, 2008a:33). The buildout of the Line 203 to the southeast will be especially helpful in determining the connectivity and future shape of such proposed residential communities as the Villages of Walden, whose phased higher-density development would be enhanced by the provision of light rail service to a location anticipating 12,000 residents in the first phase alone (City of Calgary, 2007g:4-5). All of these factors speak to the criticality and the strategic import of constructing Line 203 of the C-Train system to its final destinations and boundaries.
Works Cited
City of Calgary (2001). “Symons Valley Community Plan”. URL as of 26 Mar 2008 http://www.calgary.ca/docgallery/bu/planning/pdf/symons_valley_community_plan/symons_valley_cp_oc_one.pdf
City of Calgary (2007g). “Report to Council from Calgary Planning Commission: File LOC2007-0003”. URL as of 26 Mar 2008 http://publicaccess.calgary.ca/lldm01/livelink.exe?func=ccpa.general&msgID=IeyAcAsAKT&msgAction=download&vernum=2
City of Calgary (2008a). “Aurora Business Park Area Structure Plan” URL as of 26 Mar 2008 http://www.calgary.ca/DocGallery/BU/planning/pdf/aurora_asp/aurora_asp.pdf
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