Airdrie residents who commute to Calgary for work will have the chance to hitch a ride on the new Green Line when it opens in 2024. The new line could travel as far north as the Calgary community of Panorama Hills, approximately 17 minutes south of Airdrie.
Though some Calgary residents might have concerns about out-of-towners continuing to utilize services paid for by their tax dollars, Calgary transportation spokesperson Julie Yepishina-Gellar said there were no additional fees planned for Airdrie riders.
“It’s something that we’ve looked at, but it would be really difficult to enforce here in Calgary, specifically with how Calgary Transit has their fee structure set up right now,” she said. “They have looked at things, such as looking at the park and rides, there would be an additional fee (Airdrie drivers) would pay for their stall.”
Such a system would see parking enforcement officers checking license plates of parked vehicles. According to Yepishina-Gellar, “nothing’s in the works.”
“It’s just something that’s been looked at briefly,” she said. “At this point in time, we’ve made no moves in that direction.”
Though many station locations are still in the planning phase, the new Green Line could run from Panorama Hills into downtown Calgary, before heading further south as far as the community of Seton. Construction is expected to begin in June 2017.
Chris MacIsaac, transit co-ordinator with the City of Airdrie, said connecting services with the Green Line would be a “logical connection.”
“I wouldn’t say we’d be looking at changing any of the existing services, but it could be an entirely new service once the Green Line is open,” he said. “But there’s a lot of unknowns. We’re so far away from having that system in place. We’d have to consult with our customers, what services (they’re looking for).”
The Intercity Express bus currently provides daily service from Airdrie to the McKnight-Westwinds LRT station, as well as routes to downtown Calgary.
“There will always be demand for trips into the downtown. There’s demand for other areas of Calgary that we’re not servicing at the moment,” MacIsaac said. “(There’s demand) for the area around the (University of Calgary), the airport and other major employment hubs in the north and the south.
“We’re constantly looking at where is the most logical to provide services for our residents. That’s not just Calgary, that’s throughout the region, too.”
