Committee meeting for controversial SWBRT lasts hours as dozens share their opinions

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City councillors listened late into the evening Wednesday to Calgarians who spoke either strongly in favour, or in staunch opposition to, a plan for expanded transit in the city’s southwest.

Dozens of Calgarians came to council chambers, with more than 70 signing up to speak to the transportation and transit committee about the 22-kilometre project, which includes two dedicated bus lanes on 14th Street S.W.

Just minutes before midnight Wednesday, councillors had heard from 80 people (including 19 who voiced support for the project) and the committee hadn’t yet made a decision on several recommendations put forward by city staff, including deferring construction on the bus lanes to 2018 after ATCO is done work in the area.   

Approved by council in 2011 and initially pegged at $40 million, the southwest transitway and bus rapid transit (BRT) project that would ferry passengers from downtown to Woodbine has recently faced fierce opposition. 

Speakers were repeatedly reminded Wednesday that the purpose of the committee meeting was to talk about 62 questions put forward by members of the public at a 15-hour committee meeting in April and subsequently answered in a 92-page report released last week by the city. 

More than one speaker against the project said they hadn’t read the 92-page document and complained there wasn’t enough time to read the information released July 13. 

“There’s been a ton of time, a ton of resources and significant effort put into compiling the answers,” said transportation spokesman Sean Somers.

“It would appear that nobody, really, that I’ve heard from that has gotten up and spoken today has even looked at that document, because they’re raising all of the same issues that were raised in April.”

Many of the people opposed to the project told councillors they’ve lived in the southwest for decades and attacked the project as poorly planned, unfeasible and a waste of money.

Applause, heckling and boos were heard throughout the meeting, and Coun. Shane Keating, chair of the transportation and transit committee, repeatedly reminded the crowd to be respectful.  

Maurice Tims, chairman for opposition group Ready to Engage, told councillors the group delivered more than 40,000 brochures throughout southwest Calgary and collected more than 4,300 signatures on a petition asking council to reconsider the project. Tims said the group now wants the project shelved until the southwest ring road is complete.  

A handful of Calgarians spoke passionately in favour of the project, including a woman who relies on transit because she has epilepsy and three members of the Students’ Association of Mount Royal University representing the school’s 12,000 students.

Charlene Wilcock with Calgarians for BRT told councillors the majority of Calgarians support the southwest BRT and urged them not to let “a minority group of naysayers” kill much-needed infrastructure. 

“This is a no-brainer. Let’s move on with it already,” she said.

Coun. Diane Colley-Urquhart, who has pulled her support for the project, said Wednesday she was saddened and disheartened at how the transit project has unfolded and “how it has divided communities and neighbours.” 

AKlingbeil@postmedia.com