Opposing rallies at City Hall as committee reviews Southwest BRT update

Tensions will be high when the Transportation and Transit Committee meets Wednesday to receive an update on the Southwest BRT.

While councillors look over the numbers inside, opposing groups will hold lunch hour rallies outside City Hall.

It will be the first public event for ‘I Love YYC Transit’, while the more well-known ‘Ready to Engage’ made the unusual promise of a family friendly rally, with balloons, face painting and tattoos.

The latest estimate for the project is anywhere between $56 and $66-million which is much more than the $40-million estimate when the process started six years ago.

Ready to Engage’s Alan Hallman says that’s where their biggest concern is.

“We believe that this mayor does not distinguish between needs and wants and when we’re in an economic situation like we’re in right now, we feel that’s an important part of his leadership,” he said.

Coun. Brian Pincott also has some questions about the cost estimate.

“Why we threw a number out that was five years old, and then understanding what goes into refining that number,” he said.

Mayor Naheed Nenshi says the cost still falls within the specific estimate parameters which have bound them from the start.

“That means the final cost can vary anywhere from minus 50 per cent to plus 100 per cent, and within the whole project they’ve found lots of savings, I know there’s very healthy contingencies, so the project is fine,” he said.

Nenshi stands by his decision to cancel in-person engagement on the project, saying the online engagement has led to a balanced discussion which lets everyone be heard.

“Figure out what additions and deletions are possible and do you want more of a pedestrian bridge, do you want better stations; we add those in, or do you think this particular part of a project can be removed; we take that out,” he explained, adding all of those things will be discussed at the committee meeting.