The one issue that seems apparent in these discussions is the disconnect that we have in this city between transit planning and city planning.
For instance, there are those that discount a Centre Street option based on the fact that they are of the belief that large scale intensification will not happen along the corridor and therefore will not justify the expense of an LRT line. However if we take a look at the Calgary Municipal Development Plan
http://www.calgary.ca/PDA/LUPP/Documents/Publications/mdp-municipal-development-plan.pdf and the associated maps
http://www.calgary.ca/PDA/LUPP/Documents/Publications/mdp-maps.pdf we can see that Centre Street has been designated an Urban Corridor. That means that the City and its planning department have deemed it a priority to bring increased density along Centre Street over the next 30 years. So the battle against the NIMBY's along Centre Street is on its way as the City starts to drive changes to ensure Calgary's growth follows the MDP. I agree with others on this forum that think that there will be opposition to seeing Centre Street south of McKnight Blvd turned into a corridor with mid-rise buildings and mixed use developments. This is why I think the City needs to seriously consider an underground Centre Street LRT as its first option. People may be opposed to increased density along Centre Street but if you tell them they will be getting an LRT line that is a ten minute walk from their door-step to help support this density, I think you would see a lot less opposition. The Calgary MDP was designed to maximize the savings to City tax-payers by maximizing existing growth opportunities and limiting sprawl. Since the City planners have decided that Centre Street is a critical component to the plan, I would argue that some of the extra expense of the Centre Street LRT will be partially re-couped with the savings gained from realizing the goals of the MDP.
For those that support the Nose Creek corridor, I'm curious on their thoughts about the fact that the Calgary Regional Partnership is planning a commuter rail service to Airdrie along Nose Creek as shown on page 52 of this pdf:
http://www.calgaryregion.ca/crp/media/60495/rpt-regional%20transit%20plan%20-%20final%20report%20-%20dec-09[1].pdf . So even if we were to believe that the Nose Creek Valley will one day make a great spot for redevelopment (I do not), wouldn't the fact that there will be a commuter rail line built mere metres away from a Nose Creek LRT be a bit of over-kill?? Why not just add a few stations to the commuter rail line and service the whole corridor? I recognize that commuter rail is even further in the future than the NC LRT, however if we are going to spend billions of dollars on 2 rail lines, I think that we should at least build those rail lines in two seperate locations to get the most for our money.
I think that when you start looking at the NC LRT from more than just a transit prospective and start incorporating existing City and Regional planning policies, Nose Creek can be rather soundly rejected and Centre Street becomes the ideal option.
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