I am prioritizing this Green Line platform as an immediate priority in my first 100 days as your new Councillor. The Green Line is one of our best tools for immediate economic recovery and, with potentially 9 new council members taking seats in City Council, it will need a leader who already understands the history, opportunity and potential to continue defending and championing it. Ward 12 residents and business need someone who will waste no time keeping the plans going. 

Evan Knows - A Four-Step Action Plan to Keep Green Line on its Tracks

Green Line Action #1: Advocacy

The first Green Line action as your Councillor will be refreshing the advocacy around this project. I will connect with LRT on the Green, the City Green Line Board, the Calgary Construction Association, and YOU the residents of Ward 12 on this project to ensure that issues surrounding this project are addressed and actively defend it as construction begins in 2022.

Green Line Action #2: Pursue Funding

The second Green Line action as your Councillor will be establishing strong connections with key stakeholders in the various levels of government to lay the foundation for pursuing future funding. Every extra community and business connected to the line will exponentially grow its value. I will work hard to secure the funding to complete the whole South to North Green Line LRT spine.

Green Line Action #3: Protect City Shaping

The third Green Line action as your Councillor will be protecting the City Shaping implications of the Green Line. Integrating this project thoughtfully into the communities it will serve is important. This makes the project FAR more valuable to the City in the long run. Financially resilient cities invest in public transit.

Green Line Action #4: Address Safety Concerns

The fourth Green Line action as your Councillor will be working with the project team to address safety concerns. We need to ensure that people feel safe using the Green Line and it is time to consider more of a closed system and also prioritizing smart design to preemptively address safety issues.

Rebuilding Trust - A Train to Our Communities, Not Train to Nowhere

Throughout this difficult time of Covid-19, trust has been damaged. We have been let down. You may have heard, “a train to nowhere,” and other attacks on the project eroding confidence. Trust needs to be earned, and my track record of working alongside advocacy groups (ie. LRT on the Green) and City Council will be an asset to getting our Green Line actually built. 

Staying on Track for Reviving and Revitalization With No More Time – or Money – to Waste

It’s clear that we need to continue to advocate for ourselves down here in Ward 12. The price of delays and inflations, in a COVID world, means every moment must count. We need to be optimal in our approach to recovery. We have lost the competitive advantage to attract new business and a new talented workforce; to revitalize downtown and connections between community hubs and schools; and the opportunity to be caretakers for some of the most vulnerable individuals of our city. Calgary is about opportunity, and I fully intend to do the work necessary to keep it that way. 

Not only is the Green Line one of our best tools for economic recovery, but it will connect Ward 12 directly to downtown and vice versa for work and pleasure. Calgary loves to mingle. Calgarians are known to be social creatures who work hard, play hard. Enhancing our access to gathering places enhances our neighbourhoods, all our neighbourhoods, and fosters the ability for them to thrive.  

A Case for the Green Line Enhancing the Tax Base 

When moving to Ward 12, many of us were sold on the vision of living the suburban dream with the added promise of an easy commute/connection with the rest of the City. The Green Line has faced roadblock after roadblock and is absolutely vital to the future of our Calgary. Projects like this shape our City into a more financially resilient future. It incentivizes density and businesses all along the route which means a better tax base for Calgary in the long run. Our infrastructure gap will force a massive tax increase upon us all if we continue to delay changing how we develop Calgary. This project is an important investment in our future. 

Making Ward 12 Connections For a Broader Calgary Vision

Ward 12 is an amazing place in an amazing City. That’s because we are always working on providing Calgarians with opportunities for success. Innovation and technology have always been a part of our collective. Our history is proof of that. In 1881, the Canadian Pacific Railway chose Calgary as its headquarters, in 1912 we held the first Calgary Stampede, and ever since we have continued to grow with top businesses in energy, agriculture, tourism, innovation, and many other sectors. Here in Ward 12 we are home to the Shepard Energy Centre with its Alberta Carbon Conversion Technology Centre (ACCTC) and the South Health Campus with its AHS eSIM Provincial Simulation Program. The Green Line is an integral part of our next shining chapter to support Calgarians innovating us into the future economy.

While I completely support downtown revitalization I realize, like many other Calgarians, that we can no longer rely solely on downtown revenue to cover most of our budget. It’s time to attract new investments, diversify into new sectors, and resolve the issues that are needlessly slowing down progress. You’ve heard the numbers before, the Green Line will create 20,000 thousand jobs, and have an opening day ridership of 65,000 thousand people. This project will create accessibility and galvanize businesses along its route. The Green Line will provide immediate economic and social benefits, and will further empower Calgarians for success. 

Calgary deserves infrastructure that will allow us to compete with other cities on a worldwide scale, and Ward 12 deserves infrastructure that will better connect us to the rest of the city. 

Experience, Knowledge and Advocacy for Shovels in the Ground to Seton Build-Out

Having recently been employed as the Ward 12 Constituency Assistant, engaged with so many residents and businesses expressing their ideas and concerns, and sitting on the LRT on the Green board, I know what it will take to see this project to shovels in the ground.

So much has already been invested in the Green Line, over such a long period of time, and my platform reflects how paramount I believe this project is. I am knowledgeable and able to work with the rest of Council, City Administration, the Green Line Board, the many advocacy groups like LRT on the Green, and you especially, to ensure that the Green Line is completed on time, on budget, and with a full build-out to Seton. 

The economic and environmental benefits of the Green Line are being attacked and this project continues to need people and politicians who will defend it.