Trees will be the first thing to come down, starting next week, as upgrades are coming to the 301 bus line in north Calgary, moving it along to becoming a full-fledged BRT.

Calgary Mayor Jyoti Gondek, however, isn’t thrilled with the progress being made on once-promised full bus-rapid transit, and she said she’s been prodding administration to get a move on.

Construction is expected to begin in the third week of April along Centre Street North between 28 Avenue NW and Country Hills Blvd NE on the $22 million project, funded through the Green Line.

According to the project’s manager Dennis Nelson, the project is expected to be under construction until summer 2025. It will include upgrading bus shelters to Max line standards, with extended platforms and improved lighting, Nelson said.

Transit-only lanes and transit priority signals will come in at Harvest Hills and Country Hills.

“For this project, it’s only at the Country Hills and Harvest Hills locations where those transit priority lanes and signals will be implemented, as the modeling found that was a location where it was could improve the transit service the most,” Nelson said.

There will also be upgrades to vehicle turning lanes and enhancements for pedestrian crossings in the area.

It starts with the removal of 40 trees starting March 18, and barring weather setbacks, Nelson figured that work would be complete in five days.  According to the project page, those 40 trees will be replaced with 48 trees included in the project design.

Detailed design concluded in late 2023, and the construction contract was awarded early this year.

More progress needed on north BRT: Mayor Gondek

In a conversation on the growing Green Line cost concerns, Mayor Gondek was asked if the cost containment would all but eliminate plans to move LRT across the Bow River to the north part of Calgary – at least in the near term.

The mayor said getting LRT to at least 16 Avenue was critical and followed a commitment the City made to citizens in the north.  What was equally frustrating, according to the mayor, was an unfulfilled commitment to BRT back in 2020.

“I’m going to be critical of administration, quite frankly, because when you look back at the recommendations that we made back in 2020, about the Green Line, the one thing that was crystal clear in there is that we asked for improvements in the north because that’s where the ridership is the highest,” the mayor said.

“I’ve been on record and will go on record again, saying it should have been north in the first place.”

The mayor said though it’s called the Max 301 right now, it’s anything but a BRT along Centre Street. Barring a few modest improvements along the route, it’s still just an express bus. Some work was done back in 2022 to improve North Pointe station and the integration into the local road network.

Last summer, citizens and businesses in Crescent Heights said they were also frustrated with the limited work that’s been done in the area.

“At the very least, what they can do is create proper Bus Rapid Transit that’s convertible to LRT,” Mayor Gondek said.

“One, we have the funds to do that. Now, since providing that recommendation and voting on it and giving that direction to administration, I would say not much has happened.”

It’s in the works, Nelson said. That work takes time, he said. Cash is required and there’s still some land assembly to do. Detailed design on medium-term projects is supposed to start in 2024.

“We’re just trying to coordinate the work with the short term, and the medium and long term,” he said.

“We’re committed to completing this project and continue to advocate for the medium and longer-term projects as well.”

Work on this stretch is expected to begin at 40 Avenue North and Beddington Trail. Once complete, Nelson said it should improve transit efficiency, safety and accessibility for riders.

Area residents should note that as work progresses there will be rolling lane closures. Lanes will remain open during peak traffic times, with single lane closures happening as station construction begins.

Updated information can be found on the City of Calgary’s project webpage. A public information session will be held April 16, 2024.