A Transit Feasibility Study was received for information during the Oct. 13 Committee of the Whole Meeting.
“Council had the foresight to begin the journey of exploring transit options for the community, and administration was given the mandate to explore the feasibility of a functional, reliable, and cost-effective transit connection between Calgary and Chestermere,” said the Senior Manager of Planning and Growth, Jeff Gibeau.
“Council recognized that there was an opportunity to better the lives of existing and future residents, to lessen our impact on the environment, reduce traffic congestion, save money for residents household budgets, provide a safe form of transportation, and overall increase the mobility of all residents in this growing community,” he said.
Adding, “The project team has determined that a transit connection is feasible, ultimately what council will need to consider is whether the cost of the service is something that the taxpayer is willing to afford.”
Chestermere City Council was initially presented with three transit options, including the extension of Calgary Transit’s MAX Purple route, an express bus to downtown Calgary, and local service to East Hills.
“Staff has held detailed discussions with Calgary transit to undertake a further study of a formal express route to downtown Calgary with several stops within Chestermere, and a peak period extension of Calgary transit’s MAX Purple Route,” said the Municipal Planner Community Growth and Infrastructure, Sara Alinaghi Pour.
“Staff has considered a hybrid of the two options for this project, a hybrid MAX Purple Route extension with several stops in Chestermere,” she said.
The project has been broken down into five phases, including a context and background review, service and routing options, ridership estimates, cost and revenue estimates, and additional considerations.
Currently, the city is considering two trips in the morning, and two trips in the afternoon with a small loop in Chestermere.
Costs incurred by the City of Calgary associated with buses, maintenance, operators, and administration, would be shared with the City of Chestermere.
“The estimated range is between $170,000 and $195,000 a year. We’ve created an allowance of $25,000 annually for Chestermere for maintenance and operating costs, such as bus stop maintenance, updating the website, administration, and customer service,” said City Consultant, Stephen Power.
“We assumed a $3.50 fare. We did look at a $5 fare, but we really think the $3.50 fare consistent with the City of Calgary is fair, and the most reasonable,” he said.
Going forward, the City of Chestermere and the City of Calgary will continue collaborations over the remainder of 2020, and future discussions will focus on an operational agreement, including routing options, scheduling, and fare connections.
