Victoria Park/Stampede CTrain station overhaul to cost $60M

A massive overhaul of Victoria Park/Stampede CTrain station to bring the station to ground level create level pedestrian crossings will cost $60 million.

The change will extend 17th Avenue into Stampede Park, and lower the station to ground level — knocking it down and rebuilding it entirely.

About 111,000 passengers travel through the station each week.  Bus service will be offered for travellers during any closures, which could last months.

Kate Thompson with Calgary Municipal Land Corporation says it hasn't yet been determined how long the station will be inaccessible for users. 

"We'll be working with Calgary Transit to figure out the shortest duration of interruption to the station possible," she said. "I don't know at this stage what that's going to look like, because we're tasking the team to look at the project's delivery in various ways. So how could you phase it to have the station closure minimized as much as possible. That's our goal."

The project will be funded through the community revitalization levy, which is property tax revenue collected for a special fund to upgrade infrastructure in the Rivers District. Several major projects have been proposed for the area which could see it change drastically over the coming years. 

Area Coun. Jeromy Farkas said he's hoping the redesign will improve public safety at the train station.

"You want to make sure that when people are at the station waiting for a train, they can do so safely … there's a lot more that we can do to make sure that these stations are functional but are also welcoming," he said.

Construction on the project will begin after the Stampede next year, and is expected to take three years to complete.