Article content

Following a marathon meeting that began at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday and lasted into the early morning hours Thursday, the transportation and transit committee recommended the city move ahead with a controversial southwest transitway plan.

Around 1:50 a.m. Thursday, after hearing from 80 members of the public, nine councillors voted unanimously in favour of five recommendations put forward by the administration to proceed with the plans, including a recommendation to work closely with ATCO on the 14th Street S.W. corridor of the project.

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or City committee approves moving forward with SWBRT after long meeting Back to video

ATCO has a high-pressure gas line replacement planned for the area that will delay construction on two dedicated bus lanes on the west side of 14th Street S.W. — arguably the most contentious part of the plan for increased transit — until at least 2018.

The transportation and transit committee also approved four other recommendations that were voted on separately and did not receive unanimous support, including a new recommendation added by Ward. 13 Coun. Diane Colley-Urquhart to direct administration to use the Internet, workshops and other tools to give citizens opportunities to provide input on project components.