Councillors voted down a $220-million plan to raise the Valley Line LRT through the Bonnie Doon neighbourhood Tuesday, saying the payoff just isn’t worth the cost.

“Glad we looked at it because we all had questions … but it’s pretty clear the return on investment is not there,” said Mayor Don Iveson, thinking of other places those same dollars could be invested.

The cost is double the price to fix the rail line on 50 Street, to let traffic flow over or under that commuter headache, he said during the debate at council’s executive committee. “It’s small returns for huge cost.”

City officials said raising the Valley Line LRT above several congested Bonnie Doon-area intersections would add between $125 million and $220 million to the total construction bill. It would run on stilts for 10 blocks along 83 Street from north of 90 Avenue to south of 82 Avenue, but only shave 30 seconds off the wait for motorists at the Whyte Avenue/83 Street intersection.

Pinch point

Coun. Ben Henderson was worried traffic would get stuck where the LRT is forced to cross 83 Street from one side to the other, stopping both directions of traffic. He pushed for a second look at just that pinch point.

But Adam Laughlin, the city’s head of infrastructure, said he believes that pinch point will be managed through careful signal timing. On this line, trains will sometimes have to wait for traffic lights, and if that area still gets too backed up, drivers can take other routes, such as down the west side of Bonnie Doon Mall.

“Any change is time and money with this contractor,” said Laughlin.

City officials are still investigating whether to raise or tunnel the track for certain intersections on the west, north and south extensions, which are still in design. Laughlin said they will likely find the increase in cost is similar.

On the west leg of the Valley Line, which council identified as the next priority to build, engineers are already planning to raise it above the road at 170 Street. They are now investigating whether to keep it elevated over 178 Street, and from 156 to 149 streets.

Huge capacity

The Whyte Avenue area is congested now and will continue to be congested, said Laughlin. “The train is going to help in a different way,” Laughlin said. “The LRT replaces six lanes of … traffic. That’s huge capacity for those folks.”

Council could look at parts of the existing Capital LRT Line extension south and wish they’d spend more, said Coun. Bryan Anderson. The crossing at University Avenue is a good example, he said, wishing the line stayed underground until south of that congested intersection.

But he also opposed raising the track in Bonnie Doon for up to $220 million. He said: “there was no evidence to me that justifies that."