For much less than the cost of the west LRT line, council committed Friday to build seven new bus transitway and frequent service routes throughout Calgary.

The $889-million network of bus-only lanes and special routes will be complete by around 2021. It will bring the first major crosstown service to a transit system dominated by the downtown, and serve in most places as a low-cost alternative to LRT — or, in the case of the Centre Street and southeast, as a precursor to light rail.

More than half of the money comes from councillors’ controversial decision last fall to use a $52-million tax hike to create a 10-year transit fund, rather than giving the money back.

“It’s not often that we can actually stand here and say ‘the stars have aligned,’ ” said Coun. Shane Keating, who reversed his opposition to the $52-million tax hike to pursue this funding solution for his southeast ward’s transit project.

It’s the largest funded plan for Calgary Transit that council has approved since it green-lighted the west LRT in 2007. That project ultimately cost $1.4 billion.

Under the plan council approved Friday, that transit fund will deliver $480 million to the Green Line bus-only lanes and specialized roads up Centre Street and into the deep southeast. Planners expect another $185 million of that to come from the federal government’s Building Canada Fund, although most cities are still waiting on details of that program.

“It does appear the Green Line would be a strong candidate for funding,” transportation planner Eric McNaughton said.

The other five projects — including bus-only lanes down 17th Avenue S.E. and 14th Street S.W. — cost much less, and the city has past provincial grant dollars set aside for that. It’s also banking on $167 million from the provincial Green Trip transit program to finish these projects.

Before a controversial tax hike was converted into transit funds, it was unclear how or when the city would find dollars to build those projects. Seven of 14 councillors voted against the transit funds, although the bus routes will pass through at least 11 wards.

Mayor Naheed Nenshi hailed the decision as major news for Calgarians, but he’s disappointed that most major projects won’t be complete before 2020.

“Surely we can move faster. Tell me what it’s going to take,” he said. Bus-only lanes down Crowchild and 14th Street S.W. are estimated to cost a relatively modest $40 million, and Nenshi said he’d hate to see that quadrant’s ring road completed before this project.

“If I find you 40 million bucks, couldn’t you do it tomorrow?” the mayor asked. Planners told him there’s still some design and planning work to do, even though the southwest transitway initial plan was done four years ago.

In many cases, the city still lacks the land to fully build these transit upgrades.

Transit officials touted trip time savings on some of the small bus-only projects already completed, including bus-only shoulder lanes on Crowchild Trail and a small stretch of Centre Street at McKnight Boulevard.