The City of Calgary will likely need to spend $49 billion over the next decade to address growing infrastructure needs, according to a report to city councillors.
The estimated multi-billion-dollar price tag was revealed as part of a progress update on the city’s 10-year capital infrastructure plan, which will be used to prioritize funding for projects.
Thirteen city services underwent an assessment for infrastructure needs, according to city officials, which found $20 billion of the estimated required spending would address the city’s growth, and another $17 billion would cover maintenance and replacement of existing infrastructure.
“It’s going to be further exacerbated because our city is growing at an unprecedented rate,” Ward 10 Coun. Andre Chabot told reporters. “This problem is a problem today, but just imagine how much of a problem it’s going to be 50 years from now when existing infrastructure reaches end of life.”
According to the preliminary figures, transit infrastructure requires the most amount of funding over the next decade at $10.5 billion.
The projects identified as needs for transit include $1.5 billion for a rail link to Calgary International Airport, as well as $1.4 billion to extend the Red Line LRT further south and build a new maintenance facility.
$8.7 billion in roads and pathway projects were also identified as potential needs, with 32 per cent of city roadways found to be in fair to poor condition. Another 3.2 per cent of roads are in “very poor condition.”
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Each assessment identifies and forecasts infrastructure investments a service needs over the next decade “to keep services running and support growth.”
The cost estimates are expected to grow, as assessments are still being worked on for other city services like the Calgary Police Service, emergency management, and other civic partners.
“That is a big number if you’re trying to tackle it all at once,” Mayor Jeromy Farkas said. “The benefit here is that we don’t have to tackle it all at once. There’s a lot of sequencing and a longer-term plan that’s required.”
According to the report, the assessments have been developed “without a financial and delivery constraint.”
“As administration continues to refine, prioritize and sequence the initiatives, the order will change, and some initiatives may be pushed out of the 10-year window based on considerations such as the ability for the work to be delivered,” the report said.
Kerry Black, a civil engineering professor at the University of Calgary, said a rolling 10-year capital plan is important for municipalities to identify key needs. Black pointed to the City of Toronto’s recently-released plan, which estimates $63.1 billion in capital spending by 2035.
“Is this everything? Absolutely,” Black told Global News. “Does this mean they’re going to do everything in the plan they have? No, but it needs to be really clear and holistic and outline all of those unique needs.”
A prioritized capital plan is expected to be presented to city council in May, as questions arise about how city council plans to pay for the billions of dollars in projects.
The report recommends council spend $5 billion annually on capital projects to catch up to the city’s needs.
According to Chabot, the costs “aren’t something that Calgarians need to be that worried about,” as he hopes to have conversations with the provincial and federal government to help bolster infrastructure funding outside of property taxes.
Ward 8 Coun. Nathaniel Schmidt told reporters the infrastructure needs in Calgary are a reflection of a “Canada-wide problem.”
“We’re going to have to make some tough decisions and some smart decisions for long-term planning,” he said.
“But also, I think it means we need to have more discussions with the province and the federal government because we know this isn’t just an us problem.”
According to the report, the replacement value of city-wide assets has been assessed at $160 billion, and 13 per cent of those assets have been found to be in poor or very poor condition.
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