Calgary city council approved a route for the west leg of the city's LRT on Tuesday, agreeing to spend $700 million on the new line.

The C-Train route will be eight kilometres long with six new stations. Trains will run west from downtown along Bow Trail to Westbrook Mall, and then jog over to 17th Avenue and end at 69th Street.

Construction of the LRT's new leg is to begin next year, with a target completion date of 2012.
(CBC)

It's the same route first proposed in the 1980s, but Mayor Dave Bronconnier said Calgary now has the population and the funding to make it a reality.

Some land still has to be purchased for the route and some design work remains to be done, but construction is slated to begin next year.

It's estimated 40,000 people will ride trains daily from the west side to downtown when the line opens in 2012.

Ward 11 Ald. Brian Pincott wanted the C-Train route to include Mount Royal College instead of focusing on the suburbs.

"We have 20,000 students that in the very near future that are going to be at Mount Royal and they need a really good transit system," said Pincott.

John Hubble, the head of Calgary Transit, told council a route near Mount Royal would be longer and cost $200 million more yet serve fewer customers.

The 17th Avenue route will allow significantly more west-side residents to be within a 10-minute bus ride of the LRT line, Hubble said.

The mayor excused himself from Tuesday's debate and vote because he owns two properties near the new route and wanted to avoid any perception of a conflict of interest.