The chair of the joint transit and transportation committee meeting voted against the current proposed light rail implementation plan in a tie breaker Wednesday night.
The staging of the LRT will still go before city council next week, but without the support of the transit and transportation committees.
The current plan presented by city staff would see a downtown tunnel built first – most likely under Albert and Slater streets – and extend east to Blair station. In the second phase of construction, the LRT would extend west to Baseline, and finally in the last stage it would continue south to the airport.
Mayor Larry O’Brien told reporters the vote results surprised him, but he says he is confident the issue would be fixed at city council.