Valley Line LRT | TransEd/Marigold | City of Edmonton

whattheheck said:
^Heaven forbid that vehicles, including delivery and service vehicles, emergency vehicles, maintenance vehicles, ride shares/ taxis etc be also be able to get to where they need to go. The irrationality here is head shaking.
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It is wild how 90% of the planet manages all of these things perfectly without all the left turn lanes.
Delivery vehicles don't use those unless there is no alternative, (Amazon, UPS, Canada Post and FedEx, for sure don't) because making left turns has been proven to be slower and the accident rate is too high.
Emergency vehicles when on duty (lights, sirens on) can turn, park and even drive anywhere on the road (including crossing the train tracks anywhere, in the case of the Valley Line... it is designed to allow for that, mind you), so that is a moot point.
Other service vehicles definitely do no have the level of urgency where they can't afford to circle the block to get to their destinations.

This notion that basically every intersection should allow, and have a provision for dedicate road space, left turns has much more to do with people in North America being too goddamn lazy to circle the block, and holding to the argument you made as a crutch (and a misleading one at that). Not to mention that it has been proven, time and time again, that limiting left turns to only places where it makes sense or is inevitable not only makes the roads safer, but improves the flow of traffic and reduces congestion. Not to mention that in areas like downtowns or neighbourhoods where there is retail on side streets or streets parallel to main streets, it benefits businesses by making their storefronts more visible, all while IMPROVING traffic and safety.

So take your strawman fallacy somewhere else, please
 
On the Valley Line west, it is not so much the left turning lights that is the problem, but the red light and the long wait to prevent you from turning left, when there is no oncoming traffic or pedestrians.
 
I tend to avoid 104 Ave like the plague these days unless there's no other choice. When I went to my medical appointment in the west end this morning, I took River Valley Road, Groat Road, 107 Ave and 142 St instead of having to endure the never-ending series of red lights on 104 Ave and Stony Plain Road.
 
Gronk! said:
I tend to avoid 104 Ave like the plague these days unless there's no other choice. When I went to my medical appointment in the west end this morning, I took River Valley Road, Groat Road, 107 Ave and 142 St instead of having to endure the never-ending series of red lights on 104 Ave and Stony Plain Road.
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Yes, the lights are not well coordinated so you seem to get stopped at almost everyone sometimes now and there seems to be a fairly long wait even if you are only going east west.
 
Last time I drove on it about two days ago its seemed noticeably better, not good but better than before. Maybe I got lucky, but maybe (hopefully) they improved it.
I also think that once the LRT gets moving it will speed things up as it extends the light cycles going along 104ave. Thats probably why the north south connections have very aggressive light patterns.
 
whattheheck said:
Can anyone explain the city's love for salmon-coloured concrete? It's such a drab, pukey colour. Not just for the Valley Line. The 23rd ave retaining walls are sickly. Blah.
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Oddly enough yes i can.

The colour, wildrose, was designed here in Alberta to achieve maximum year round visual appeal in our climate with an eye towards longevity.

the colour also hid wear and tear , visually.

If I remember correctly, many coloured concretes preform horribly here. I may be miss remembering.
 
I'm still waiting for Valley Line SE lights to be normalized. The light at 85 St / 95 Ave remains red in both directions a full minute or more after the train passes. It had pulled into the Holyrood stop today before the light changed.
 
I'll drive on 104 Ave if I need to get to the Brewery District (Loblaws, TD Bank, Alberta Precision Laboratories) or to Unity Square (London Drugs, Second Cup, Ace Liquor). But I always have to wait a few minutes to turn onto 104 Ave. Once I'm finished at Brewery District or Unity Square, I'll drive down to Jasper Ave instead of 104 Ave.
 
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