100 Street Funicular and Frederick G. Todd Lookout | ?m | ?s | City of Edmonton | DIALOG

[kcantor]

i think one of the biggest problems with the funicular is that it doesn’t go anywhere or offer anything. even the view is better from the hotel macdonald’s garden…

the funicular will never be a success unless it’s part of something or connects to something the same way the ones in quebec city or pittsburg or prague or budapest etc. do.

edmonton’s needs to be part of a loop that connects to louise mckinney park (c/w more and better year round concessions) and then to the armature and the convention centre by way of a handicap accessible bridge not unlike the one proposed by alldritt.

as part of a loop that could link with activities such as river valley tours etc. the funicular then becomes part of something that is more than just a one off oddity ride to nowhere and back. and, like downtown and transit, the more it gets used the less problematic it will become.

 

[Daveography]

@kcantor It's actually quite heavily used by bike commuters going into and out of downtown, and I'm pretty sure has even drawn more people into cycling since they can avoid going uphill when going into work.

 

[trevorhayden]

Most of this problem is due to the UCP being in power and constantly dumping their failed crap on Edmonton. Get rid of the UCP; get rid of the problem.

 

[MCXavierL]

@kcantor It's actually quite heavily used by bike commuters going into and out of downtown, and I'm pretty sure has even drawn more people into cycling since they can avoid going uphill when going into work.

Working across the street, can confirm it is used heavily and does indeed connect downtown to the River Valley.

 

[Greenspace]

Very useful during the Folk Fest for example. It's an incline elevator that connects top to the bottom of the river valley and happens to have some nice views.

 

[Romanov]

Very useful during the Folk Fest for example. It's an incline elevator that connects top to the bottom of the river valley and happens to have some nice views.

During folk fest they had the funicular operated by staff late into the night.

I am not sure how often staff are manning the funicular but helped the folk fest experience.

 

[TravellingChris]

I am a big supporter of having the funicular in the city core. It serves a solid purpose connecting the river valley with downtown for locals, but in my mind is also one of those quirky attractions that a major city should have. We were in Ljubljana last month--that city only added its funicular in 2006 but already it's become iconic and a must-do for visitors to the city. We loved the ones in Bern last year even more.

 

[_urbanite]

I am a big supporter of having the funicular in the city core. It serves a solid purpose connecting the river valley with downtown for locals, but in my mind is also one of those quirky attractions that a major city should have. We were in Ljubljana last month--that city only added its funicular in 2006 but already it's become iconic and a must-do for visitors to the city. We loved the ones in Bern last year even more.

I was in Ljubljana last summer. Beautiful place! But yes their funicular is great. Ditto for Zagreb's and Budapest's funiculars

 

[TAS]

Keith Gerein: Edmonton's funicular after five years — a tale of vandalism, costs and closures

Though attractive enough to have won an international architecture award, it’s fair to say

edmontonjournal.com

Those huge costs are tough to stomach right now in the context of overall usage.

 

[kcantor]

@kcantor It's actually quite heavily used by bike commuters going into and out of downtown, and I'm pretty sure has even drawn more people into cycling since they can avoid going uphill when going into work.

i’m not opposed to the funicular, just to any/all projects that are poorly done, half done, and/or poorly maintained.

as for bike commuting/use, i have long espoused that in general and in regard to the river valley in particular that ets should treat a bike the same way as a bus pass or transfer and should be providing free transit use for any portion of their route that cyclists might prefer to be intermodal for a portion of their route.

 

[David A]

I work downtown and actually spend a lot of time downtown, although not close to the funicular. So the one day I had time to venture over, it was of course closed and so after all these years I still haven't got to use it ever.

It seems a lot of money has been spent on something that is problematic and less than stellar. Sort of the story of a lot of what the city does.

 

[TravellingChris]

I work downtown and actually spend a lot of time downtown, although not close to the funicular. So the one day I had time to venture over, it was of course closed and so after all these years I still haven't got to use it ever.

It seems a lot of money has been spent on something that is problematic and less than stellar. Sort of the story of a lot of what the city does.

You could make that point about pretty much anything Canadian municipalities have done, across the country. Look at the Metro Line here--delayed over a year, riddled with design flaws and signalling issues. The Valley Line Southeast--delayed multiple years now and plagued with structural problems and (hello again) design flaws.

Ottawa's LRT has been beset by pretty much every issue under the sun. The trains were unproven in Ottawa's climate and have never worked properly. According to Alstom the design of the rail line itself has been causing excessive wear on the train wheels. There have been derailments and repeated service interruptions and closures. Now the tunnels are leaking badly.

Metrolinx in the GTA has been unable to get Eglinton Crosstown (Line 5) open. The line uses very similar technology to Edmonton's Valley Line and is badly needed in its current corridor. Torontonians are frustrated after years of construction disruption and apparently no light at the end of the tunnel.

All of these projects were necessary and serve an important public purpose in the community. But all were flawed in design, badly handled, plagued by poor oversight and shoddy delivery.

 

[David A]

You could make that point about pretty much anything Canadian municipalities have done, across the country. Look at the Metro Line here--delayed over a year, riddled with design flaws and signalling issues. The Valley Line Southeast--delayed multiple years now and plagued with structural problems and (hello again) design flaws.

Ottawa's LRT has been beset by pretty much every issue under the sun. The trains were unproven in Ottawa's climate and have never worked properly. According to Alstom the design of the rail line itself has been causing excessive wear on the train wheels. There have been derailments and repeated service interruptions and closures. Now the tunnels are leaking badly.

Metrolinx in the GTA has been unable to get Eglinton Crosstown (Line 5) open. The line uses very similar technology to Edmonton's Valley Line and is badly needed in its current corridor. Torontonians are frustrated after years of construction disruption and apparently no light at the end of the tunnel.

All of these projects were necessary and serve an important public purpose in the community. But all were flawed in design, badly handled, plagued by poor oversight and shoddy delivery.

It might be a problem elsewhere too, but I live here and am affected by what happens (or in some of these cases) doesn't happen here. It needs to be fixed or improved.

So, I will leave it to people in Ottawa, Toronto or wherever else to deal with their own messed up situations.

 

[Daveography]

i’m not opposed to the funicular, just to any/all projects that are poorly done, half done, and/or poorly maintained.

as for bike commuting/use, i have long espoused that in general and in regard to the river valley in particular that ets should treat a bike the same way as a bus pass or transfer and should be providing free transit use for any portion of their route that cyclists might prefer to be intermodal for a portion of their route.

Ken, people trying to commute by bike daily aren't going to dismount, wait for a bus, load their bike up on the rack (assuming there's any space left on the two-bike rack) just to go up the hill, get off, unmount the bike off the rack, and continue on their journey. If they wanted that, they would just take a bus and leave the bike at home.

The funicular solves the bike-commute-out-of-the-valley problem much more simply and elegantly in a way that people can and actually do use. It's not poorly done nor half done.

It is poorly maintained, though, I'll grant you that.

Having spoken to a few people with the city, a big issue is that the funicular is under the purview of the Parks department, and thus treated as a park amenity. If it was operated by Transportation with a mandate to run it like a piece of transportation infrastructure, it would receive better treatment, maintenance, and uptime. It would probably even be staffed with a full time attendant.

 

[TAS]

Ken, people trying to commute by bike daily aren't going to dismount, wait for a bus, load their bike up on the rack (assuming there's any space left on the two-bike rack) just to go up the hill, get off, unmount the bike off the rack, and continue on their journey. If they wanted that, they would just take a bus and leave the bike at home.

The funicular solves the bike-commute-out-of-the-valley problem much more simply and elegantly in a way that people can and actually do use. It's not poorly done nor half done.

It is poorly maintained, though, I'll grant you that.

Having spoken to a few people with the city, a big issue is that the funicular is under the purview of the Parks department, and thus treated as a park amenity. If it was operated by Transportation with a mandate to run it like a piece of transportation infrastructure, it would receive better treatment, maintenance, and uptime. It would probably even be staffed with a full time attendant.

"The funicular solves the bike-commute-out-of-the-valley problem much more simply and elegantly in a way that people can and actually do use. It's not poorly done nor half done."

The ETS Muttart stop along the valley lrt line would also be a great solution for getting the bike out of the valley if it was free as Ken is proposing - specifically for those people coming from any communities along Mill Creek ravine or south of that.