occidentalcapital
Senior Member
Keeping it closed won't help the slow pace of house sales
Metro Line LRT | ?m | ?s | City of Edmonton
- Thread starter Daveography
- Start date
MacLac
Senior Member
Good question! Why haven’t council put out their funding request for Metro Phase 2? Or maybe they have and we don’t know?
fjordgard
New Member
All of the current development is much closer to the NAIT/Blatchford Market station (which will open early next year) than the Blatchford Gate station (which is the one that may stay closed), so this should only help speed things up.
The_Cat
Senior Member
I’m guessing the extension to Castle Downs could start once the Yellowhead is upgraded.
Glenco
Senior Member
I was out there today and the road east from the Energy Centre East is under construction
TAS
Senior Member
This is what I received from Coun. Rutherford - this is from city admin:
...as part of the 2023-2026 Capital Budget, City Council approved $20 million for land acquisition for Phase 2 of the Metro Line Northwest extension from Blatchford to Castle Downs. Work has commenced and...the City has negotiated the acquisition of its first property. Aside from land acquisition, no additional funding has been allocated to undertake further design or procurement readiness work.
The Metro Line extension from Blatchford to Castle Downs is part of the City Plan’s implementation as the city grows to a 1.25 million population. Administration has regular communication with other orders of government and we understand there may be new funding opportunities in the short- to medium-term, however, no new funding program application process has been announced as of yet. Administration would be interested to pursue additional transit infrastructure funding if available.
It is possible your constituent might be referring to the Government of Canada’s recent announcement about a new Permanent Public Transit Fund of $3 billion per year, beginning in 2026-2027. The GOC goal for the fund is to support safe, modern, and efficient public transit systems, build complete and inclusive communities, and improve tangible outcomes for Canadians. Details about this program are expected to be communicated this fall."
TravellingChris
Active Member
The way things are going in this town, it'll be sitting idle for years.
Remember that Blatchford itself has largely failed to live up to the original vision--remember how it was supposed to be environmentally-friendly, self-contained with cutting-edge technology? There was also supposed to be this immense demand for housing in the city core and once the airport was shut, the redevelopment was going to absolutely take off. Instead the real growth has been outside the city core--particularly outside the Henday ring. At this rate it will be an eternity before Blatchford is built out sufficiently.
This is why I vehemently oppose efforts by city councils and municipal pencil-pushers who get all googly-eyed over "exciting opportunities" like TOD (which has been a miserable failure in Edmonton) and the redevelopment of lands like Blatchford which was supposed to bring densification, revitalization, a new sense of community blah blah blah to the central city. These projects have been nothing but an embarrassment to Edmonton.
Building a station that won't operate for years, and leaving it sit idle--while there are other areas of the city crying out for transit--is absolute idiocy.
bodsbods9090
Active Member
Yes indeed. I can see it right outside of where I work. It'll be a nice connection for the community and students.
Barnaby
Active Member
All of the avenues are nearing completion. The MUP path connecting Blatchford station to Westwood along 123rd Avenue is complete. There is also a poured pad for busses. I don't see why this station shouldn't open.
dunno
Active Member
You keep saying this but, as I’ve articulated, it’s simply not true. Stadium LRT is a decently built out TOD. There’s already TOD development on the Valley Line before its even built. Century Park took a bit to get going but it’s filling in. You can’t just expect Vancouver overnight.
Blatchford was always a 30-year build out. The first homes saw occupancy in 2020. It’s been 3 years. Yes I’d love for it to be further along but it’s really just getting started. The existing development is eco-friendly and the neighbourhood hasn’t had the time to become more self-sustaining. I don’t know if it’ll live up to expectations, but nor do you — it’s too early.
Avenuer
Senior Member
Sure, the infrastructure to get to and from the station will be in place, but the demand won't be there. There simply are not enough reasons to take the LRT to the station right now - Westwood residents alone won''t make it feasible, and even then only a fraction of residents there would take it. If a temporary park and ride was constructed for people from the NW to use the station, then maybe there would be enough demand to open it.
dkazzed
Active Member
Unless ETS can funnel all 110X-150X buses to Blatchford. Why are we duplicating service when LRT the city spent billions of dollars on exists? In the summer, they were running one-car trains on the Metro Line, what a waste. Bump up Metro Line frequencies to 5 minute peak hours 10 minutes midday to make the transfers as seamless as possible as 30 buses per hour will be feeding the Metro Line. More if they can convince St. Albert and Spruce Grove transit to do the same.
The_Cat
Senior Member
There isn’t any real transit centre at NAIT. A temporary one at Blatchford might work.
dkazzed
Active Member
Ah I was under the impression there was a small transit centre at Blatchford Station but I see they only poured one pad.
Gronk!
Senior Member
Apologies for the crappy quality of my pics. Stupid wind.
