^^^^ Actually,
@Daveography I think there is a very valid case to be made...
1. On the eastern extreme (
all industrial or mercantile in terms of adjacent uses) it would tie-in directly to Wye Road (
Sherwood Park's equivalent of Jasper Avenue). A "clover loop" at about the equivalent of 9th/10th Street would take westbound traffic over the Sherwood Park Freeway and connect the loop to 76th Street. Similarly an eastbound lane off of 76th could cross over the exit ramp of the SP Freeway thereby completing the extension into Sherwood Park -- in both instances the land is sitting there idle in terms of use.
2. Heading west the industrial mercantile uses continue all of the way to 50th street. It would be an easy matter to widen this section of 76th street to 4 lanes (
total -- two in each direction), put in a sidewalk on one side of the street and a protected 2-way bike lane on the other -- again, the land is sitting idle to achieve this. With a little artful landscaping a palette of native plants, shrubs and occasional vertical planters could make the visual aspect far, far more pleasant than it currently is.
3. A multi-functional bridge could span the tracks at 67th street, allowing the same 4-lane plus sidewalk plus bike lanes to carry on westward through industrial-then-commercial zones all the way to Argyll Road (
upgraded to a traffic-light-controlled intersection).
4. From Argyll to 75th Street -- more Industrial/Commercial -- we create the same design elements described to this point, and, I might add, the effort is very inexpensive compared to other alternatives and we make the 75th Street/76th Avenue another light-controlled intersection.
5. West of 75th Street, 76th Avenue is already a four-lane thoroughfare all the way to the CP lands that, incidentally, are in a comparable state of dis-use. Along the route we simply eliminate curb parking altogether and change all intersections to cobble/stone paving alternatives so that traffic is naturally moderated from a speed perspective (
traffic at 40 kph gets you there almost as fast as traffic at 50 kph). Pedestrian sidewalk on the north side of the Avenue; bicycle lanes on the south. Landscape-wise and in conjunction with a widened boulevard on both sides of the avenue we create a treed allée with benches along the route and information/technology modules interspersed here and there. We also create City-maintained landscape buffers that improve the aspect of front-yards for residences.
6. At 83rd street we put in place another LRT stop and the third traffic-light-intersection.
7. The same design sensibility carries on all the way to the CP lands (
so far only exceptional neighborhood improvements and no auto-lane increases). 99th Street becomes the fourth light-controlled intersection along the entire route (
incidentally with time-preferences at each favoring 76th Avenue in residential zones).
8. At the CP lands the City of Edmonton annexes the required land for the route extension of 76th Avenue and in the same instance changes the zoning north of the newly formed 76th Avenue as an historical extension of Old Strathcona, rebuilding the historical roundhouse as a new location for the ERRS streetcar barn (plus transit museum) and making a physical allowance for extending the Radial Railway to 76th Avenue where a period-style station would be developed (this would be the second station after a new location on the east side of the new Beljan development). The CP Land on the south side of 76th Avenue could then be encouraged to become a hub for technology, a physical extension of the Edmonton-based Universities and Post-Secondary schools, and a connector point for EIA and points south that include Red Deer, Calgary, and Lethbridge, whether hyperloop or some other system. The Campuses could be a joint effort between U of A, NAIT, MacEwan, and Athabasca U -- and this could also be the ideal location for a Design School -- Architecture, Landscape Architecture, Urban Planning, Interior Design, Industrial Design, Graphic Design and Web Design -- all working in unison, creating the physical equivalent of MIT in Massachusetts. 76th Avenue could be a major east-west connector. The fifth light-controlled intersection would occur at Gateway Boulevard; the sixth at the Calgary Trail. Imagine how significant this area would become to area residences, which along 76th Avenue might have to be up-zoned to increase density. I also see the ERR tracks with a pedestrian way and bike lanes continuing south to the old CPR right-of-way north of 68th Avenue and then eastward to a rebuilding of the one-time rail through Mill Creek ending up at the Muttart Conservatory and the LRT station there -- what a scenic route this would be!
9. So when 76th Avenue criss-crosses University Avenue, I envision the development of an elongated controlled intersection where the traffic is then refocused north-westward along University Avenue where densified development is already occurring. When we get to the river I see a new bridge crossing the North Saskatchewan that on the west bank bends southward to the Valley Zoo eventually meeting the traffic circle at Buena Vista Road. 76th Avenue/University Avenue would then become a boon to future zoo development.
10. Other advantages:
-- with somewhat lessened traffic along Whyte Avenue because of the 76th Avenue alternative east-west route, I see the ability to build an ERR route connecting Bonnie Doon to the U of A, connecting LRT station to LRT station, along an historic section of the City that deserves to be thought of in those terms.
-- a City-mandated emphasis to get CP off its A** to either sell the land it has in South Edmonton/Old Strathcona or develop it with specific incentives in place to realize a benefit to the City.
-- a new bridge that connects South Edmonton with West Edmonton.
-- the 109th Street retail/commercial precinct extended southward to at least connect to 76th Avenue.
-- the potential for a monorail connection between the U of A along University Avenue that would tie into a new development on CP land that would also then tie together LRT (U of A) to ERR (76th Ave). Now we're talking about a transit system that is cross-City functional and that would actually be fun to experience.
-- a cross-City southside bike route.
If there is a better idea I would like someone to delineate it.
