Valley Line LRT/ Valley Line West | ?m | ?s | City of Edmonton

In general, VLW crosses denser and more walkable areas, by virtue of crossing the heart of some older streetcar suburbs. I don't have the numbers, but if I had to bet, on top of WEM, MacEwan and Misericordia, as destinations, there's probably at least double the population being served by the VLW than by the VLSE
Ellis Don documents online put the entire line at 100k riders a day when fully built out.
 
This is gonna sound like wishful thinking, but do you guys think that frequencies would increase in this line generally once VLW opens? Looking at their weekend frequencies, part of me thinks that's woefully inadequate when WEM gets connected to the network.

Probably not, unfortunately. Unless there's an overhaul of the signalling system or additional grade separation at pinch points (and there are a lot of them), five minutes for each line is the max (2.5 for the downtown tunnel).

If you look at the mass transit study the City has plans for the BRT network to relieve some of that pressure, especially the Whyte-87 Ave route. WEM will be the hub for that network as well.
 
In general, VLW crosses denser and more walkable areas, by virtue of crossing the heart of some older streetcar suburbs. I don't have the numbers, but if I had to bet, on top of WEM, MacEwan and Misericordia, as destinations, there's probably at least double the population being served by the VLW than by the VLSE
Ellis Don docs online say apx 100k for the full line.
The 2008/9 entry level city planning docs say 46-48k by 2041 for South.


48-49k 2041 for the West.

 

Again, this is just an estimate, and from 14 years ago already. Ridership blossomed after the Capital Line extension to Century Park. I'm not suggesting we should expect more than 100,000 riders/day on the Valley Line, but it's definitely within the realm of possibility, considering how many more communities will be within short distance of LRT, not to mention the planned densification in certain parts of the line.
 
And West Block is miles ahead of Bonnie doon for decent TOD. If 1-2 more residential projects are finished before opening, and the retail continues to excel as well as it has, this will be a legit TOD hub compared to a previously existing major destination like the big malls and hospitals. VLSE doesn’t really have that yet.
West Distri-- I mean, West Block, my beloved! (God, I sound like @whatchyyc right now)
 
Took another train ride this Sunday afternoon, there were like two people who could be considered *sketchy* (one person was pretty alright, but one was suffering from an episode of some sorts and talking out loud and somewhat lying down on the seat) that were in my car, but the ride was still quite good. Numbers on a weekend were sizeable despite no events downtown, with families and kids and everyone in between. Obviously not as crowded as opening weekend or the week after, but as the area around the line densifies and 73 gets cut in the new year?

Pretty good.

No sign of security/EPS or Peace Officers though. That wasn't the case the last few weekends (I saw some patrolling DT two weekends ago essentially enforcing no loitering) so I'm not sure what gives.

I took it slightly later than you did, and there were lots of people in Oilers jerseys heading to Rogers Place. Interestingly, everyone got off at Churchill instead of 102 St despite the latter being closer.

There was plenty of security downtown, although Game Night is always well-policed.

The 73 is actually really pleasant to take now that Valley Line is open -- it's more frequent, the buses are almost always empty, and the stops are just a smidge more convenient to get to where I live. Can't get too used to it though...
 
I took it slightly later than you did, and there were lots of people in Oilers jerseys heading to Rogers Place. Interestingly, everyone got off at Churchill instead of 102 St despite the latter being closer.

There was plenty of security downtown, although Game Night is always well-policed.

The 73 is actually really pleasant to take now that Valley Line is open -- it's more frequent, the buses are almost always empty, and the stops are just a smidge more convenient to get to where I live. Can't get too used to it though...
Man it's really interesting how different times correspond to different ridership experiences/stats. Either way, good to know that it was busier later on!

That's something I've noticed as well. Churchill gets used much more even if 102 St is more convenient. I personally like 102 St a lot, but the open-ness of Churchill makes it more inviting? I still biasedly believe the concrete of ECC and Manulife make that stop have less potential than it does, aesthetic and atmosphere wise.
 
I took it slightly later than you did, and there were lots of people in Oilers jerseys heading to Rogers Place. Interestingly, everyone got off at Churchill instead of 102 St despite the latter being closer.
A lot of people transfer to Metro Line to get off at MacEwan Station. We can tell people that it's only a 3 block walk from 102 St Stop (2 blocks if ECC is open) but a 3 block walk on unactivated streets feels like forever.

Case in point, I'd rather transfer onto the Valley Line to 102 St to walk a block to Stantec Tower rather than walk three blocks from Churchill. 😁 Even more so now that they've temporarily closed the sidewalk south of Bell Tower Parkade for construction.
 
Man it's really interesting how different times correspond to different ridership experiences/stats. Either way, good to know that it was busier later on!

That's something I've noticed as well. Churchill gets used much more even if 102 St is more convenient. I personally like 102 St a lot, but the open-ness of Churchill makes it more inviting? I still biasedly believe the concrete of ECC and Manulife make that stop have less potential than it does, aesthetic and atmosphere wise.
I think it’s mostly the pedways, no? People are used to using Churchill as the connector to all the pedways (even if 102at technically can get you into the mall and the same pedways).
 
Again, this is just an estimate, and from 14 years ago already. Ridership blossomed after the Capital Line extension to Century Park. I'm not suggesting we should expect more than 100,000 riders/day on the Valley Line, but it's definitely within the realm of possibility, considering how many more communities will be within short distance of LRT, not to mention the planned densification in certain parts of the line.
I mean all that is fair; However, It is the criteria used to choose the route and design the line. sooo…. Im not sure what your post is about.
 
Hit a southbound train. Car #2021. Stub train running in Mill Woods between Mill Woods and Millbourne. Looks like it's cleared as I am on a southbound that just left Davies.
Do we have any trains left that are NOT smashed up and waiting for parts?
 

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