High Level Bridge Streetcar / ERRS

[The_Cat]

Edmonton city council to consider $85K investment to lift High Level Line park proposal off the ground

Initial plans include activation of the upper deck of the High Level Bridge for pedestrians to walk alongside the historic streetcar.

edmontonjournal.com

 

[ChazYEG]

Edmonton city council to consider $85K investment to lift High Level Line park proposal off the ground

Initial plans include activation of the upper deck of the High Level Bridge for pedestrians to walk alongside the historic streetcar.

edmontonjournal.com

As they say, this will keep the project alive, which is awesome news, but just barely
I wish the city could divert part of its incentives towards this. Such a great potential to activate and connect parts of the city that need it so much!

 

[CplKlinger]

Edmonton city council to consider $85K investment to lift High Level Line park proposal off the ground

Initial plans include activation of the upper deck of the High Level Bridge for pedestrians to walk alongside the historic streetcar.

edmontonjournal.com

I'm not sure how I feel about this. On the one hand, it would bring a lot of life to the area and add a much needed pedestrian connection across the river there (the sidewalks are ok but get pretty sketchy at night, and they're narrow). On the other hand, the Edmonton Radial Railway Society, which operates the streetcars, already voiced concerns about not being consulted properly – considering that they'd suddenly have to deal with their tracks on a narrow bridge becoming a conjested pedestrian thoroughfare. I hope that they will have a seat at the table and get their concerns addressed. If both parties can work together on this, then this project would have amazing potential.

 

[IanO]

Work it out, work it out.

 

[cliffapotamus]

I'm not sure how I feel about this. On the one hand, it would bring a lot of life to the area and add a much needed pedestrian connection across the river there (the sidewalks are ok but get pretty sketchy at night, and they're narrow). On the other hand, the Edmonton Radial Railway Society, which operates the streetcars, already voiced concerns about not being consulted properly – considering that they'd suddenly have to deal with their tracks on a narrow bridge becoming a conjested pedestrian thoroughfare. I hope that they will have a seat at the table and get their concerns addressed. If both parties can work together on this, then this project would have amazing potential.

I agree with the sketicism. the first time i saw this proposal and read the brief, the only thought in my head was 'so NYC did this so we're copying it? that's where this is coming from?' I Don't really like this proposal, particularly running on top of the bridge. It jeopardizes the functions of ERRS, which a very special and unique part of Edmonton. Not consulting them worries me, and honestly i don't see how they could be accomodated safely, on top of a narrow, notoriously windy bridge without major infrastructure changes. Pedestrian access to the top level would also (most likely) wind up just as awkward as the accessing the lower level is now, or incur larges costs building ramps/stairs/whatever is needed to make it work. It all seems like a lot of money and effort to replicate something another city already has a more famous version of.

The High Level definitely needs some love. the existing sidewalks could be widened, both on the bridge on both sides, and on the south-end connections, for much cheaper, with the same result. this would leave ERRS to operate unimpeded, and frankly, save some money for the big issues on the route, like crossing Jasper Ave (i personally think we need a bridge there, as long as that hill on 110 Street is there that connection will be a barrier) and improving access to Whyte Ave. Like, the corridor could use some help, but do we really need to build a brand-new, fully exposed sidewalk on top of a notoriously windy bridge, when there's two existing sidewalks we could improve far more easily? can't we focus on the worse pinch-points?

 

[Platinum107]

the first time i saw this proposal and read the brief, the only thought in my head was 'so NYC did this so we're copying it? that's where this is coming from?'

You kiddin me? Ours would be so much cooler than the Highline (and really nothing like it if you actually compared them)

In all seriousness tho, I'm kinda shocked if it's true that the High Level Line Society hasn't had discussions with ERRS yet, much more that ERRS isn't a main player at the table on this project. It's literally the High-Level Streetcar for crying out loud! I think for this project to really go forward, that has to change and the alignment of the streetcar would have to be rebuilt along one side of the bridge. Then, to address the wind (and safety concerns) any glass barrier needs to be at least taller than the average person and heavily reinforced. Any which way they go, there are gonna be some tough logistical challenges with a project like this, but the payoff for Edmonton will be immeasurable if it's undertaken.

 

[RH van der Rohe]

What will $85K buy? A couple people managing further fundraising and to look for a firm to design the thing? It wasn't very clear if the funds will go to ERRS to use as they see fit of will this be directed by the city. Sometimes the lack of specifics in local reporting really disappoint me.

 

[archited]

^^^^Amen to that! Always too much of a rush to get a story into print or on the telly at the sacrifice of thoughtful insights and important data-related-context.

 

[IanO]

https://pub-edmonton.escribemeetings.com/FileStream.ashx?DocumentId=78258

 

[archited]

^^^^well that clears that up!

 

[TimETown]

Edmonton Public Library has this in their "newly acquired" list.

"Edmonton's Electric Transit"

 

[Avenuer]

Edmonton Public Library has this in their "newly acquired" list.

"Edmonton's Electric Transit"

View attachment 309515

I found that book at an antique store a couple of weeks ago actually!

 

[_Citizen_Dane_]

^ If you're even slightly into the city's history, Edmonton's Electric Transit is a must own. Undoubtably one of the best books covering Edmonton's growth and development in the first half of the Twentieth Century. So much of it's owed to the expansion of the E.R.R. and Hatcher and Schwarzkopf do a great job laboriously detailing that. Lots of great maps detail the expansions and reductions to the system, and tables filed with juicy details about rolling stock and trolleybuses.

The only downside about it is that it was produced in the late '70s, so don't expect too much info on the LRT system (it only covers the original Clareview - Central stretch) or the E.R.R.S.' High Level service and presence at Fort Edmonton.

 

[CplKlinger]

^ If you're even slightly into the city's history, Edmonton's Electric Transit is a must own. Undoubtably one of the best books covering Edmonton's growth and development in the first half of the Twentieth Century. So much of it's owed to the expansion of the E.R.R. and Hatcher and Schwarzkopf do a great job laboriously detailing that. Lots of great maps detail the expansions and reductions to the system, and tables filed with juicy details about rolling stock and trolleybuses.

The only downside about it is that it was produced in the late '70s, so don't expect too much info on the LRT system (it only covers the original Clareview - Central stretch) or the E.R.R.S.' High Level service and presence at Fort Edmonton.

I just ordered Ride of the Century. Someone shared excerpts with me (so that I can create a section on the ETS wiki page which covers its history), and it seems to go into a fair bit of detail. Is it worth owning both books?

 

[_Citizen_Dane_]

I just ordered Ride of the Century. Someone shared excerpts with me (so that I can create a section on the ETS wiki page which covers its history), and it seems to go into a fair bit of detail. Is it worth owning both books?

Oh totally! I'd say if you're into transit history it's well worth having both. They're great compliments because they both set out to do different things. Ride is a more generalized history, while Electric is a more specialized history. Both books are excellent works as standalones, but together they create a really comprehensive picture of the system's history and development.

For instance, Electric has a whole chapter explaining the rational, from both E.R.R. higher-ups and City councilmembers, about the introduction of the trolleybus system — something Ride covers in far less detail. On the other hand, Electric doesn't really detail the City's decision to introduce diesel buses in 1932 — Ride does. Ride, as a history of the Transit System as an organization, doesn't spend much time detailing the independently owned, funded, and operated Edmonton Interurban Railway — Electric spends a chapter on it (despite them being diesel vehicles).

It's that kind of back-and-forth that makes for something really special between the two. I will say though, Ride does have a leg up on Electric just by virtue of being published in 2008. It's a whole twenty-five years newer than Electric and has the benefit of being able to talk about the changes and developments that have happened since 1983.