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High Level Bridge

Bring back the waterfall !

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When I go to New York I like to check on the High Line. First time it was so popular that it was difficult to negotiate people; last time it was still busier than your average street -- the coolest thing was there were so many businesses that had opened up in buildings along the route -- eateries, galleries, etc.-- connecting into the third floor of adjacencies. Something similar could happen in Edmonton, too -- especially if side-rail cars were set in place along the route. I have been exploring/will continue to explore possibilities in this realm. How cool would it be to have a converted rail car adjacent to the street car line with key view potentiality -- the river, the skyline, the legislature building, etc. -- all as a component of the park. Here are some photos courtesy Pinterest to instigate salivation:
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@OverheardatYEG I think we would all love to see a high speed rail line in the foreseeable future, but it unfortunately there is still no large scale demand for it from people living in both cities:(

Honestly, I wish that back when the city was getting rid of the downtown rail lines, they at least just kept one or two train tracks to keep that very direct north to south connection. It would have been great for establishing a commuter rail system, too.
 
If I were Premier, and lord knows one day that might come true... Cough, cough, bucket list... I'd be financing two infrastructure projects right now. 1-Rebuild and restore the High Level Bridge... Maybe add more capacity for transit and pedestrians if possible... Cars too if there's a will to at least make the lanes wider and safer. and 2-Buy and rebuild the existing CPR line from Edmonton to Calgary OR buy a greenfield corridor to one-way build a proper North-South HSR/CANAMEX cargo line that doesn't cut through every town and city along the way. I am frankly surprised there haven't been any major accidents along the line so far with oil tankers for example. Lac Megantic is always on my mind when I see oil tankers in proximity to town centres on a daily basis. I grew up in Vegreville blocks off the line and had a great fear that one day something bad would happen. So far it hasn't but again I am sure it's only a matter of time due to their aging designs and frankly ahem "frugal" management...
 
While Alberta might not be able to fill a 1100-seat HSR train every hour, I do think it could fill an hourly DMU/EMU car with 100-200 seats... And that could run between Edmonton and Calgary in an upgraded 200-240 km/h CP line with better crossing barriers and signalling according to that Van Horne study from 2004 that I have probably read cover to cover dozens of times by now... Not to mention offer lower-speed inter-city commuting services from all towns and cities with a 75 km radius of Edmonton, Red Deer, Calgary or Lethbridge... Talk about an Alberta Super corridor! And do I think the fears of an HSR line killing YEG are entirely unfounded. Yes, because neither Westjet or Air Canada have EVER respected Edmonton enough to treat it more than just a middling spoke destination to their hub models. It saddens me to listen to the good of days of the airport when it had direct Amsterdam, Frankfurt, London, Paris flights amongst others. Never mind direct 747 service to Honolulu on Ward Air... My parents did the second part of their honeymoon because of this airline and said that was one of the few magical moments from their time together... Too bad I can't say the same myself. I've never been able to grab a good direct flight out of Edmonton yet, even when Newark was on the table with United some years ago... I.e. 2013... I nearly booked it but then Westjet underbid them by $250 when the route launched and I ended up flying via Calgary... And yes I realize that I'm part of the problem when I take the bait and take the lower intro fare ignoring the viability of United. Then again, that airline also has a responsibility to price its fights reasonably and frankly for what they were asking I'd more than happy waste a few hours reading my iPad at Pearson or Trudeau for that cost savings...
 
@OverheardatYEG I think we would all love to see a high speed rail line in the foreseeable future, but it unfortunately there is still no large scale demand for it from people living in both cities:(

Honestly, I wish that back when the city was getting rid of the downtown rail lines, they at least just kept one or two train tracks to keep that very direct north to south connection. It would have been great for establishing a commuter rail system, too.
THIS! Bingo! removing ALL rail capacity for mediocre at best generic suburban architecture was one of the biggest crimes of the Bill Smith administration. Just like the cheapening out of West Henday... Now in 2020 they are frantically trying to add capacity to the most congested first built section in the SW... Good luck with that! Although the current situation has somewhat lessoned its immediate need...
 
Woah I forgot I made that comment haha. Funny how your opinions can change in a year...
 

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