LRT Expansion Planning

[ChazYEG]

A mayor needs to build consensus.

Don't disagree with you there. I wish there was a mid-point between the weak and strong mayor systems. While I believe that building consensus is important and having a strong council is a good thing, on the other hand it ties the hands of the government in endless debates even for small things, which creates a trail of bureaucracy that is inefficient and waste taxpayer money.

 

[The_Cat]

City of Edmonton LRT Presentation, September 17, 2021:

 

[TAS]

 

[The_Cat]

I just hope that Edmonton elects a council that will support LRT expansion. Cancellation of LRT will mean penalties, and a huge setback for our city.

 

[TAS]

In Ward Metis, Caroline Matthews, who is leading according to the poll shared in the politics thread, was in favor of a pause not with the intent of cancelling the project, but to review the southeast line project first to see what worked well, what didn't, what the final numbers were and why it was more than a year behind schedule - that is what she shared in the forum presented by EFCL. She has a background in project management so she thinks the city should have waited to sign contracts for second half until first half was done and reviewed.

In Ashley Salvador's response, she says carry on with LRT but that the bus network needs a rethink because there are various neighbourhood gaps in services and service areas - the network that the city just spent years redesigning.

Part of the reason the new bus network isn't working for many right now after it was integrated a few months ago is because it was designed prior to covid and did not take into account changing commuting patterns. It definitely shifted more of its routes and resources for in and out of downtown to the sacrifice of other areas. Would the city have done better to 'pause' the release of the new bus network given these changes? Or do we now stick primarily with the new status quo and think that the same commuting patterns will return that this bus network plan was designed from? Or do we keep current plan but just add back more service routes (and cost) back in that were removed?

 

[occidentalcapital]

Any talk of pausing is unacceptable. Getting some LRT built is better than it being totally perfect. We don't worry about every new road being perfect, we just build them and the city works. Build more LRT!

 

[David A]

I suspected for a while two of the candidates proposing cancellation were a bit (or more than a bit) flaky. This now completely confirms it for me.

I suspect it is a desperate last minute move to try create some populist appeal. I am thinking and hoping it will not work.

 

[Foolworm]

The EMRB has updated their regional transportation plan to bring it in line with the City Plan. Of the proposed rapid transit corridors (purple), most are copied straight from the LRT network plan but there are a couple that are proposed BRT corridors, namely 97 St/Gateway and Terwillegar/Fox Drive.

 

[cloney]

Not sure if this is the place for this but was just having some hypothetical thoughts on Future LRT routes. Its a route I drive down quite often, but having an LRT route from the royal alex station, down kingsway ave, 118 ave, and then north on st albert trail to end at where the new terminal station is planned for by Campbell road. I have included a beautiful hand drawn image to help show this. Future metro line in orange and this hypothetical line in dark green. Would love to hear any reasons why you think this would or wouldnt work! kingsway ave with 3 lanes in each direction just seem like so much, and with blatchford being developed, adding lrt/bike lanes to kingsway ave to help there be less of a divide between blatchford and the bordering neighborhoods seems reasonable. Same goes for st albert trail, these seem like semi-major routes in the city that could benefit from being accessible to more than just cars.

 

[The_Cat]

I think having express bus service along St. Albert Trail and Kingsway would work.

 

[occidentalcapital]

I think a circle LRT following the Anthony Henday would be a good long term option.

 

[Glenco]

I think a circle LRT following the Anthony Henday would be a good long term option.

Why?

 

[ChazYEG]

I think a circle LRT following the Anthony Henday would be a good long term option.

Not a really good idea, at least from a cost-efficiency perspective. They're doing it in Melbourne, if I'm not mistaken, and it will cost tens of billions, with low expected ridership and the project will almost certainly be scrapped and only the current leg will be built.

Considering that Melbourne has 2x Edmonton Metro's population, is denser and the line is an arch, not a full circle, I'd wager that having all of the lines cross/meet the Henday and have express bus services linking them would be cheaper and more viable. Imagine having Lewis Farms, Campbell Rd, Gorman, Heritage Valley and Millwoods (plus a future Energy line stop on the east end) connected by direct, express busses.
We could have this same service from Century Park, Clareview and WEM as well.

We can even think of double-decker like GO uses in the GTA, as these would be strictly suburban lines, with more focus on comfort and capacity than frequency. We could have one "line" going in each direction, headways of 15 minutes (10min and peak hours), with either articulated or double-decker busses. Because the Anthony Henday will, more likely than not, be expanded, if demand is ever there to justify it, we can even make one of the lanes exclusive for busses in peak hours (7 to 9:30 and 3:30 to 7).

 

[The_Cat]

I think something like a bus route on Henday would be more viable when LRT to Ellerslie ;Road and Lewis Farms is added.

 

[Edmcowboy11]

I see a line out from the center to Sherwood Park, or a central to Windermere or central to CFB Edmonton being far more needed than a ring road LRT..