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LRT Safety

Glenco said:
A lot of people were over reacting to the accidents with the new LRT saying they should put gates and bells everywhere etc. People will get used to it The AHD has been open for years and people are still running into the infrastructure. You can’t fix stupid.
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Apples and oranges. The LRT will be running down the middle of streets with no bollards or crossing gates. Cities which have had this same type of system for years, like Denver and Houston, are STILL having accidents caused by the alignment. A flawed design will always be a flawed design.

The Valley Line has had a plethora of accidents already and the line isn't even in revenue service. This doesn't bode well. And responsible transportation management means fixing designs which are inherently flawed or accident-prone, rather than telling the public to "get used to it." There are plenty of intersections around the capital region where city administrations have had to perform tweaks or change the designs because of an overabundance of crashes or near-misses.

Look at the 23 Avenue overpass at Calgary Trail. At one time that was an at-grade intersection which had racked up so many crashes that it was listed as the deadliest intersection in the city. Municipal administration didn't just launch an awareness campaign and nag people to "drive better!"--they invested a lot of money and performed a proper fix at that intersection.

Major infrastructure like the 23 Ave interchange and the LRT lines should NEVER be built on the cheap. They are supposed to be legacy projects that serve the community for decades. Investing the proper amount of money and building them right the first time should be a no-brainer.
 
Valley line is an urban vehicle much like the old street cars or trams all over Europe. Not meant to be a high speed commuter train to the burbs. It serves the higher density inner city hop on hop off shorter travel. Adding bells and gates are not necessary just get used to it.
 
Glenco said:
Valley line is an urban vehicle much like the old street cars or trams all over Europe. Not meant to be a high speed commuter train to the burbs. It serves the higher density inner city hop on hop off shorter travel. Adding bells and gates are not necessary just get used to it.
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But that's not what Mill Woods was promised when LRT was pledged to the area decades ago. They weren't promised a streetcar or tourist tram, they were promised light rail transit similar to what the northeast already had. The Valley Line is a massive downgrade.

Remember, the whole logic of running the line to Mill Woods is not for people to sightsee, it's to get commuters between the southeast and the city core.
 
TravellingChris said:
Apples and oranges. The LRT will be running down the middle of streets with no bollards or crossing gates. Cities which have had this same type of system for years, like Denver and Houston, are STILL having accidents caused by the alignment. A flawed design will always be a flawed design.

The Valley Line has had a plethora of accidents already and the line isn't even in revenue service. This doesn't bode well. And responsible transportation management means fixing designs which are inherently flawed or accident-prone, rather than telling the public to "get used to it." There are plenty of intersections around the capital region where city administrations have had to perform tweaks or change the designs because of an overabundance of crashes or near-misses.

Look at the 23 Avenue overpass at Calgary Trail. At one time that was an at-grade intersection which had racked up so many crashes that it was listed as the deadliest intersection in the city. Municipal administration didn't just launch an awareness campaign and nag people to "drive better!"--they invested a lot of money and performed a proper fix at that intersection.

Major infrastructure like the 23 Ave interchange and the LRT lines should NEVER be built on the cheap. They are supposed to be legacy projects that serve the community for decades. Investing the proper amount of money and building them right the first time should be a no-brainer.
Click to expand...
If there was a road or intersection where there were a lot of accidents, changes would be considered, such as adding stop signs, lights, dividing the road, putting in a median, advance turning, etc...

We would not be told just to get used to it. Accidents at this point are a symptom of design issues and should not just be dismissed or ignored.
 
Gronk! said:
The struggle continues...

globalnews.ca

Football Canada avoids Edmonton Transit as safety concerns persist - Edmonton | Globalnews.ca

Players, coaches and families in Edmonton for the Football Canada Cup will no longer be taking public transit after a security scare at an LRT station Saturday.
globalnews.ca globalnews.ca
Click to expand...

I really wish our provincial government would step up more with our $11B surplus which is just going to partial waste trying to police our way out of this as noted in the story.

I'll leave off with something positive from one of the parents.

"Her son was not directly involved in the LRT station scare but says hearing about it hasn’t turned her off Edmonton.

“I think stuff like that can happen anywhere.

“We’re not super reactive to that type of thing,” Hov added. “It doesn’t necessarily mean we’re not going to come back to Edmonton. Edmonton has been great so far.”
 
David A said:
Yes, in fact similar serious problems have happened in other Canadian cities too.
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Vancouver has stabbings and bear spray issues weekly on their transit. But with millions of rides and so many used to using regularly, it doesn’t matter. But we’re hobbling along and still rely on one off use for a lot of events. We’ve lost the trust of a lot of those people.
 
I am so disappointed our police chief has abdicated his responsibility to keep us safe by saying officers can't protect you on the train. Him playing politics by pitting 1 public service against another is absolutely disgusting and unprofessional. What an abject failure of leadership on par with the Ottawa Police chief who let the freedum convoy happen! If he or his staff read this forum, I recommend he resign immediately or the police commission fire him.
 
It is unlikely EPS has the resources to do transit and probably would ask for more money. City has invested heavily in TPO's but they need to be given more powers to deal with situations. That requires the City to ask the province for more powers for TPO's which I believe is in the works.

Definitely politics being played but not sure the Chief is entirely to blame. City Council decided they wanted to use TPO's which are cheaper and probably never thought we'd have the issues we're now facing.
 
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