Northside Bus Bridge

[Daveography]

Of course this comes up now as an election approaches. It's a good idea, though. I'm told it would also include a multi-use trail which would be amazing for bike commuters too.

Councillors push for bus bridge over Yellowhead, CN tracks to shorten northwest commute
A bus-only bridge over the Yellowhead Trail and the CN rail yards, linking downtown with northwest Edmonton, would dramatically reduce travel time for transit commuters, says Coun. Bev Esslinger.

"What people in the northwest are saying is they want access to the LRT system, that their commutes are quite long," the Ward 2 councillor said Wednesday. "They would like to tap into express buses to get to the LRT."
The buses would ferry passengers from Castle Downs to Blatchford Field and onward to the LRT.

"Right now we're quite landlocked," Esslinger said.

"We need to go to 97th Street or 127th Street or another way because of the CN tracks and the Yellowhead. You can't just put a road anywhere. So it will open up that area."

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/express-bus-bridge-yellowhead-cn-lrt-1.4160199

Dedicated bus bridge could shorten commute time from north side to downtown: councillors
A new express bus bridge over Yellowhead Trail and CN Rail lines could cut transit commutes from the north side to downtown in half, say two councillors putting the option officially on the table for the first time.

If LRT isn’t coming for more than a decade, maybe a rapid bus link is the best interim option, they said.

“It could potentially result in a 13- to 15-minute bus ride from Castle Downs Road to Blatchford Field with an express bus lane,” said Ward 3 Coun. Dave Loken Tuesday, introducing a motion to get that pitch added to the city’s scope of work.

Several stops would add to the travel time and, at Blatchford, transit riders would transfer to the Metro Line LRT. But, said Loken, “what we’re hearing is sometimes it’s taking upwards of an hour for people to get downtown (now), which is not acceptable. We need to cut that in half.”

City of Edmonton officials are already working on a location agreement with CN Rail to establish where each pier could sit. The estimated cost is $100 million to $200 million.

If city officials designed it right, the bridge could be repurposed for LRT when the city is ready to build the line, said Ward 2 Coun. Bev Esslinger, who is co-sponsoring Loken’s motion. In the meantime, a dedicated bus lane would follow the future LRT path — north on 113a Street, then west on 156 Avenue to St. Albert’s planned park-and-ride transit station.

http://edmontonjournal.com/news/loc...-time-from-north-side-to-downtown-councillors

Councillors push for express bus bridge for north Edmonton

 

[Daveography]

Council votes to look more closely at transit-friendly bridge over Yellowhead Trail
The possibility of a bridge over Yellowhead Trail will be included in planning for the next part of the Metro Line LRT extension into north Edmonton.

City council voted Tuesday to approve the request for design and engineering work for a connection between the Blatchford and Calder neighbourhoods.

“Instead of doing one thing and then having to go tear something up to do another – which we’ve had to do at times – perhaps, if this works out and its feasible, we could be doing a lot of things in conjunction,” Coun. Dave Loken said. “That would save us not only money, but time.”

“The bridge is going to be significant and while we’re being engaged over the Yellowhead, why wouldn’t we save money and look at it all at the same time?” Coun. Bev Esslinger asked during debate.

http://globalnews.ca/news/3560770/c...ransit-friendly-bridge-over-yellowhead-trail/

 

[Daveography]

Transit talk with St. Albert revives Blatchford bridge proposal: Coun. Loken
All of a sudden, with this week’s news that Edmonton and St. Albert have a working relationship on public transit, new life is being breathed into an idea to build a bus bridge over Yellowhead Trail and the rail yards.

A formal inquiry to look into the possiblity of bridging Blatchford and Calder was raised by Coun. Dave Loken and Coun. Bev Esslinger in June.

The idea is once a route hits Calder, an express bus lane could run into the northwest. It would also be the precursor to when the Metro Line LRT is extended from NAIT through Blatchford and north from there.

Loken sees some momentum for the project because improved bus service is something that his part of the city demands, especially now that Edmonton Transit is undergoing a service review.

“If we do this right, can we work in concert to help enhance what we’re trying to do here with St. Albert?

http://globalnews.ca/news/3729906/t...evives-blatchford-bridge-proposal-coun-loken/