[IanO]

Pardon my ignorance, but in this day and age how does a it take the time to build an LRT line to start a BRT?

View attachment 725689

Operation in five or more years is a little while.

Was hoping we might see things happen a little sooner, but seems no

 

[CplKlinger]

Pardon my ignorance, but in this day and age how does a it take the time to build an LRT line to start a BRT?

If I had to hazard a guess, I'd wager that there's a couple factors at play:
1. Concept planning won't be finished until 2027, after-which they still need to do preliminary and detailed designs.
2. They won't have space for the buses until the southeast transit garage opens in 2031.

 

[BrettB]

I think the timelines are ridiculous too, but reading the reporting, it seems the garage is the major issue.

If it is a glorified express bus with some bus lanes and transit priority, I'm ok with that. When looking at the route report cards posted earlier, the 110X is quite well used (covering some of R1) while the 4 is desperately in need of some support (R2)

 

[Wax]

If 5 years seems like a lot the capital line and metro line extensions have had the 30% design done for 4 years… it will probably be another 5 before we get close to another LRT extension. Valley line concept plans started in 2009…

 

[Edmcowboy11]

Hard to say when things will happen for the next LRT extension which most likely is the extension towards St Albert. By the time that gets underway hopefully we should have further LRT planning within the city. I definitely see it being 5 to 10 years easily.

 

[The_Cat]

I wonder if some of the District routes could be done in this timeframe. Even if the rollout isn’t complete, they could add bus lanes and bus signals on some routes.

 

[The_Cat]

Edmonton would have no LRT or BRT if Gunter had it his way:

Lorne Gunter: City council BRT plan doomed to compound transit problems

The BRT plan being considered by city council merely doubles or triples the number of transit units going in the wrong direction.

edmontonjournal.com

 

[ADob]

I shudder to think what kind of city we'd be living in if Gunter had his way.

 

[CplKlinger]

Project Update - April 2026​

Thank you to those who shared their feedback on BRT Routes B1, B2 and station features during our November - December 2025 public engagement.
The What We Heard Report summarizing your feedback is now available.
Upcoming engagement oppotunities to provide feedback on BRT Route B2, is anticipated to begin in May 2026.
BRT Route B2 includes:

• 87 Avenue/University of Alberta Transit Centre to 109 Street
• Whyte Avenue/82 Avenue between 109 Street and 83 Street

Information will be shared about engagament opportunities soon!

 

[CplKlinger]

Some food for thought. BRT is a good start, but won't permanently replace the Metro Line extension to Castle Downs. We should have a "yes, and" mindset, not an "either or" approach, because one high floor train of five cars can carry as many people as the first nine or ten buses in this picture. Not that people here have been guilty of the latter, I'm just throwing it out there.

 

[policyenthusiast]

Some food for thought. BRT is a good start, but won't permanently replace the Metro Line extension to Castle Downs. We should have a "yes, and" mindset, not an "either or" approach, because one high floor train of five cars can carry as many people as the first nine or ten buses in this picture. Not that people here have been guilty of the latter, I'm just throwing it out there.
View attachment 731523 View attachment 731522

That seems like slightly too many buses.

 

[Tropical]

There will need to be incredible infrastructure on 101 Street and Whyte Ave or yes, this will happen.

 

[SarcasticMarmot]

There will need to be incredible infrastructure on 101 Street and Whyte Ave or yes, this will happen.

Ya, we couldn't even agree to shut down a half dozen parking spots on 101st. We will never inconvenience drivers on Whyte for real BRT. I would put good money down that we will end up with a BRT branded system that is only marginally better than current bus service.

 

[The_Cat]

I worry the road allowance will not be enough for Whyte Avenue or 101 Street.

 

[BrettB]

Having lived in both Ottawa and Vancouver, I'm of two minds on the best approach to BRT.

Ottawa's Transitway did produce bus jams like the one in the photo and that's because Ottawa funnelled every suburban bus and every BRT into a narrow corridor through the cite centre. That led to frequent backlogs. But it was generally a great system.

Vancouver takes a different approach with its R lines (the 99 BLine being the most successful example as one of the busiest bus lines on the continent). The infrastructure is nowhere near as built out but stops are farther apart than normal and the system seems to work.

The conclusion I draw is, no matter what Edmonton does with its BRT plans, frequency will be key along with targeted measures that helps the buses avoid traffic (bus lanes, signal priority, and stop spacing)