yeggator said:
I hiked all the way up to Blatchford Station, which is closed, but I was close enough to see that it used the exact same design as the new NAIT Station i.e. 10/10. There are also tail tracks, which I imagine will be utilized for storing extra trains for more efficient deployment.
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It really bugs me how far it is from any of the development in Blatchford, and isn’t at least being used as a node for feeder bus routes in the interim, but hopefully, that changes over time. The lack of connectivity between Blatchford and the extension should be resolved this summer too, and hopefully, access to 109th Street should open up soon. A lot of the land around the alignment is also slated to be taken up by the NAIT expansion, which may take a long time to materialize, but will hopefully really tie the area together.
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Thanks for all the great pictures and information, you're amazing! Did you notice if any of the shared use paths connect with Blatchford currently? I wonder how easy the new station is for residents to access (and also for people like me to go explore it now). I hope we don't need to trundle through piles of dirt to get there.
 
Avenuer said:
Who will be the first person to check out the new NAIT Station in operation?
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Yeggator beat us to it, but me and @erudyk_29 + a few other friends might go and check it out after classes on Monday!
 
CplKlinger said:
Thanks for all the great pictures and information, you're amazing! Did you notice if any of the shared use paths connect with Blatchford currently? I wonder how easy the new station is for residents to access (and also for people like me to go explore it now). I hope we don't need to trundle through piles of dirt to get there.
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Unfortunately, I couldn’t tell because of the snow and darkness, but when we still had the warm spell in December, I remember being able to drive down Blatchford road past the energy centre and up to a roundabout that wasn’t quite trackside, but would link up to a pedestrian crossing to 118th Ave. It was paved until just past the energy centre, then gravel road and I don’t know the conditions of the sidewalks. I’m guessing that connection won’t be ready until the summer.
 
I didn't see an obvious pedestrian connection west from the station but I didn't think to check north. We wanted to explore with baby but it felt much colder in that area than it did in Chinatown. My partner appreciated the heated shelters. I plan on going back sometime this week when it's warmer.

Here's my contribution from a little earlier in the day. My thoughts, beautiful station, just in a fairly secluded spot at the moment and a bit of a walk from NAIT campus. Also odd that they're having the single-car trains stop at the far end of the station when the station is really only serving NAIT at the moment. I do hope Blatchford makes more progress this summer to develop more towards the station, and perhaps NAIT can accelerate their plans to activate more of the campus near the station.

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yeggator said:
The OCS pylons also have a distinctive design.
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OCS poles are the same as used on newer LRT extensions. The cantilevers use the same basic components as anywhere else on the SLRT and NLRT, except they aren't set up to accommodate a messenger cable, as it seems they went with just the contact wire, I guess to make the OCS less visually intrusive. This should be fine since this appears it will be a low speed section.
I suspect that due to not using full catenary the poles are spaced closer together. On tangent track on this extension the poles are spaced at less then 30m. On the rest of the NLRT they are space at 35-40m, and the SLRT can be as great as 55m. I don't know if that's a worthwhile trade off. Less wire, but more poles?
I actually think the cantilever assemblies themselves look overbuilt. I don't see why the diagonal component couldn't be a cable. In fact, these cantilever assemblies feature just as many heavy components as a regular cantilever for catenary on the NLRT.
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I think the least visually intrusive LRT OCS in Edmonton is on the Valley Line between 96 St and 99 St. A single pole supports a cantilever to support wires for both tracks with cables for diagonal supports. In locations where extra support is needed, such as at a crossover, there is a second cantilever above the first.
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I used the new NAIT/Blatchford Market station yesterday and checked out the connection between the station and Blatchford as well. The connections between the station and Blatchford are not finished so you currently have to walk through snow to get there. There is also some ongoing utility work going on so you have to look out for trenches!

There were walking tracks going back and forth so clearly people are using the unofficial connection already even if it is not ideal. The people working on site yesterday took no issue with me walking through. Hopefully the City prioritizes finishing the connection in the spring because it appeared close to finished in the fall.
 
A chilly and windy day at NAIT/Blatchford Market Station!

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What are the feelings on a temporary park and ride here? So much land… so long until stuff gets developed.

If it increased ridership, would it be worth it?

Maybe doesn’t work with nait being so close?
 
thommyjo said:
What are the feelings on a temporary park and ride here? So much land… so long until stuff gets developed.

If it increased ridership, would it be worth it?

Maybe doesn’t work with nait being so close?
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A temporary park and ride, along with a few rerouted bus routes would do Blatchford Gate WONDERS. Running the line there would serve North-siders very well and would be perfectly fine until it’s replaced with dense housing and businesses imo
 
Wouldn't Coliseum be a better location for a park and ride? The old Rexall is coming down soon and the surrounding lots are already there.

I suspect more tight-fisted minds would balk at spending even more money to prep Blatchford, only to take the parking away in a few years when the land is developed.
 
Platinum107 said:
A temporary park and ride, along with a few rerouted bus routes would do Blatchford Gate WONDERS. Running the line there would serve North-siders very well and would be perfectly fine until it’s replaced with dense housing and businesses imo
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I wonder if the Yellowhead freeway conversion project gets in the way of a park & ride? They will be starting work on that stretch of the Yellowhead this year, so access from the north side might be difficult and ever-changing for a couple years.

I’d also be worried about the park and ride being turned into just a parking lot for NAIT students which might discourage transit use.

Hopefully the City can prioritize development in that part of Blatchford and get that second station open ASAP. Definitely seems unfair to the residents of the northern part of Westwood to not be able to use that finished station.
 
Does anyone remember why the chose the current location? Did they think the armoury was going to go away?
 
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