Barnaby said:
Closing off University Ave to vehicle through traffic would solve this problem. Turn the area east of 115 St into a park.

I know this sounds like an impossible task, but it would cost $15 million instead of the the proposal to grade separate, which would undoubtedly cost nearly as much as the Blatchford extension.

For this money you could build a Spur Line on the VLW from Brewery to the Via Rail Station.

Spending hundreds of millions to maintain the usability of this roadway is insane
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While University Ave Could technically be closed off, the traffic would need to be rerouted. The only available alternate is the unconnected portion of Saskatchewan Drive that runs west of Belgravia and it would have to be widened. The only safe way to widen that road would be to buy out the river facing houses and create a park from the unused portion. I would be shocked if the cost of doing that came in under 300 million and 80% of that would need to go to property buy outs
I'm quite certain that we could underpass the train in a tunnel wide enough to accommodate the switch track for less money.
 
Closing University Ave means diverting all the southbound traffic from Groat through 87 Ave -- right through the UofA -- a non-starter. Just bite the bullet and bury the tracks.

On the Metro Line, I would really like MacEwan to be buried as well with the portal on 105 St instead of Ave.
 
whattheheck said:
I would really love to know what type of bizarro world you live in. Please, whoever you are, do not ever run for an elected position. If a little tiny voice inside your head says to, please don't listen to that voice so as to spare the public from terrible ideas.

Close off University Avenue to vehicle traffic?! Wow, just total wholesale, I can't believe what I just read wow. I used to be young and idealistic. But never was I ever completely tone deaf.
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Putting on my car brain hat for a second: consider that University Ave handles about 21,000 vehicles per day. Redirecting them along 87 Ave with some roadway and intersection reconfigurations at 87/114 isn’t really a bizzaro thought, since 87 Ave has about 10-15,000 cars per day, making a combined volume of less than 40,000, which is what 114 st south of University Ave handles currently. With University Ave closed, you could greatly increase the throughput for traffic on 114 St, eliminating/reducing the cause of most delays that exist now.

(Taking car brain hat off) but if delays persist, maybe that’s ok. We live in a city. The increased frequency and capacity (not to mention faster trip time since trains currently have to wait for the University Ave light cycle) that this change would make the LRT more appealing to those who drive.
 
yeggator said:
Curious, what would be benefit of moving the portal? 105th Street is hardly busy.
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It's not a congestion issue. The prevailing wind direction in Edmonton is West to East, so the current portal on 105 Ave blows air into the tunnel and completely messes up the ventilation and heating/cooling at Churchill as a result.

Seamusmuldrew said:
Putting on my car brain hat for a second: consider that University Ave handles about 21,000 vehicles per day. Redirecting them along 87 Ave with some roadway and intersection reconfigurations at 87/114 isn’t really a bizzaro thought, since 87 Ave has about 10-15,000 cars per day, making a combined volume of less than 40,000, which is what 114 st south of University Ave handles currently. With University Ave closed, you could greatly increase the throughput for traffic on 114 St, eliminating/reducing the cause of most delays that exist now.
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If I were at the University, I would be very unhappy at the idea of doubling or tripling the traffic on 87 Ave given the amount of pedestrian activity there. University Ave routes traffic from Groat/Whyte/114 St around campus, 87 Ave cuts right through. That's to say nothing of Hawrelak, which is the staging ground for events like Heritage Days.
 
Foolworm said:
It's not a congestion issue. The prevailing wind direction in Edmonton is West to East, so the current portal on 105 Ave blows air into the tunnel and completely messes up the ventilation and heating/cooling at Churchill as a result.



If I were at the University, I would be very unhappy at the idea of doubling or tripling the traffic on 87 Ave given the amount of pedestrian activity there. University Ave routes traffic from Groat/Whyte/114 St around campus, 87 Ave cuts right through. That's to say nothing of Hawrelak, which is the staging ground for events like Heritage Days.
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That’s true, I’m envisioning 87 ave at 114 with that kind of traffic volume and it sucks. But our current situation also sucks. Just trying to think of some solution. Not quite sure how it would affect Hawrelak though
 
Seamusmuldrew said:
That’s true, I’m envisioning 87 ave at 114 with that kind of traffic volume and it sucks. But our current situation also sucks. Just trying to think of some solution. Not quite sure how it would affect Hawrelak though
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It just makes makes Hawrelak that much harder to access. University Ave sees a huge spike in traffic whenever there's an event like Heritage Days.

I think the City just has to bite the bullet and bury the LRT tracks. Basically duplicate what is happening right now at 23 Ave but as a standalone project.
 
One thing I found at 114 Street/University Avenue was the chokepoint at 114 Street at 76 Avenue. The Southbound lane has its own light, and a red light at the turn signal could result in the right lane being blocked if there are too many cars turning right.
 
Foolworm said:
It just makes makes Hawrelak that much harder to access. University Ave sees a huge spike in traffic whenever there's an event like Heritage Days.

I think the City just has to bite the bullet and bury the LRT tracks. Basically duplicate what is happening right now at 23 Ave but as a standalone project.
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How will the capital line run while there's major reconstruction works? And who will pay for that? Why should taxpayers from other parts of Alberta and Canada (because infrastructure funds come from the province and Ottawa) pay to fix such a costly mistake?

Now, if they only did it right the first time.
 
Still love these so much and would have equally loved to have been in the design meeting where they got proposed and approved.


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^ I loved that station design since day one! It was the first one to take a swing at some glam. Dark blue tile, stainless steel on portions of the ceiling tunnel walls, all wonderful. The only stain on perfection is the cold cold soul-crushing LEDs that replaced the original warmer light.
 
whattheheck said:
How will the capital line run while there's major reconstruction works? And who will pay for that? Why should taxpayers from other parts of Alberta and Canada (because infrastructure funds come from the province and Ottawa) pay to fix such a costly mistake?

Now, if they only did it right the first time.
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Same as every other transit project.

You keep emphasising 'if only they did it right'. It just sounds like you expect to simply enjoy and criticise what others have built.

Reflect on this and understand that you also are expected to pay your way to maintaining, modernising, and expanding on what is existing. Others will judge you on what was or was not done today.

Stop being ungrateful and unappreciative of what you have, expecting things to be handed to you on a gold platter.
 
The_Cat said:
One thing I found at 114 Street/University Avenue was the chokepoint at 114 Street at 76 Avenue. The Southbound lane has its own light, and a red light at the turn signal could result in the right lane being blocked if there are too many cars turning right.
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I guess if they grade-separate the University Ave crossing and boost the train frequencies, that right turn needs to be banned. You could just take a right at Uni Ave to access the neighbourhood going southbound.
 
Agard said:
How exactly does sitting around wishing we did it right the first time help us in the present?
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Learning from the past helps us make better decisions in the present.

Ellerslie should be grade separated based on learnings from past at grade crossing messes for example. It’s a major road with high volume that will keep increasing for the next few decades.
 
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