[The_Cat]

I think part of the reason could be pedestrians crossing, whether legally or illegally. Every day at City Centre Mall, I see some pedestrians (not many) cross at a red/don't walk pedestrian light. This could be a serious problem at night when pedestrians are harder to see.

 

[EdmTrekker]

If you're Downtown. But Downtown already has a frequent express bus that will likely get you to that main west end attraction much faster than the LRT will.

I doubt the express bus will continue or not with much frequency once the LRT is there.

 

[Gronk!]

It's disappointing the speed limit will be 50/55 beside roads that are 60km/h.

View attachment 508833

Edmonton really doesn't get that much traffic, so it's not going to be good for the train's allure when drivers are outpacing it.

The naysayers on this forum tend to forget about the Tawatina Bridge crossing and the elevated portion around Davies Station.

 

[occidentalcapital]

On a grade separated, totally separate track why couldn't we run at highway speeds or better?

Why do we handicap trains over cars? 80km/h is slower than many grade separated, high capacity automobile roads. In this case I think the trains have a max speed of 80 kmh so maybe it wouldn't make a difference. But still.

 

[The_Cat]

I’m thinking if the LRT was more on a straight route, the 80 km speeds are possible. I could see faster LRT speeds at WEM on the elevated tracks.

 

[Barnaby]

You still have to park when you arrive at your destination if you're driving. This isn't the case with transit. I think we should be considering this when it comes to travel times.

 

[Glenco]

On a grade separated, totally separate track why couldn't we run at highway speeds or better?

Why do we handicap trains over cars? 80km/h is slower than many grade separated, high capacity automobile roads. In this case I think the trains have a max speed of 80 kmh so maybe it wouldn't make a difference. But still.

Nothing burger

 

[kcantor]

You still have to park when you arrive at your destination if you're driving. This isn't the case with transit. I think we should be considering this when it comes to travel times.

unless your destination Is the lrt station, you still have to walk to your destination if you took transit. and if you don’t live in an lrt station you need to walk or be driven to one before you start your transit trip which also needs to be considered when it comes to travel times.

it’s not solely about point to point times, it’s about the overall convenience of the entire commute.

 

[dunno]

On a grade separated, totally separate track why couldn't we run at highway speeds or better?

Why do we handicap trains over cars? 80km/h is slower than many grade separated, high capacity automobile roads. In this case I think the trains have a max speed of 80 kmh so maybe it wouldn't make a difference. But still.

I think it has to do with the Valley Line not being as segregated from traffic. The only sections with any real speed are the two spots completely separated from pedestrians and cars (Tawatina/Muttart and Davies elevated stretch). The Capital Line is much more expedient by comparison. The Metro Line, not so much, because of the convoluted mess of multiple major thoroughfare crossings and, likely as @The_Cat mentioned, a squiggly route. Aside from the elevated sections around WEM/Mis I doubt the west leg will be any faster in kph. Even on the Capital Line, leaving the downtown tunnel, and going to Stadium, the train slows down briefly because of the more exposed crossings and greater likelihood of somebody potentially being on the track.

 

[Yegpeople]

It's disappointing the speed limit will be 50/55 beside roads that are 60km/h.

View attachment 508833

Edmonton really doesn't get that much traffic, so it's not going to be good for the train's allure when drivers are outpacing it.

Train drivers can maybe drive faster than those speeds but there is not much distance between stations to go any faster

 

[J_gordo]

On a grade separated, totally separate track why couldn't we run at highway speeds or better?

Why do we handicap trains over cars? 80km/h is slower than many grade separated, high capacity automobile roads. In this case I think the trains have a max speed of 80 kmh so maybe it wouldn't make a difference. But still.

I don’t think those trains can run that fast, and you also need to factor in signaling and blocks. If they are traveling at 80kmh they need a big distance to stop, which isn’t feasible given how small the blocks are on the VL.

 

[Barnaby]

Even the SD160s top out at 80kmh. It's not like the Valley Line trams are that slow. The REM Alstoms top out around 100kmh, but that is a commuter rail system. The SkyTrain, like our system, tops out at 80kmh.

I'm not opposed to adding Metro line style chain in some places, if it leads to a substantial increase in speed (maybe an extra 20kmh?). Probably south of Davies to 34th Avenue for the SE line, and west of the WEM guideway to Lewis Farms on the West line.

If it only shaves off 1-2 minutes, do we really think it's important? Frequency is probably more important.

 

[TAS]

unless your destination Is the lrt station, you still have to walk to your destination if you took transit. and if you don’t live in an lrt station you need to walk or be driven to one before you start your transit trip which also needs to be considered when it comes to travel times.

it’s not solely about point to point times, it’s about the overall convenience of the entire commute.

When we drive we often have a different mindset it seems. Sometimes circling around a parking lot for the closest space. Or complaining if there's not street parking in front of a business or house.

We have a lot of downtown parking lots but it seems the city is at fault if somebody can't park in the most 'convenient' spot and that having to park further away and walk to the final destination is a major flaw in how the city is designed.

 

[The_Cat]

I wonder how many people who park downtown are from outside Edmonton. When people from out of town go to an Oiler game, how many park north of Rogers Place?

 

[The_Cat]