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Lots of good progress, but why hasn’t 182 street reopened? Not even track work there yet, I don’t think that area needed a full construction season
 
whattheheck said:
Do you really think that auto demand is induced when a train track is separated from vehicles? I'd argue a grade separated system actually would attract more transit users! (Something, I hearedtly want to see)

All one has to do is look at the differences between Vancouver and Portland and their respective ridership percentage numbers.

Also, grade separation is about different traffic systems working in simpatico, to avoid conflict. This idea of 'well, just take the lrt' is too simplistic. It doesn't work like that. That's not to say I don't support mass rail transit. I do. But build it with at least more compromise, for goodness sake.

The city should have at least grade separated at key intersections. The VLW will become a major tension point at 109th and 104, for example. So, what are people heading N/S supposed to do? Take the train? But what if they're going to places where VL doesn't go?

Low floor service does have a case in Edmonton (and even places like Vancouver). Not as being built, but instead as a CENTRAL neighborhood connector. Run the trains up and down Jasper and Whyte (with five-section trains that can QUICKLY pass through intersections, due to shorter lengths) and CONNECT it to higher speed services. Right now, it's trying to be two things in one, which will be a recipe for future disaster!

And if the city really wants 50% of future trips to be outside the private auto, then the current model won't have enough capacity to meet such a demand.

To bring it full circle, the intersection cliusterf%$&@ at University, at 51 ave, at 111/ Kingsway and 82/83rd and 75th/ Roper, are ALL examples why I have no trust in what's being built. As 'yeggator' noted above, POLTICAL capital goes a long way.
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"Political capital" might've taken a hit if we took the route of 'elevated & expensive' and spent 2x on LRT buildout. Not everything has to revolve around drivers' convenience, Edmonton.
 
With all the major expansion at River Cree Resort and the development in and around the new Lewis Farms Rec Center, it got me thinking about what a Valley Line extension beyond Lewis Farms station should look like. Obviously, it should be extended as close to the new rec centre as possible, but I didn't want to preclude and extension to the River Cree, with how much of a major attraction that already is and will double-down (no pun intended) on being in the future.
Came up with this:
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It would be a 3.9 km extension from the terminus at Lewis Farms to right in front of the casino, with an elevated segment to take a sweeping curve across Winterburn Road. This elevated section would be 650 meters in total (with 150 m ramps flanking a 10-span guideway). There would be an elevated station about 500 meters from the northeast entrance to the rec center. For context, it's 300 meters to the entrance of Terwillegar Rec Centre from where my bus drops me off at Leger Transit Center. From there, the LRT would run south along Winterburn, hit a neighbourhood stop and cross over the Whitemud to reach the casino. Hopefully, this shouldn't cost more than a few hundred million dollars in today's money 😬
 
I dont think there is any need for an lrt stop at river cree. The reaort can operate a shuttle bus to lewis farms rec centre giving the hotel a link to the rest of the city. I think lrt should keep heading west from the rec centre towards spruce grove.
 
itom987 said:
I dont think there is any need for an lrt stop at river cree. The reaort can operate a shuttle bus to lewis farms rec centre giving the hotel a link to the rest of the city. I think lrt should keep heading west from the rec centre towards spruce grove.
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I don't think low-floor trains capped at 80 km/h are the right mode for that. It's 16 km from Lewis farms to Spruce Grove, through nothing but farmland and industrial zones (with little trip-generating potential) under Parkland County's jurisdiction. The wrangling between Edmonton, Spruce Grove and Parkland over who would pay to build it will get messy.
Moreover, I wouldn't forgo a mass transit link to a major 24-hour entertainment destination to connect far-flung commuters with a slow tram service. Express commuter rail to the core and highway BRT to Lewis Farms (to reach everything in between) would be better for Spruce Grove.
 
mBertan said:
"Political capital" might've taken a hit if we took the route of 'elevated & expensive' and spent 2x on LRT buildout. Not everything has to revolve around drivers' convenience, Edmonton.
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Elevated means the trains move faster. Not always about cars. The 1 major flaw of this project is how slow it will be and how that makes it uncompetitive with driving from a time stand point. Outside of rush hour...and maybe even then....it will be slower to use the train than to drive. Which should never be the case for rail IMO.
 
Extending west wont happen for a long time yet. Zig zagging a line is not the way to go when planning transit. You can choose a station for one of them, not both. If you want an lrt line to river Cree make it part of a separate line going around the city.
 
I think the south line to River Cree is interesting, but I think there could be a parade of riders from the Hamptons, Glastonbury and other neighborhoods using it for commuting.
 
I wonder if the drainage expansion along 102 Avenue has been done (as part of the projects in the Community Revitalization Zone).
 
thommyjo said:
Elevated means the trains move faster. Not always about cars. The 1 major flaw of this project is how slow it will be and how that makes it uncompetitive with driving from a time stand point. Outside of rush hour...and maybe even then....it will be slower to use the train than to drive. Which should never be the case for rail IMO.
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Flaw or a tradeoff?
The design we're getting: adds vibrancy to the core and mature neighbourhoods;
'high speed line' alternative: amplifies the ol' donut city effect...
 
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