Edmonton unveils preferred route for Centre LRT line

The City of Edmonton has revealed the preferred route for the proposed Centre LRT line after public consultations on the project began last summer.

Thestreet-levelrail line would run east-west and connect downtown, the University of Alberta, Garneau, Strathcona andBonnie Doon.

Approximately 200 people attended the first of three public engagement meetings Thursday night togive input on the preferred route, as well as the locationsof stations.

• City invites public input on future Centre LRT route

In June 2017, the Centre LRT Study survey asked area residents about their transportation habits and how an LRT might affect them.

In crafting the preferred option, the study team analyzed that feedback and came up with different routes. Some didn't make the final cut because of lack of amenity access or space.

"We looked at'Does it connect to major destinations? Does it make sense or not?' " said Satya Gadidasu, the Centre LRT Study manager, onThursday. "Then we [were] able to put together all this like puzzle pieces."

New bridge proposed

The project is broken into two phases.

"Phase one is the route selection, which gives us an idea of which avenues and streets we are taking," Gadidasu said.

"Next one, we're going to do the concept plan, which will tell us where the tracks should be running and how many stations need to be located."

After phase one is done andcouncil approves the route, the next step will be to look into the costs and benefits of the project and examine more closely the placement of tracks and stations.

One idea is to put the LRTon theHigh Level Bridgeto connect both sides of the river, buttechnical analysis has revealed the historic bridge would require significant and costly upgrades. So, the study group hasproposed building a new bridge west of the High Level Bridge.

Jane Gorman has lived in the Garneau neighbourhood for 25 years, and doesn't like the ideaof adding another bridge to the skyline, saying that it will be "cluttered looking."

She also doesn't agree with the route choice overall.

"You can already get from downtown to the Legislature to the U of A to the hospitals on the LRT, and so it's like they're condensing all the service just to benefit just a few little people," she said.

"So, I'm just hoping they'll think a little bigger. If they're willing to spend the money on a bridge beside the High Level, they could even build a bridge beside the Groat or else use the Groat."

Gorman'sroute preference isto join with the Valley Line LRTand run along124th Street,over the Groat Road bridgeto Saskatchewan Driveand then to the University of Alberta.

"I'm just a little distrustful because of all the problems they had on that Metro Line," she said.

'Think 20 to 30 years down the road'

Derek MacDonald, a first-year graduatestudent in urban and regional planning at the University of Alberta,said the Centre LRT line would expand transit options for the Oliver and Strathconaneighbourhoods especially.

"I think that doing the new bridge is justified, given the environmental and heritage impacts on the High Level Bridge," he said. "And being able to preserve the High Level streetcar is really important."

MacDonald saidWhyte Avenue is an example ofa high-density area with a lot of single-vehicle traffic.

"You could really increase the amount of people being able to go through that route with higher transit density options," he said. "I think it's a really good idea because we do have to think 20 to 30 years down the road when there is going to be a lot more density in downtown Edmonton and central areas."

The preferred route will be officially presented to city council this spring, when the city willaddress issues raised by the public before approving or rejecting the project.

There will be no timeline or funding for construction of the Centre LRTuntil it is approved.

Residentscan provide feedback about the project at edmonton.ca/centrelrtstudy until March 16.