St. Albert city councillors are thrilled about plans to build a $1.1-billion LRT line to St. Albert, yet remain skeptical about when it will happen.
“What a fantastic situation for St. Albert to have,” said Coun. James Burrows. “The question is now, will it come to our city in my lifetime?”
The proposed line would extend northwest from NAIT through the City Centre Airport lands, over or under Yellowhead Trail and the CN rail yard, before heading north on 113A Street and turning west on 153 Avenue, ending at a park and ride to be built south of St. Albert’s Superstore.
According to Adam Laughlin, with Edmonton’s transportation department, the line will help change the way citizens in both Edmonton and St. Albert get around, altering the transportation landscape in the Capital region.
“The route is designed to accommodate a potential future expansion into the City of St. Albert which is consistent with St. Albert’s transportation plans and the Capital Region Board’s transit plans,” Laughlin said.
Two other alignments were considered — one running along St. Albert Trail and the other along 127 Street — the 113A Street/153 Avenue route better meets city and regional needs by providing access to major areas like Griesbach, Grand Trunk, Castledowns and St. Albert, Laughlin said.
Estimates project the new nine-kilometre LRT line would accommodate to 42,000 to 45,000 daily riders, he added.
Regional system
Mayor Nolan Crouse said he was pleased with the proposed route and congratulated the capital city for taking the lead on creating a regional transit system.
“I believe they’ve taken a stand on route planning, and they’ve done a good job on marrying the residential developments with the route.”
Although Burrows also supports the proposed route, he’s concerned about how long it could take for Edmonton to build the route considering how much work they have planned for the overall LRT network.
“Don’t forget they need to finish the other three routes,” said Burrows, referring to the west, Mill Woods and NAIT routes, all of which have been approved and are ahead of the northwest LRT line. “It’s a great announcement, but how many years out is it?”
St. Albert Transit director Bob McDonald said the northwest line would push St. Albert to alter its transit service, leading to the city’s own LRT route that would run the length of St. Albert Trail as shown in the transportation master plan.
McDonald said his department is working on preliminary designs for the south park and ride facility. A full report and cost estimate could go before council this summer. Both he and other city officials plan to attend upcoming open houses in Edmonton about the proposed northwest line.
LRT not a done deal
Laughlin cautioned the northwest line is in the early planning stage and still subject to council approval. If given the green light, details like the construction timeline, whether to tunnel or build an overpass over Yellowhead Trail and the CN line, and whether regional partners should provide funding would be evaluated starting next year.
Edmonton Coun. Kim Krushell said discussions with residents from Ward 2 suggest many are happy with the route, but she is still keeping an open mind until a public hearing next month.
“The only concern I have is that there are homes that will be affected by this,” she said.
“This is not council’s recommendation, this is the city’s … council will make [its] decision after the public hearing process.”
Krushell praised St. Albert for its commitment to the regional transit plan, saying both Crouse and city administration have often been right in step with Edmonton in trying to launch a transit program that benefits both cities.
“St. Albert has been a lead city in saying, we are there for rapid transit,” she said.
Information sessions about the proposed LRT route will be held from 4 to 8 p.m. on June 9 at Calder Hall and June 10 at Caernarvon Community League Hall.
The alignment goes before Edmonton city council during a June 22 public hearing.
