Looking at the candidates, issues in Wards 3 and 4
Commuters look for better transit options
Each day of class, Mariam Hatim would cue up music on her headphones and settle in with a textbook during her one hour and 20-minute bus ride to MacEwan University’s west campus.
The same trip, from her house in Ward 3’s Schonsee neighbourhood, would take a 25-minute drive on Anthony Henday Drive.
“Over time, I’ve become accustomed to the routine,” said the 21-year-old recent MacEwan graduate of life on transit. “I wouldn’t say it’s my absolute favourite thing in the world to use.”
The commuters of Ward 3 — which includes some of Edmonton’s northernmost neighbourhoods, like Klarvatten, Lago Lindo, Crystallina Nera, Evansdale, Dunluce and Beaumaris — have major landmarks blocking their access to the city centre.
The Yellowhead Trail corridor, including the highway and CN rail yards, along with the former City Centre Airport site, limit the north-south flow of traffic to a select few major roads — 82 Street, 97 Street and 127 Street.
The long-term plan is to extend the Metro LRT line from the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology north to Castle Downs, then west down 153 Avenue.
The traffic and transit bottlenecks north-end residents face prompted incumbent Ward 2 and 3 councillors, Bev Esslinger and Dave Loken, to propose in June the city build a $100-million to $200-million bridge now to straddle the rail yard and cut through the Blatchford development site.
If the LRT is far off, build the transit-only bridge now and use it for an express bus service down 113A Street from the north side, they argued. The bridge could then be used for the LRT when the city has the money. Meanwhile, an express bus and dedicated bridge could shave good time from the bus ride.
Council agreed in June to have administrators report back on the plan’s feasibility.
Meanwhile, Ward 3 is populated with vehicle lovers. Ten per cent of residents take transit to work or school, the 2016 city census found, which is the second-lowest rate in the city.
There comes a point in every city’s expansion when more people have to get out of their cars and take transit, said Izak Roux, chairman of the Edmonton Transit System Advisory Board.
Careful to say the board endorses no particular candidates for council, Roux said a bridge built to accommodate buses before a rail line is ready is in line with the board’s recommendations for transit improvements.
While some question whether Edmonton should modify its longterm LRT expansion plan in favour of bus rapid transit (BRT), Roux said the debate shouldn’t be about one or the other. Building up the pieces of a BRT system — dedicated lanes, stand-alone stations, right of way mechanisms for buses — is a great preparatory step for an eventual LRT network, he said.
Although the five candidates hoping to represent Ward 3 on council agree they’d like more residents riding Edmonton transit, their approaches differ.
Jon Dziadyk, an urban planner, would like the city to take a breath before building more LRT lines. He points to the traffic woes and signalling trouble that dog the Metro line. The city’s current approach is to punish drivers with inconvenience, rather than lure riders with an easyto-use transit system, he said.
He thinks a north LRT should extend further north into Castle Downs rather than veering west to St. Albert. The currently proposed route could carve up the area, and an LRT that extends part of the way to St. Albert would be less direct than the current express buses running to downtown Edmonton, he said.
Candidate John Oplanich said if the city’s going to spend millions on a new bridge, it should accommodate all traffic — an LRT train, pedestrians, cyclists and vehicles. He’d like to see 113A Street expanded to a main thoroughfare by expropriating land.
Building a bridge for buses alone would be a “carrot” the city would dangle to delay a north LRT indefinitely, he said.
With the train distant on the horizon, a more pressing need is to restore 22 bus routes cancelled or reduced in Ward 3 this fall, said contender Karen Principe. She met one resident who now has to leave home an hour earlier each morning to arrive at work on time.
“I feel a little discouraged, and I think many Ward 3 residents would agree … our area feels a little neglected on infrastructure in general,” she said.
Loken, likewise, was upset by transit changes this fall that left some seniors and people with mobility challenges without good access. If returned to office, he’ll push for a transit approach that serves everyone, not just the majority, he said.
People avoid transit, because it’s “all wrong,” challenger Sarmad Rasheed said. He wants to create a city-run corporation, similar to Epcor, to take over transit management to put fresh eyes on the system. The goal should be for LRT to reach every corner of the city, he said.