Transit plan ridiculous, says Loken

Proposal calls for $50 million expenditure to save a minute

A city proposal to spend as much as $50 million shaving one minute off a future LRT trip downtown from St. Albert is “ridiculous,” Coun. Dave Loken said Wednesday.

Staff studying concepts for the northwest LRT route are looking at making it possible for trains on a suburban-style stretch along 153rd Avenue west of Castle Downs Road, to go 70 km/h instead of 50 km/h.

The move would make the half-hour trip downtown from the Campbell Road park-and-ride at the St. Albert border one minute shorter, but add $30 million to $50 million in costs, planner Jason-- Meliefste said.

“It provides better operational flexibility if trains are running late,” he told council’s transportation committee, explaining the new line must co-ordinate at Churchill station with cars coming from Clareview.

“If we don’t meet those certain (time) windows, then the train isn’t as reliable.”

Most of the extra money would be needed for additional land and crossing gates, transportation planning manager Brian Latte said.

But the move caught nearby residents by surprise when they learned last month what was being suggested, said Bev Esslinger, president of the Cumberland-Oxford Community League.

“I have heard from many folks in our community about the increased speeds and the noise from the arms and bells,” she said.

“Keep the urban-style with a reduced speed to reduce the need for the additional bells and lights. … We want to maintain our pedestrianfriendly, safe community.”

Loken, whose ward includes the area, thinks the idea should be dropped.

“It’s ridiculous. You’re improving the time by one minute. One minute cost is $30 million to $50 million?” he said, adding he doesn’t feel officials can be so precise with their time estimates.

“The community is concerned about the speed … I don’t think it’s that important to spend $30 million to $50 million on. It’s not going to make a difference to anybody’s life.”

The committee recommended planners take another look at the proposal.

Councillors also want to work on reducing the size of the transit centre beside the station at 113A Street and 137th Avenue because Griesbach developers say it will hurt their project next door.

The 11-kilometre LRT extension will star at the NAIT station, which opens next April. It is expected to cost $1.6 billion and attract 46,000 daily passengers by 2044.

It will go north from the City Centre Airport lands on a bridge over Yellowhead Trail and the CN Rail yard to 113A Street and then west on 153rd Avenue.

The route is the third future LRT priority after tracks are built from downtown to Mill Woods and Lewis Estates, and councillors say it’s unlikely to be completed for 10 to 15 years.