Big downtown bus shuffle starts Sunday
Construction forces changes to 29 routes
Twenty-nine downtown bus routes will be shuffled starting Sunday because of booming redevelopment and LRT construction in the city centre, marking the biggest change in the area’s bus network in almost 20 years.
“What’s prompting the changes is overall downtown revitalization,” said Jennifer Laraway, spokeswoman for the Edmonton Transit System.
“That not only includes the Valley Line LRT and utility work, but the final work on the Rogers Place arena and the Quarters. All of those projects are playing into how and why we’re rerouting the buses.”
The changes involve moving bus stops and altering routes.
“These changes are not engraved in stone. If we receive a lot of feedback over the next year, we could consider some adjustments after the arena and other developments open,” said Andrew Gregory, senior transit planning engineer for ETS.
Through downtown, 102nd Avenue will be closed to traffic over the coming months as crews do utility work for the future Valley Line LRT. That will mean closing bus stops in front of the Stanley A. Milner Library.
Most bus stops changes will involve a move of a few blocks. The removal of the stop directly in front of the library and the Winspear means commuters will have to walk from stops located on Jasper Avenue, 97th Street or 100th Avenue.
While LRT expansion is important, buses are key until the trains reach further across the city.
“The LRT is the backbone of the transit network, but it does not serve everyone ... It hasn’t been expanded to all areas of the city,” Gregory said.
“But as it does expand, it does replace future express buses coming from the suburbs. We’ve actually cutdown the number of express buses going into downtown.”
The 29 route changes Sunday follow a handful of other routes that shifted in April.
Combined, they reflect the biggest change to the downtown bus network since 1997. That was when the city implemented its “Horizon 2000” plan, which affected almost every bus route in the city.