Jasper Avenue experiment to test narrow lanes, wide sidewalks
Patio party spaces, wide sidewalks and pedestrian-friendly traffic signals — city engineers are hoping a live trial of the new Jasper Avenue concept will win skeptics to the change.
City staff presented concept drawings to the public at Oliver School Saturday, giving everyone one more chance to weigh in before the design goes to council. But the real test will come during a four- to six-week trial period this summer.
“We’re proposing some drastic changes so we want to make sure ... everything planned is operable,” said Satya Gadidasu, project lead for the city. “We’ll take the lessons learned and refine it.”
The new plan covers the area from 124 Street to 109 Street on Jasper Avenue, which was slated to have its pavement and sidewalks redone anyway.
The street currently has three lanes in each direction, but only two are for traffic. The outside lane is bus-only during peak hours and parking for the rest of the time. The new plan would narrow the lanes and turn the bus lane into 24-hour parking and patio or flex space, meaning buses would mix with other traffic. It would also create three-metre wide sidewalks.
City council approved $18 million for the project in the last capital cycle, a figure transportation officials estimated was needed simply to redo the pavement and sidewalks in the form they exist today. Officials now estimate the project will require $12 million to $30 million more.
The neighbourhood also needs major drainage upgrades to repair aging infrastructure and increase capacity for increased density. That would cost roughly $30 million.
Officials have not yet calculated the potential property tax increase these improvement could generate if they successfully encourage reinvestment.
WEIGHING PROS AND CONS
In the Oliver School gym Saturday, face painting and free hotdogs gave the open house a festival air.
“I like it. It’s funny when you see the artists renderings, you realize how shabby Jasper Avenue looks now,” said Trevor Buckle, who lives one neighbourhood north.
“I know they’re trying to redevelop and there’s new businesses there now, but then you look at the sidewalk and the side of the road, and the lack of trees. An idea like this is a really good idea.”
But he does worry about mixing the buses with the rest of traffic. “That’s the one thing I wonder about.”
Resident Chris Hrynyk agreed. “Overall, I think it’s a great plan (but) ... with the economic state the city and the province are in now, I don’t know that it’s going to be viable to execute. They might have to scale back some of the design elements.”
Oliver resident Cheryl Delisle is more concerned about traffic. The recent lights added to help pedestrians cross safely are already increasing driving times, she said.
Getting rid of the bus lane, “it’s just going to add congestion ... and most Edmonton residents are drivers,” she said. As for improving the look of the area, she and many others are tenants concerned about the affordability of paying rent. “These things are just excuses for raising prices. I think the cost of living in the area will go up.”
COMPROMISE
Gadidasu said city staff have made compromises in the current plan. They’ve added back a turning lane on 111 and 112 street to make it easier for office workers to get on Jasper Avenue and discourage shortcutting.
They also heard strong public support for a treed boulevard in the middle of Jasper Avenue from 117 Street to 121 Street, said Gadidasu. The plan would not reduce parking because it would create additional space with angle parking on the side streets.