Engagement has concluded

• Round 2 Workshop Presentation - recorded video

  Click here to watch the video presented in the Round 2 workshop.

• Street Design for Accommodating Mass Transit

  The way the street and sidewalks are designed, from where the building, or its lot, end across to the lot on the opposite side of the street, the space in-between is known as a right-of-way.

  A right-of-way can include vehicle lanes, parking lanes, bus lanes, bike lanes, sidewalks, boulevards (centre medians with plantings), sidewalk plantings, bike parking and more.

  Designing a street means thinking about these elements and deciding which is correct for that particular street. Looking at the street this way is referred to as cross-sections. Implementing mass transit means the street needs to change too.

  Example of a Street Cross-Section Design
  

  

  The locations of the mass transit routes were determined in the Mass Transit Planning for 1.25 Million project and The City Plan. The routes will support major nodes & corridors and improve transit service using current roads. A number of factors about how these routes will change remain to be determined including spacing and location of stations and what the street design (cross-section) will look like for each.

  The segment of streets (corridors) that have been preliminarily chosen for immediate mass transit implementation are:

  • Whyte Avenue, (between 99 Street & Bonnie Doon)

  • 87 Avenue (near West Edmonton Mall)

  • 97 Street (South of Yellowhead Trail)

  • 97 Street (North of Yellowhead trail)

  While Edmonton remains focused on building out the City’s LRT network, the City Plan has identified a number of additional transit lines where bus-based mass transit might work better than LRT. By using both LRT and bus-based mass transit, we can bring high quality transit service to all areas of Edmonton.

  

  For more information on how these corridors were selected, please visit edmonton.ca/masstransit.

  
  

• What We Heard in Round 1 of Engagement

  From July 5- August 5, the project team was online and in the community hearing from Edmontonians about their vision, experience and concerns with adding non-LRT mass transit to the City of Edmonton transit network.

  Overall, we heard that Edmontonians want a safer, more reliable system that won’t negatively impact other modes of transportation, particularly private vehicles, from conveniently getting around the City.

  A What We Heard report is available.

• What is Mass Transit?

  Mass Transit moves a large number of people using buses, trains or LRT throughout a city. Edmonton Transit Service (ETS) provides a broad range of bus-based and LRT service . There’s an opportunity to expand our transit network by adding more mass transit through “non-LRT” options in order to meet the needs of our growing city and achieve the urban city envisioned by The City Plan.

  This project, Mass Transit: Implementing for 1.25 Million People, will be exploring new mass transit options, specifically focusing on adding non-LRT mass transit options, such as bus rapid transit or streetcar, to the transit network.

  Mass transit is an additional layer of transit that boosts service to the busiest parts of the network. The local bus network shouldn't change much although a few routes might be upgraded or replaced by future mass transit routes. Expanding the LRT network continues as planned through the extension of the Capital and Metro lines, and construction of the Valley Line Southeast and Valley Line West.

  

  In our current transit network, bus routes share the roads with other vehicles and are subject to delays from traffic congestion and signals. Mass transit typically runs in its own space and has right-of-way to ensure that it is quick and reliable.

  Mass transit can take many forms, including LRT, streetcars, and bus rapid transit. Non-LRT mass transit has many advantages including the ability to offer travel times and reliability comparable to LRT. It’s also less expensive to build than LRT and non-LRT mass transit can better integrate with the corridors and neighbourhoods that it serves. Mass transit can also provide more service flexibility, and may be better suited to adapt to new technologies and changes in travel behaviour. Simply put: bus mass transit may be the best transit tool under certain ridership conditions and urban contexts.

  In Edmonton, LRT will always be a key part of our mass transit network, but the City is looking for ways to complement the LRT with services and infrastructure like:

  • rapid and frequent bus service to move more people faster
  • dedicated bus lanes for quicker travel times and more reliable service
  • priority measures at intersections to allow buses to avoid delays and congestion
  • stations with amenities to make transfers and waiting more comfortable and secure

  The table below provides examples of what is, and is not, considered as part of the Mass Transit: Implementing for 1.25 Million People project.

  Non-LRT mass transit could include:

  Non-LRT mass transit DOES NOT include:

  dedicated bus lanes and transit priority measures at intersections streetcar (rail technology operating in mixed-traffic) on certain corridors sheltered and heated stops or stations bus priority at intersections to improve bus speed and reliability high-speed rapid bus service to areas of the city not served by LRT high-frequency service along major corridors improvements to regional transit connections

  LRT extensions or new LRT routes local bus service - remains unchanged except for consideration of overlapping routes on-demand transit other bus service in mixed-traffic

  
  

  
  

• What are the timelines for adding non-LRT Mass Transit?

  
  

  We are currently in Round 1 of Engagement for this project.

  

  
  

  Round 1	Round 2
  July 2022 (We are here)	Fall 2022
  Understanding Edmontonians’ vision and values about adding mass transit to the City of Edmonton	Sharing design options and exploring trade-offs for adding non-LRT mass transit to the City of Edmonton

  
  

  In addition to public engagement, we are doing an equity analysis, which is a separate process where we will be reaching out to people of different demographics who may experience barriers to using transit.

  In this project we are developing a network for when Edmonton has a population of about 1.25 million (expected to be 10-15 years from now). We are refining the network that was presented to City Council in February and then developing high level corridor and intersection designs for the major routes. We will also recommend a timeline for when each line might be implemented, although actual construction will depend on future budgets.

• Safety and Security on Transit

  What does the City do to make transit safe?

  Safety and security in transit spaces remains our top priority. The City of Edmonton takes a multi-layered approach to safety and security on transit. We are confident that our ongoing work will lead to improvements throughout the transit system and help increase safety for everyone using our transit spaces and network.

  For more information about transit safety and security, please visit: edmonton.ca/ETSsafety

  How is the City considering the operation of ETS?

  This project is focused on the creation of a new mass transit network in Edmonton and won’t impact existing transit network aspects, such as; routes, safety, fares, or other operational parts of the network. For more information about these aspects and to share your thoughts, please visit: takeETS.com.

  
  

• Accessibility

  We want to ensure Mass Transit is barrier free and accessible to everyone regardless of age, income or ability. We will be considering things like station accessibility, how mass transit will connect with the mobility network and how passengers will make transfers.

  This project will also include larger GBA+ (Gender-based Analysis) and inclusivity analysis by:

  • Identifying demographic groups that may experience barriers or challenges which are often overlooked when planning transit systems.
  • Connecting with a range of groups to understand the experiences and challenges they face and how we can serve them better
  • Carrying out a geographical analysis to investigate the quality of transit service and gather demographic information about the residents of the area.
  • Using the information gathered to identify ways to reduce barriers, improve equity and make transit more inclusive.