Station at 40th Avenue: Formal Inquiry

February 7th, 2012 in 2010 Campaign, 2010-2013 Term, A city with better housing & transportation choices, A profitable and prosperous city, Smarter Planning, Transit

The dark blue circle is 400m and a 5 minute walk; the light blue is 800m or 10 a minute walk. This is the generally accepted walkability radius for LRT. Notice that it reaches from Petrolia mall to 106 Street, both high schools and a bunch of older walkup apartments that could be redeveloped over time. I’ve centred it on the intersection but exact location would require further study.

Following up from a campaign promise (see previous post here) to look into the possibility of a station between Southgate and Century Park, I advanced a formal inquiry today at Council’s Transportation & Infrastructure Committee. I believe it will come back for discussion at the May 8 meeting of the Committee. The text of the inquiry is below:

During the concept planning of the South LRT in 2005 there was some consideration given to including a station between Southgate and Century Park. I believe there is still interest in looking at a station to serve communities and institutions in the area of 40th Avenue. Therefore, I would like Administration to comment on the following:

  1. Given that the LRT Network Plan and Design Guidelines have changed since 2005, would an additional station be consistent with Council’s more recent direction from 2009 on LRT design?
  2. Could construction of a new station be accomplished while maintaining LRT service?
  3. Given that the LRT runs in the median, what special considerations would be required to accommodate safe pedestrian access to the platform from adjacent communities?
  4. What would be the rough cost of constructing a community station similar to McKernan/Belgravia in 2012 dollars?
  5. From a Land-Use perspective, are there medium- to long-term intensification opportunities in the area that could benefit from the presence of an LRT station?
  6. What parking restrictions are available to control parasitic parking issues in adjacent communities that often accompany a new station?
  7. What would be the next steps Administration would recommend to committee should there be a desire to explore this further?

12 thoughts on “Station at 40th Avenue: Formal Inquiry”

  1. Good idea. Better pedestrian access to Century Park station from the north half of the Sweetgrass neighbourhhood would also be great. We live in the northwest part of Sweetgrass and have to choose between two long, weird walkarounds to get there every morning and evening.

  2. People originally wanted a station there, or near Harry Ainley School – the city said no, too many stops (hmm…). Now you want one there, but the logistics are huge – median access (another time-consuming monstrosity known as a pedestrian overpass?), further increasing the time cars sit waiting at intersections crossing the SLRT anywhere along its length, etc. Seriously, how many people would use that station, I wonder – it’s not near enough to the school, there are no businesses closer than many blocks away, only houses/apartments. $20 million could do a lot more elsewhere…

  3. Thanks for looking into this, Don.

    A more practical option for Rideau Park residents, in my opinion, would be to look at constructing a walkway from the heart of the neighbourhood out to the park along 111 St and Whitemud. As your diagram shows, most of the neighbourhood is within 800-1000 m, but access for anyone who does not have a gate into the park involves a convoluted walk to 106 St or the high pressure pipeline green strip.

    There is already a Y-shaped path from 42 Ave / 108 St to 43 Ave / 110 St, though unfortunately it ends within inconveniently placed cul-de-sacs. Any access to the green strip, however, would make the walk to Southgate feel a lot more pleasant to many residents, and would be beneficial to recreational users of the space as well.

  4. I think it’s a great idea, providing immediate benifits for nearby residents and fuelling more efficient residential development internal to the core city rather than inefficient outward growth… all at likely a very minimal investment. Since it would be the second last stop, it would not be inconveniencing the majority of ridership along the route which does make this more appealing than say the Belgravia station, which it seems to be compared to.

  5. Don it’s a good idea, but I just looking at 40th Avenue is far too piecemeal. It is a perfect time to reconsider the entire line.

    Other possible candidates:

    – 125 Avenue Wasteland (ex-Gainers industrial) a good candidate for residential revival sooner or later, and an excellent candidate for a combined Greyhound/VIA Rail/LRT station now.

    – 114 Avenue – There has been a very significant amount of medium density built at this place in the last decade or so, there is an underused school in a walkable distance, and this could be the key to force Northlands into a decision over their horse racing track: either make it appeal to Edmontonians, or allow it for residential redevelopment. This would also dovetail perfectly with your city planner’s excellent concept of moving Stadium Station about 200 metres South.

    – Moving Stadium Station 200 metres South – This would better create an inter-artery walkable neighbourhood, rather than having the station right up against 112 Avenue. There is already a lot of density East of the LRT, and more coming with Edgewater, plus this would better serve the Stadium and could help catalyse residential infill on the West side of the tracks.

    – Ghost LRT station at 104 Avenue – We’re building a $300 Million dollar museum right there, and we’re seriously not going to dig 3 metres deeper and finish the LRT station waiting there since 1977? There is seriously a high-speed-rail station under consideration there (hopefully to Saskatoon-Regina-Winnipeg and West to Jasper, the Okanagan and Vancouver) and we wouldn’t bother having an LRT station there? This would also hit the soon-to-be-former Remand Centre, Stationlands Towers 2,3,4, and Chinatown beautifully.

    – 108 Avenue on the NAIT line, at the doorstep to Victoria School for the Performing Arts, the City of Edmonton Archives, and the existing but ready-for-renewal residential density of North Central McDougal.

    Again, the concepts of infill and more frequent stops are perfectly valid. While the time is right to consider a station at 40th Ave, there are many candidates that may be even more qualified, and we must not ignore the opportunities for the entire length of the line.

  6. I’m not opposed to more stations on any LRT line, but I am opposed to building grandiose stations far beyond the needs of the community. Look at Southgate: wouldn’t it have been easier to move the station east and avoid having to build overpasses?

    We’ve got some stations underground that are far more ornate than needed. I’m thinking of Bay Station, and Corona. I know Mr. Iveson wasn’t involved in these decisions, but I hope he can inject a bit of reality into planning. We’re talking about LIGHT RAIL TRANSPORT, not the golden age of rail as reflected in Britain’s London railway stations.

    As far as I’m concerned, stations like McKernan-Belgravia, or even University Hospital should be the norm.

  7. I think an additional station between Southgate and Century Park is an excellent idea. I think though it should be further south of 40th avenue. Why should it be so close to Southgate, and so far from Century Park? Housing densities appear relatively uniform throughout the area, so I think the station will increase ridership more if it is placed as close to the midpoint between the two stations as possible.

  8. Thank you for reviving this – I never could figure out why Belgravia got a station when the buses never stopped there. A stop near the largest public and largest separate high schools in Edmonton makes sense. The school special and regular buses are packed in our area. Council should have moved the stop south when Southgate refused to allow a park and ride parkade (what a bad neighbour and I haven’t forgotten that in my shopping choices either) and instead built a sprawling addition. Anyway, sorry you weren’t successful this time but thanks for trying and advocating for our neighbourhood. Most appreciated.

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