The City of Edmonton has been asking for feedback as they develop a transit strategy.
The survey began at the Heritage Festival Saturday and will be held in three phases:
- Phase 1: Awareness and Education: June 2015 to Nov 2015
- Phase 2: Vision and Guiding Principles: Sept. 2015 to Apr 2016
- Phase 3: Strategy development: May 2016- May 2017
“We want people to think about what they appreciate because there are some great things that our transit system does for our city, to help us build a great city,” Sarah Feldman with the City’s transportation department explained.
“We also want people to reflect on things that we could do even better. To help us learn and grow in the future.”
She said the purpose of the project was to look forward for the City and its total transportation needs.
“There has been quite a lot of engagement around the LRT but there has been less around the bus network and around how the whole transit system fits together.”
Ward 1 councilor Andrew Knack said the results could “transform how we currently deliver transit service in the city of Edmonton.”
According to Knack the City has a lot of resources but the service may not be as effective as it could be.
“We still have a lot of people who might choose to ride but aren’t choosing because it is not nearly as convenient for them.
“Part of the question is do we want to just shift our existing resources or would we like to say, you know what, we just want to have more of everything?”
According to the City’s website they invite input from all Edmontonians, those who use transit and those who do not.
The online survey component can be found at: http://www.edmonton.ca/transportation/transit-strategy.aspx
The City’s website claims Edmonton's public transportation system began in 1908 when there were four streetcars serving near 19,000 people.
In 1974 construction on the Light Rail Transit (LRT) began and Edmonton became the third Canadian city to have a LRT component in their system.
With files from Josh Skurnik
