Edmonton Folk Festival-goers navigate transportation challenges, testing set to resume on new LRT line

The hills at Gallagher Park are full for the second night of the Edmonton Folk Music Festival as one of the city's most popular festivals rolls on.

One thing that's hard to roll into around the Folk Fest site, however, is a parking spot. Parking restrictions blanket the surrounding neighbourhoods and have for years.

That's why it can be a challenge for drivers to get to the site.

There are other ways to get to the Edmonton Folk Fest: drop-off zones allow carpoolers and taxis to drop people off, there's a massive bike lockup by the Muttart Conservatory, and there are dedicated scooter parking areas.

Many people had hoped the new southeast Valley Line LRT would be available for festival-goers by now, but it's nearly three years behind schedule -- with no opening day in sight.

When it does open, getting to Folk Fest will be a lot easier.

"The LRT will just be a bonus," Terry Wickham, producer of the annual event, told CTV News Edmonton on Friday. "There’ll be a stop at the top of the hill, and there’ll be a stop by the Muttart."

The Valley Line was supposed to be up and running at the end of 2020, but a series of snags have delayed its completion, such as cracked concrete piers in the winter and, this June, signalling cables that need to be replaced along the entire 13-kilometre route.

A 2017 tweet by TransEd, builder of the Valley Line, has recently been getting attention on social media, as it looked ahead to the line's use for the 2021 Folk Fest.

"Little did they know when they said that there wasn’t going to be a festival in 2021 with the pandemic," Wickham said. "They missed last year, they missed this year, but you know, all good things come to those who wait."

Cables have been replaced on the southern half of the line, and work is still being performed to replace those on the north half. The City of Edmonton, in a Friday afternoon media release, said TransEd will resume train testing on the line from Whitemud Drive to the Mill Woods terminus at its south end in the coming days.