A City committee received a report Wednesday that outlined some of the latest problems to plague Edmonton’s newest LRT line.
The Metro LRT Line to NAIT has already been delayed several times, leaving some public transit users to wait, but a report released to the Transportation Committee received a report Wednesday that outlined the line’s anticipated impact for motorists – who may have to deal with long waits once the line opens on September 6.
According to the report, drivers at certain crossings may have to wait more than a quarter of an hour – or about four cycles – to pass through during rush hour.
The two intersections that may see the extended waits – believed to be between 12 and 16 minutes – are Princess Elizabeth Avenue and 106 Street southbound and 111 Avenue and Kingsway Avenue eastbound and westbound.
“Even if the NAIT Line opened on time, there were always going to be traffic impacts,” Dorian Wandzura, GM of Edmonton Transportation Services said. “That’s always been known.”
The report indicated traffic backlog was also an issue when the Capital LRT Line to Southgate and Century Park opened. In that case, the report said drivers became accustomed to the issues and started taking different routes, and wait times decreased.
The new line is set to open, on an interim basis on September 6. The trains will not exceed 25 kilometres per hour using ‘line of sight’ operations to allow operators to run the trains and be able to stop within half the range of their vision.
At first, the line will operate without a signaling system that City officials said has held the project back from opening. It’s not clear when the signaling system will be implemented, and the speed restrictions removed.
With files from Danelle Boivin
