I agree the new streetcars were a nice ride when I was in Toronto last year. Smooth. Quiet. I am very excited about the West Edmonton Mall leg of the line and it's been cool to see the system they have in place to install the elevated sections. Same as the SkyTrain which makes for super quick construction.

the other element I'm very excited about is the City's recent zoning changes to allow more local commercial. Very excited to see the 1950s / 60s areas I grew up in turn into more lively 1920s style communities!

Other posters more familiar can correct me if my dates are old, but the WEM extension is expected to be completed in 2028 and the NAIT extension late next year?

Someone can remind me if funding is in place yet for the Heritage Valley extension (which I think is next) or the St. Albert extension.

The extension to Blatchford is already complete. Its opening has been delayed until there is more development happening in Blatchford. currently only about a 100 houses have been completed in Blatchford.

Thanks for the info, guys.

How long will it take to open, Xelebes? Is there a certain threshold for housing or population numbers?

Hi,

I tried it out last week as well. Got it from Library to Millwood's. I went to the platform with my paper ticket but did not see a validator ? I jumped on anyways. heheh... It was not bad at all. Was reasonably fast and the wait at the lights was not bad. Hopefully there is some technology that will cycle the tram/ train on a priority basis. The view going up and down the hill by the Muttart was impressive.
Grade seperation would have been better. But overall, much better than a bus. I think in winter the tram will be much better ( if we ever get any snow). Avoiding accidents and the like.
It sure will be awesome when it goes to WEM. Build it once, build it right, and utilize it.

I don't know about thresholds but construction needs to pick up pace there.

Hi,

I also broke down and bought an Arc Card. It works pretty well, and I like the Reload idea ! I was worried about not tapping off. So I tested it yesterday, once I read the info on-line.
If you forget to tap off, you are only charged the standard trip rate.
It gets a little more complex if you are going outside the city to St Albert/ Sherwood park. At that point you will be charged that rate.
I still like the paper tickets though. Easy to share and stuff into pockets/ backpacks.
Registering my account was easy. But, when setting up the auto reload I accidentally added another $20 to my card.

https://edmonton.ctvnews.ca/i-don-t-...rged-1.6675000

Not sure what the solution is, but seems strategies thus far are not working. I think the turnstiles should have been in place long ago, not just for safety, but to crack down on fare evasion.

Turnstiles may be part of the solution, but the real problem is the catch and release program. If you are a multiple offender, your slap on the wrist should be two slaps on the wrist, and so forth, going up more and more after each offense. Eventually we will slap the shit out of this problem.

The catch-and-release problem is out of the hands of the City, but limiting access to platforms and trains to paying customers is an issue they can do something about.

yes, I agree. It's out of the city's hands. Turnstiles will only do so much though. There's the space outside of the proof of payment areas that will still be vulnerable to transient issues

It would be very expensive, but not impoissible, to retrofit stations to permit turnstiles. Some stations on the Capital Line for example, like McKernan-Belgravia, where there are multiple at-grade platofrm accesses, would make it somewhat easy to hop a fence to get onto the platform without going through the turnstile. This would be even easier on the Valley Line where they are basically at street level.

I think they would be great to have, just not sure how much it would cost to add them and retrofit certain stations to make them work properly.

For the most part transit users don't linger/wait in the areas outside of POP areas. They wait for trains on the platform and sit in the trains (and in some situations be actually trapped in the train).

The cost to retrofit should be weigh against how much it would cost just to have each station properly monitored and patrolled by beat cops and more transit cops.

Future mayor Tim knows what's up with transit safety.

https://www.timcartmell.ca/transit_s...to_get_serious

"Future mayor" :koko:

He's most certainly positioning himself for that spot.

Listening to how some people talk and how Sohi is perceived, the time for Cartmell to take a shot will be the next election.

I'd say he has a good shot to get in.

He does have a good shot. I've voted for Sohi in the past but I'd vote for Cartmell over Sohi. My wife has known him for a number of years through her volunteer activities and has nothing but good things to say about him.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but Cartmell has voted against LRT expansion unless it's the Capital Line to his neighborhood, has voted against bike lanes, wants to transform Blatchford into another cookie-cutter suburb and has ties to the UCP. I would be very cautious of who you vote for Mayor in the next election.

FWIW my vote for the next Mayor of Edmonton will be Ashley Salvador - that is, once Sohi has decided he's done.