LRT extension pedestrian unfriendly, city planners told
Keith Gerein, The Edmonton Journal
Published: Wednesday, December 06, 2006
EDMONTON - Onrushing trains and "daredevil" teenagers will have too many close encounters unless the city improves its pedestrian safety plans for the south LRT extension, some parents and community leaders say.
The concerned residents say they are unhappy with a proposed path across 111th Street at 43rd Avenue, an intersection traversed by students attending nearby Harry Ainlay and Louis St. Laurent high schools.
City plans call for the tracks to be built on the median of 111th Street, between the north and south lanes. There will be no pedestrian underpass or overpass, meaning students will have to walk at street level across the traffic lanes and the train tracks.
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Font: ****"You should sit and watch how high-school students walk," said Ted Gooding, father to a Grade 10 Ainlay student.
"It's the horde mentality. They just put their heads down and plow across the street."
"There will be an accident for sure," said his wife Sarah. "Many of them are daredevils at that age."
The Goodings were among 200 people at an open house Tuesday night on the city's design for the south LRT extension between 61st Avenue and 23rd Avenue.
City planners told the residents the $4-million cost to build a pedestrian overpass or underpass is difficult to justify because it would not necessarily improve safety.
"Our experience has been that most people refuse to use it," said transit projects manager Wayne Mandryk. "If people have a street-level option to cross, they will use that."
About 600 pedestrians cross the intersection during the morning rush hour, mostly students or people going to the nearby Confederation Leisure Centre.
Mandryk said students should be old enough to know how to cross properly. Safety features will include lights and bells to warn walkers when a train is approaching, and gates that will come down to prevent access to the tracks. There will also be "refuge areas" to the north and south of the tracks that will give walkers a safe spot to wait, he said.
Mandryk said a long underpass can actually become a hot spot for assaults at night because it would provide limited sightlines and no escape routes.
Some residents noted that a station planned for 76th Avenue and 114th Street will have an underpass, but Mandryk said the schools in that area serve younger children who may have more trouble crossing safely.
Others in attendance at the open house said the city should consider building a station at Harry Ainlay, which would also serve residents in surrounding communities.
To date, the city has said there aren't enough riders to justify an extra station, which would cost about $8.5 million. The entire south extension project is expected to cost about $600 million.
Alex Khan, of the Southwest Area Council, said the city should look at increasing the budget to improve the esthetics of the project. Better barriers, light poles, fencing, and landscaping would go a long way to making the line more attractive.
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© The Edmonton Journal 2006
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