Transportation in Edmonton
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Edmonton has a transportation network fairly typical for a Canadian city of its size, involving most modes of transport including, but certainly not limited to, air, rail, road and public transit.
With very few natural barriers to growth and largely flat to gently rolling terrain bisected by a deep river valley, the city of Edmonton has expanded to cover an area of nearly 684 km2, of which only two-thirds is built-up. The metropolitan area covers over 9,418 km2. This has resulted in a heavily private transportation-oriented transportation network typical of any other city of its size in North America. However, Edmonton does not have the extensive limited access freeway system typical of what one would find in a US metro area, and the road network is somewhat unusual in regards to access to downtown.
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[edit] Public transportation
- Further information: Edmonton Transit System
The Edmonton Transit System (ETS) is the primary public transportation agency, covering most parts of the city, but cannot operate outside the city of Edmonton proper. However neighbouring communities outside Edmonton's city limits such as Sherwood Park and St. Albert do operate their own public transit agencies and offer public transportation to and from neighbouring communities.
[edit] Light rail
- See also: Edmonton Light Rail Transit
In 1978, Edmonton was the first city with a population of under one million to operate a light rail transit (LRT) system in North America. The LRT currently runs on a single line extending 12.3 kilometres from Clareview Station in northeast Edmonton across the North Saskatchewan River to Health Sciences Station in the University of Alberta main campus. 7.6 km of the line is an underground line running through the downtown core and the University of Alberta main campus, with rest being a surface line.
A 10 km south extension of the LRT line is currently being constructed, with a completion date set for late 2009.
[edit] Buses
The ETS operates a fleet of well over 800 buses across the city with 159 routes. 49 of the buses are trolley buses. Edmonton is one of two cities in Canada (the other is Vancouver) currently operating a trolley bus system. The ETS also operates a specialized system for disabled people called DATS (Disabled Adult Transit System).
[edit] Roads and streets
[edit] Highways
Edmonton is connected to British Columbia and Saskatchewan via the Yellowhead Highway (Highway 16, or Yellowhead Trail within city limits), and to Calgary and Red Deer via the Queen Elizabeth II Highway (known as Calgary Trail (southbound) or Gateway Boulevard (northbound) within city limits).
[edit] Arterial roads
Anthony Henday Drive (Highway 216) is a ring road transportation project which will eventually encircle the Edmonton Metropolitan area. The south west section from Highway 16 to Calgary Trail is open. The south east section connecting Calgary Trail to Highway 14 has recently been announced and is anticipated to open in 2007.[1] The first stage of the northwest portion is already under construction between the Yellowhead Highway and the new St. Albert west bypass, to open in 2007. As of November 9, 2005 the Alberta Government has committed to finishing the north portion by 2011. Anthony Henday Drive will also incorporate an already-existing stretch of Highway 216 on the east side of the city between Highway 16 and approximately 23 Avenue where the southeast leg will eventually intersect.
[edit] Street layout
Edmonton's streets were originally all named streets and arranged so that avenues ran north-south and streets ran east-west. The first move to a grid-style system began as the city expanded west - the streets west of Queens Avenue were switched to run on a north-south orientation with 1st Street (now 101 Street) being west of Queens Avenue, and the street numbers increasing further west (i.e. 10 Street was one block west of 9 Street). West of Queens Avenue, the avenues also switched (running in an east-west direction); although, unlike the streets, the avenues were never numbered. This lead to a confusing situation with avenues becoming streets despite no change in direction. For example, MacKenzie Avenue (now 104 Ave) became Boyle Street west of Queens Avenue, and Athabasca Avenue (now 102 Ave) became Elizabeth Street west of Queens Avenue.
The city of Strathcona had adopted a grid and quandrant system before its amalgamation with Edmonton, with the city being centred on Main Street (now 104 Street) and Whyte Avenue (also named 82 Avenue). This street system was similar to that of present-day Calgary's system, having NW, NE, SW and SE quandrants. Strathcona's grid/quandrant system was abandoned in 1914.
In 1914, following amalgamation with Strathcona, Edmonton adopted a new street numbering system, which with a few small modifications is still in use. The centre of the city, Jasper Avenue and 101 Street, was set as the starting point. Jasper Avenue was one of the few streets that was not given a number, likely because east of Namao Avenue (now 97 Street) Jasper Avenue switches direction and runs diagonally and parallel to the North Saskatchewan River Valley, rather than east-west. The other avenues were numbered as if Jasper Avenue (between 124 Street and 97 Street) had been 101 Avenue. Several other streets have maintained their names in spite of having been reassigned as numbers — these include but are not limited to Whyte (82) Avenue, Norwood Boulevard (111 Ave), and Alberta (118) Avenue, while others were given new names over time, such as Rue Hull (99) Street - which is a segment of what used to be Queens Avenue.
Avenues run east and west; streets run north and south. Avenue numbers increase to the north; street numbers increase to the west. When a street lies between two numbered streets, letters are used, for example, 107A Avenue lies between 107 Avenue and 108 Avenue. Occasionally the letter B will be used and more rarely C, to denote multiple streets between 2 different street numbers. For example, 17A, 17B and 17C Avenues all lie between 17 Avenue and 18 Avenue.
Houses with odd numbers are on the east side of a street or the south side of an avenue. Dropping the last two digits of a house number tells you what two streets or avenues the house lies between, for example 8023 135A Avenue is between 80 Street and 81 Street, and 13602 100 Street is between 136 Avenue and 137 Avenue.
As the city grew in the 1980s, it began to run out of street numbers in the east and avenue numbers in the south. Therefore, in 1982 a quadrant system was adopted. Quadrant Avenue (1 Avenue; not yet built) and Meridian Street (1 Street) divide the city into four quadrants: northeast (NE), northwest (NW), southwest (SW) and, most recently, southeast (SE). The vast majority of the city falls within the northwest quadrant.
All Edmonton streets now officially have their quadrant included at the end of their names, but it is usual — even on official signage — to omit the "NW" especially when there is no possibility of confusion with a street in another quadrant. The city's emergency services, however, have begun to encourage residents to get into the habit of using quadrants in all addresses.
[edit] Roadway infrastructure maintenance
Despite extensive investment in new arterial and bypass routes, pre-existing roadway infrastructure has recently been allowed to degrade to a state that many believe to be a hazard to public safety. Caution should used when driving in Edmonton. The city's streets present a collection of potholes, cracks, chasms, poor signage, and unsafe road design that is unrivalled in Western Canada.
[edit] Air
Edmonton is served by two major and several smaller general aviation airports. The largest airport, Edmonton International Airport is located south of the city limits, near the city of Leduc. It is the fifth busiest airport in Canada, with over 5.2 million passengers using the facilities in 2006. Edmonton has scheduled service to all major Canadian hubs, most major US hubs, and London Heathrow. Charter Services for residents and tourist are plentiful with destinations in Cuba, Jamaica, Mexico, Hawaii, Arizona, Nevada, Japan, London, Frankfurt and Dusseldorf, Germany (beginning May 2007) being offered.[2]
The smaller and older Edmonton City Centre Airport — the oldest city-owned airport in Canada — is located just north of downtown Edmonton. Air passenger service from Edmonton City Centre Airport was consolidated to the International Airport in 1996. The older airport is currently used primarily for charter planes and flight training, although small non-chartered planes with fewer than 19 passengers are still allowed to land at the facility.
Edmonton Airports[3] controls Edmonton International, Edmonton City Centre and also Cooking Lake Airport and Villeneuve Airport, both of which primarily service general aviation and flight training services.
[edit] Inter-urban rail
Edmonton is served by VIA Rail passenger trains. The station is located near the City Centre Airport. Formerly, the VIA trains arrived at the CN office tower downtown, but the downtown trackage has been abandoned to the LRT and new urban development. The High Level Rail Bridge, formerly CPR's route into the downtown, is used in the summer for historical streetcars.
[edit] Bicycle and pedestrian
Edmonton has an extensive multi-use trail system totaling over 150 kilometres in length, 130 of which lie within the river valley. The unpaved trail network is even more extensive — 420 kilometres in total. The city also has 105 km of signed street bike paths across the city with protected crossings.
Edmonton has an indoor pedway system connecting the City Centre Mall, the Stanley A. Milner Library, a couple of large hotels and other highrises in its downtown core. The pedway system runs aboveground as well as at-grade and underground.
