An attempt to derail further planning for a St. Albert leg of the LRT has been stopped in its tracks.
Coun. Sheena Hughes presented a pair of motions during a city council meeting Monday that would have removed the already approved LRT alignment for a line running up St. Albert Trail (not expected to occur for 20 to 30 years) from the city’s newly updated transportation master plan.
Her second motion would have ceased all planning for an LRT within St. Albert. Hughes did not table the second motion after her first motion was defeated in a 4-3 vote.
Concerns about congestion was the main thrust of Hughes’ argument, noting data in the transportation master plan suggests that the LRT won’t substantially reduce traffic in the year 2042 and could make some intersections worse.
“You can see exactly how much volume has been reduced – next to nothing,” she said.
The LRT plan involves converting some lanes of St. Albert Trail to the rail line.
Hughes also argued that other communities have tried to put in LRT and not seen big improvements in congestion, and said it’s “absolutely foolish thinking” to believe St. Albert will see different results. The city could explore bus rapid transit instead, she said, and the plan doesn’t include much recognition of the possibilities for emerging technologies.
She received support from Coun. Cam MacKay, who said council should be looking to other solutions to reduce traffic congestion.
He said the growing St. Albert population won’t likely be at the critical mass where an LRT is a sensible idea by 2042.
“We’re a town of about 65,000 people that grows at about 1.4 per cent a year,” he said. “We’re not going to get there, folks, by 2042.”
Both Hughes and MacKay said they supported the idea of an LRT to St. Albert’s southern border, but not going through city to a northern terminus.
Coun. Bob Russell supported Hughes’ motion as well.
“I don’t want to spend another penny,” Russell said, adding he’s concerned about congestion on the trail.
The majority of council was not convinced that scrapping planning for an LRT line was a good idea.
Coun. Wes Brodhead said planning for the future needs vision not constrained by how things are today.
“We need to come to terms with the fact that St. Albert will not be the same place 40 years from now that it is today,” Brodhead said.
He said the transportation master plan is a holistic one that understands growth in St. Albert and the region.
“To manage such growth will require a multi-faceted approach to the movement of people and goods,” he said. He also pointed out that including the LRT alignment selected by council in the fall is not committing St. Albert to going ahead with building it or how to pay for it, but instead planning so that when the circumstances are right, action can be taken.
He noted surveys contained in the transportation master plan that showed a majority of residents agreed that the city should plan for the LRT.
Coun. Cathy Heron said while congestion might not be drastically reduced in communities that have put in LRT, she said reducing congestion shouldn’t be the city’s main selling point.
Instead, LRT can offer an economic boost, while some would prefer to use transit for a variety of reasons including environmental benefits or cost, she said.
The St. Albert LRT line would be part of a regional network, she said, and noted the new federal Liberal government has indicated they plan on changing how transit dollars are awarded.
At a certain point, the only way to add more people to a community is to include transit, she said.
“I feel it isn’t just prudent to include (LRT) in the TMP, it is irresponsible not to,” Heron said.
Coun. Tim Osborne said one of the clear findings of the traffic study and projections in the transportation plan is that “we don’t have room for everyone to drive.”
“I do believe it’s important that we build a system that works for all modes of transportation, not just cars,” he said, adding it appears travel time might improve thanks to the LRT.
“I don’t know if LRT will ever come down St. Albert Trail,” he said, “But to eliminate the possibility of this option to me feels premature.”
