Planning a future LRT line along St. Albert Trail should remain on the back burner until Edmonton's light rail expansion plans are more advanced, agree the two candidates seeking St. Albert's mayor's chair.
The meeting between St. Albert's boundary and Edmonton's northwest LRT line appears to be inevitable, which has prompted one incumbent councillor to vocally push for St. Albert to begin the planning of its own LRT leg as early as next year.
However, neither of the candidates seeking the mayor's chair is interested in embarking on a study that's projected to cost the city $1 million.
“At budget time, if there's a business case brought forward to plan LRT through St. Albert I can't imagine me supporting it,” said incumbent Nolan Crouse.
St. Albert's long-range transportation master plan calls for park and ride facilities at the southern and northern edges of the city with an LRT line running along St. Albert Trail to connect the two sites.
Challenger Shelley Biermanskiagreed with Crouse that the project is too far in the future to warrant planning studies now.
“In this three-year term, it's too soon to be throwing out a million dollars,” she said. “You go too far ahead, too many things can change and then your plan might even not be [relevant] any more.”
Edmonton city council has approved a northwest LRT route to St. Albert's southern boundary. Edmonton's transit general manager Bob Boutilier expects the line to be completed to NAIT in 2014 and the extension to St. Albert could be completed by 2019 if government funding falls into place.
Coun. Len Bracko is pushing for St. Albert to start its planning next year for an eventual extension of the LRT within St. Albert. Besides stations at the north and south, he envisions one at St. Anne Street.
Crouse said his focus during the upcoming term will be on assembling land and a cost-sharing plan for the south park and ride, which council identified as its top priority for the province's Green Trip transit funding.
Crouse has spoken with provincial officials about acquiring land within the transportation utility corridor near the intersection of Campbell Road and St. Albert Trail, but said the province isn't willing to discuss the issue until the ring road opens.
Biermanski has doubts about that location for a park and ride and thinks Servus Credit Union Place area might be better suited.
“I would just like to find a parking point that's not on St. Albert Trail,” she said. “It's not helping with the traffic right in St. Albert.”
