The recent council discussion on the LRT functional alignment study brings into focus the clash of two conflicting visions of St. Albert.
There are those people who enjoy St. Albert as it has historically developed into a premier place to work, play, and raise their family. They appreciate the large single-family lots, the extensive boulevards, the many parks, walkways, and green spaces, the security of a low crime rate, the ready access to commercial services, and access to good schools for their children. They appreciate all those amenities, which caused St. Albert to be ranked one of the best cities in Canada by our envious fellow Canadians.
Then there are those people who think St. Albert should be transformed into a world of high-density apartments and high rises. People will perch in their chicken coops, walk or ride their bike to the LRT station, commute to Edmonton only to occupy another perch in a high-rise office tower.
This latter vision entails a railroad running down the already congested St. Albert trail at a cost of $1 billion dollars to appease the global warming gods. It involves destroying the individual liberty provided by the automobile in favour of herding people into public transit. It increases the residential density in hopes of optimizing the use of this railroad. It creates a huge government bureaucracy to administer this transportation leviathan.
The choice between these two visions will play out in the next few years as Mayor Nolan Crouse and his cabal push relentlessly for an LRT running down the St. Albert Trail.
Gord Hennigar, president, St. Albert Taxpayers Association
