City celebrates completion of first major LRT station upgrade in Edmonton – Edmonton | 24CA News
The City of Edmonton is celebrating the completion of its first improve of a serious LRT station.
One of the unique 5 stations on the capital line LRT, the Stadium Stadium has been round for 40 years and wanted a facelift, based on the town.
“As you can imagine, certain components of the station were approaching the end of their lifecycle, and were in need of renewal,” stated Bruce Ferguson, supervisor of LRT enlargement and renewal for the town.
Redevelopment work began in 2020. There’s a brand new platform on the west facet of the tracks for occasion site visitors from Commonwealth Stadium, street-level ramps on the finish of every platform and heated shelters, a safety workplace and public washrooms.
There are additionally modifications that enhance sightlines, which might make transit customers really feel safer, Ferguson stated.
“The whole station is now much larger, it’s got better lighting, very limited areas as far as sight lines go, so you can see where you’re going — you can see what’s happening on the platform,” Ferguson defined.
“I think people are feeling much more comfortable on this platform and at this station than they were in the past.”
The metropolis hopes the modifications will assist enhance transit security.
“We have added security guards to the station, so they’re proactively patrolling throughout the station’s hours of operation,” stated ETS department supervisor Carrie Hotton-MacDonald.
Ward Métis Coun. Ashley Salvador stated it’s vital to acknowledge the continuing points round transit security and safety and that it’s a problem each main Canadian metropolis is going through.
“These changes aren’t going to rectify all of these issues that we’re experiencing on transit, but they’re steps in the right direction,” Salvador stated.
Increased Access
The Stadium station is a vital connection to Commonwealth, stated Hotton-MacDonald.
“Somewhere between 45 and 50 per cent of attendees that are at Commonwealth typically use our service to get to and from (events),” Hotton-MacDonald stated.
With a busy summer season of occasions deliberate, together with the Luke Combs live performance this weekend and a brand new Elks season across the nook, the hope is extra individuals is likely to be inclined to make use of the station, the town stated.
“We’ve got this new west platform so people can come directly out of Commonwealth Stadium, right to the platform and right onto the train, so I think it’ll flow much better as well,” Ferguson stated.
The Elks group stated it hopes it advantages them too.
“We see a lot of our fans actually use the LRT and come in through a certain gate, so we are hoping to see increased attendance with more accessibility to the stadium,” stated Vanessa Potter, chief monetary officer for the Edmonton Elks.
A portion of the $50 million in funding for the upgraded station was supplied by the federal Public Transit Infrastructure Fund and the provincial Green Transit Incentive Program.
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