By: Giselle General

This is part of an ongoing series of posts discussion issues I personally encounter while taking public transit in Edmonton. Links to other posts will be added on an ongoing basis:

• Part 1: Do You Want a Ride?
• Part 2: I Don’t Want To Be Raped Again
• Part 3: I’ll Make It on Time, I Think?
• Part 4: You Don’t Want Me To Be Driving
• Part 5: I Think I’ll Walk Instead
• Part 6: Transit Access Influence House Shopping
• Part 7: The Evolution of Audio Announcements
• Part 8: Cheating to Survive by Evading Transit Fare
• Part 9: Sprinting While Connecting
• Part 10: Transit Routes Made us Move
• Part 11: The Construction Zone Bus Stops
• Part 12: Report it on the App
• Part 13: A Month of Cool Transit Milestones

What is a Captive Transit User? I learned about the term for the first time from the City of Edmonton’s website. The easy definition is: someone who takes public transit because it’s the best (or only available) option for them to travel around. The part about feeling ‘captive’ comes from the restriction that sometimes comes up, perhaps because one is too poor to own and maintain a vehicle, one does not know how to drive, or for medical reasons, cannot operate a vehicle. In many ways, I relate to this a lot. Though I’m pretty fortunate to afford the occasional taxi ride, and with my husband having a car.

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When people choose a place to live, they consider many important things in choosing the neigbhourhood. We knew when we picked the neighbourhood we live in now that since the LRT will literally pass through the main road nearby, that we will be inundated with the impacts of the construction for many years until the line officially opens. But what is something that many residents complain about, became something that piqued my curiosity over the years.

I’m basically like a “Marites”, the nosy neighbour looking into the latest “tea” of what is happening next door, but for an LRT construction. This transit nerd is delighted with integrating such a Filipino reference, hehe. Every time I leave my home to commute to work, it’s neat to see the changes.

Between my husband and me, our no-cost-but-super-fun date idea has been to go for a half-hour work along the construction site, observe the different holes and poles, the cranes and trucks, the cement and the metal pieces, and the people around the site. I bet my husband is truly enjoying being married to a transit nerd – no need to go far or spend a lot of money for romantic quality time, haha!

As the cliche goes, a photo says a thousand words. So here is a photo dump of the photos of the LRT construction progress because because it’s fun and nerdy

Frankly at this point, for very short trips, it is much better to walk – to the mall, the library, the pharmacy. But as long as the locations are literally long the main road, I can also be lazy and take the bus in one direction.

I heard many times that the construction impact north of my neighbourhood, along Stony Plain Road, is much worse for the businesses there. In fact, the City launched a campaign called “Rally for the Road” to encourage people to continue to patronize the businesses along the road, where construction makes it difficult and unappealing to park to get to these businesses. I know of a business owned by a fellow Filipino that sells Filipiniana inspired attire. I hope to visit the business someday when it is easier to travel to get there, either by car of perhaps, the newly opened LRT line!

In the middle of May, during the Annual General Meeting for our community league, we also held a town hall where staff from the city and the LRT construction company co-presented and answered questions from the neighbourhood. I really appreciated them doing this. The maps and slideshows were informative in giving both the big picture progress of the whole project, timelines for summer 2024 and what to anticipate as far as changes in access to lanes and intersections. We were given the reassurance that any concerns can be shared to them anytime, and that they have what sounds like daily meetings with the staff at the hospital to ensure access is not blocked unintentionally.

On top of that, our community league president seems to have established a good relationship with relevant staff. He managed to make a few phone calls to sort out the traffic lights nearby to help traffic flow better.

And just a few weeks after this neighbourhood meeting, my husband and I can see the large crane off our second-floor bedroom window.

We were told that our section will be finished by fall this year, then the section off the other side of 178 Street will be worked on. I will definitely miss the unique crane when it moves. And I hope that the residents who live in that area, that have been affected by construction for just as long as we are, have a manageable experience for the next few years.