If other motorcycle/scooter riders park properly, it’s easy to fit two bikes in one spot. I’ve done that quite a few times.

I don’t see the point in developing a whole new line to come to downtown just to link to the airport. I think they can do it with the same line, by using LRT. It wouldn’t be that bad.

Or, bring it to a point in the southern part of the city where you can transfer.

While now it may make more sense just to go by car to the airport, it’s not going to continue that way as the city grows. What’s the big deal if you have to stop a few times on the LRT? You’re saving money by not having to park and you can relax.

Other than this our LRT works very very well. TransitCamp opened my eyes a little to low floor however. Because Calgary has high floor LRT it does not integrate well with existing neighbourhoods and has to have a dedicated right of way – often putting lines in areas that are not the most convenient. This impacts ridership and the effectiveness of the system as a whole.

From what I heard it seems like the Edmonton system is pretty well thought out.

I think dedicated lanes can work, if the traffic lights help move the mass transit vehicles a little out of the way of the rest of traffic. Not only would the dedicated lanes improve flow of like-directed cars, an advanced light system can get them out of the way for turning vehicles. That improved speed and efficiency will start to make transit a better option and get more people out of their personal vehicles, which clears up the roads even more.

I think something like this can be tested right away on a street like Whyte Avenue. Test out a day (or more) turning the on-street parking into a transit lane. Some of the biggest slowdowns come from transit and cars trying to do the same thing.

On the airports…I can accept the argument that “LRT” doesn’t move fast enough to compete with the 110 km/h highway speed into the City. It doesn’t mean that International hub can’t be even a pie-in-the-sky idea in the 100-year plan.

If the train, however, gets to do 80 km/h from the city limits to Century Park or Southgate it’s got an advantage over drivers that have to slow down north of the Henday. Plus, if you make that airport train dedicated to air travelers it would be a cheap ride with comfortable space. Ideally I would have a train or some kind of mass transit vehicle come right up to Whyte/University, Downtown or what will (hopefully) no longer be a tiny airport but a thriving residential community and business centre north of Kingsway.

I guess my worry is that by creating a dedicated right of way for transit in downtown will make an already bad traffic situation worse.

One thing that would help traffic downtown in less well travelled areas is to have smarter traffic lights. Away from Jasper you’ll wait forever for some of these lights. Why can’t they have a timer and demand system?

Also, the timing of lights is ridiculous on some major thoroughfares and actually hinders traffic. At certain times of day, the timing of the lights should facilitate traffic flow rather than hinder it. Maybe a few million invested in these systems would make traffic better and alleviate some of the congestion issues.

The priority system for transit is a hindrance for traffic in several areas around Edmonton. More street level transit will only make it worse, especially with more frequent trains. I’m not convinced that street level LRT will make things better.