It would be difficult to nail down exactly which initiative contributed most to the 5.2 percent increase in ridership the Edmonton Transit System (ETS) experienced in 2011.

It must be part of the overall increasing trend that’s been ongoing since 2002, when Edmontonians were taking almost 300,000 bus and LRT trips every weekday. In 2011, ridership increased to almost 400,000 weekday trips.

Certainly the South LRT extension to Century Park, completed in 2010, helped LRT ridership more than double between 2002 and 2011.

And bus ridership is up about 5,000 trips a day, thanks to expanding service to newer communities and greater frequency of service on busier bus routes.

But the growth trend and the enhanced service across Edmonton that contributes to it are complimented by popular discount programs and solid marketing.

The Universal Transit Pass (UPass), for example, was completely available to NAIT students for the first time in 2011, and UPass sales to NAIT more than doubled from 2010. And the ETS@Work program has proved hugely popular with large institutional groups such as Alberta Health Services.

But ETS programs and services are obviously most effective when people know about them. On top of ongoing social media campaigns on Facebook and Twitter, ETS recently adopted text message servicing and upgraded its online trip planner, and a smart phone application is in the works.

To keep apprised of ETS developments, or to recommend ways to keep improving ETS, check www.takeets.com regularly.

As you may be aware, the City of Edmonton is planning for a more sustainable future by encouraging Transit Oriented Development (TOD) around existing and future LRT Stations – almost 60 in total.

Transit Oriented Development refers to development that is planned and integrated around a transit station. Its aim is to create more attractive, liveable, and compact neighbourhoods based on pedestrian-friendly design and a well connected mix of land uses within roughly 400 meters walking distance of a transit station.

My work, alongside a team of talented consultants and committed community members, seeks to find out how TOD can strengthen and preserve the character of the McKernan and Belgravia neighbourhoods while capitalizing on the benefits of the existing LRT station. Put another way, we are looking at how we can make both community and LRT station work better together through TOD planning.

To date, we have conducted research on the area, spoken with local community leagues, and on November 22, 2011 held our first Public Open House Workshop at the McKernan Elementary Junior High School. We had an excellent turnout with about 120 people attending to hear about the project and share their own knowledge of the area with us. At the meeting, our team displayed some boards about the project followed by a presentation, a little Q&A, and then a series of break-out discussions based on a workbook we prepared to help facilitate things.

The information we collect will inform what policies, redevelopment concepts and design guidelines will best support TOD in McKernan and Belgravia neighbourhoods.

Overall I’d say we received excellent feedback from the Open House Workshop which we will post a summary of on our webpage when ready. This will help us ensure the project’s final recommendations are grounded in the community’s aspirations while reflecting local conditions, opportunities, constraints, and collective solutions. But don’t worry – there’s still time to have your say!

If you haven’t read the workbook and sent us your comments – please do! Alternatively, you can always share your thoughts here on this blog.

So I open it up to you… what do you think of the current area around the McKernan/Belgravia station? Do you walk and do errands in the area? How might the neighbourhood immediately around the LRT station change over time? What new uses or amenities could make the neighbourhood around the LRT station more interesting, attractive and liveable? What do you think? We want to know.

Welcome to the Edmonton this Week Podcast, an in-depth look at City of Edmonton programs and initiatives that affect your life. Each week, your host, Wade Sorochan, takes you inside City Hall and around Edmonton to speak to the people who operate our city.

Listen on iTunes

Listen to an interview:

• Winter Sidewalks Bylaw
• Sustainable Purchasing
• Night Ride Pilot Project
  

The Edmonton This Week radio show airs every Saturday at 7:30 am and 6:00 pm on 630 CHED.

Please leave your thoughts and comments below, but note that it may take time to answer specific questions.

Forty years ago a unique planning process, the Mill Woods Development Concept, was set to transform urban development in Edmonton. The goal for Mill Woods was straightforward – create a place for people, a community with a strong sense of place, well connected to its surroundings.

Planning for Mill Woods began in 1969 to create a new city in a suburban environment that would one day be home to 120,000 people. Edmonton’s mayor at the time, Ivor Dent, described Mill Woods as having the potential to become a showpiece for urban growth. Mill Woods Town Centre was planned to be the urban heart of Mill Woods. Housing, shops, services and employment would be within a short walk of high speed transit and well connected through high quality public parks and open spaces.

This plan was never fully realized. The economy weakened through the 1980s. The pulse of Mill Woods Town Centre slowed as an LRT extension from downtown failed to materialize, residential densities came in lower then anticipated and commercial development took on a very car-oriented form.

Today there is new commitment to expand and invest in public transit. It is no longer a question if LRT service will arrive in Mill Woods but rather when. City Council has approved the concept of an LRT line to Mill Woods, and preliminary engineering work has begun. As a result we need to do things differently, plan our neighbourhoods better and encourage greater transit usage in more compact and walkable communities. 

Recently, we held our first public workshop to introduce the station area planning project for Mill Woods Town Centre. The Mill Woods Station Area Plan will explore opportunities for transit oriented development in Mill Woods Town Centre in advance of the arrival of LRT to Mill Woods. What we heard at our first workshop was a desire to firmly establish Mill Woods Town Centre as a focal point -a vibrant and exciting downtown – for Mill Woods. 

We’re excited to get underway with exploring how we as planners, in collaboration with residents and property owners, can begin to revisit and enhance Mill Wood’s urban heart.  Through the station area planning process we seek to transform the neighbourhood into something which better embodies the quality and character of the Mill Woods community. To quote from the 1970 Plan for Mill Woods, “The Mill Woods residents will look to their town centre for stimulation and enjoyment. Every effort should be directed to achieve this result.” Sometimes looking backwards provides the greatest direction to move forward.

Your comments are always welcome as we move forward with the Mill Woods Station Area Plan. Contact information and additional information is provided on the Mill Woods Station Area Plan webpage.

Recently, Edmonton Transit System (ETS)  teamed up with local musician Colleen Brown and Councillor Don Iveson to create “a concert in motion.” The initial goal was modest:  Showcase ETS’ new commuter tools for ETS Trip Planner and promote their upcoming Twitter take-over. The result was something a little more amazing than your average advertising spot however. A weird blend of creative energy and passion for positive change that had everyone involved tapping their toes for the day-long shoot.

Curious to learn what went on behind-the-scenes I sat down with ETS marketing masterminds Nathan Walters and Priya Bhasin-Singh for a chat about where the idea came from and how the day unfolded. And look,  I even snagged some set photos!

The production team after a long day's shoot

TE: How did the idea of a Concert in Motion come about?

Priya: It started with our move onto Facebook. We’re always looking for new ways to build loyalty with our riders and communicate with them on another level – add a bit of the fun and personality side of ETS.

TE: Was it created to promote the new ETS Trip Planner?

Nathan: Well, yes and no. The video is part of a larger campaign to formally launch our social media offerings. This includes the ETS Trip Planner as well as the Twitter addition which launches before fall’s end and our presence on Facebook.

TE: Why opt to do something more creative and ambiguous in intent, rather than a traditional video ad spot?

Nathan: We really want to drive home the fact that ETS is exciting, full of energy and still very much relevant. And in order to do that we really had to take a non-traditional approach.

The video is actually based on a Feist performance on Jimmy Kimmel where she’s performing on a bus in very much the same way and it seemed to fit nicely, because at the end of the day that’s our business. When our collaborators at Red the Agency pitched this to us, it was an easy decision.

Councillor Don Iveson rocks the stand-up base

TE: How did Colleen Brown get involved? Was she always your performer of choice?

Nathan: We wanted a performer that commanded a presence locally and who would be seen as being relevant and full of energy and Red the Agency suggested Colleen Brown. And actually, the timing worked out perfectly because she was coming out with her new album, Dirt, at the same time as we were launching our campaign.

TE: Tell us a bit about the shoot.

Priya:  We put out a call-to-action on our Facebook page to get people involved as extras and that really got our community intrigued in our page and wanting to be involved on the day. It proved to be a great way to connect with people in the community.

Nathan: Yeah, even our approach to that was non-traditional because usually for shoots like this you’d hold a formal casting and such, but this was very much an inclusive process. Very different way of doing things.

ETS bus #rock picks up some more music lovers

TE: How long did it take to shoot the video?

Priya: It took one day to shoot the video. One very long day. And then with editing I’d say about a month to fully complete the video.

Nathan: The nature of the concept, having the musicians board the bus and play their parts as the song builds, was a challenging one and took rehearsals and many takes, but we got it, and are all happy with how it turned out.

TE: How many times did you play the song then?

Priya: (laughing) Enough that we were humming it for the next couple of weeks.

Nathan: We’ll also be uploading the ‘Making Of’ video to give those that couldn’t make it out to the shoot an inside look of how the project came together.  I encourage people to ‘Like’ ETS on Facebook so they can catch this great video as well as the latest offers, contests and special events.

And the end result:

For more behind-the-scenes pictures head to ETS on Facebook

The task was two-fold: create a video promoting Edmonton to an international audience of thousands, while at the same time explaining the most cutting-edge aspect of the City’s Intelligent Transportation System (ITS), to play repeatedly on a big screen at the 2011 ITS World Congress held in Orlando, Florida in September 2011.

The first part was easy. Edmonton is a unique metropolis, not just in Canada but in North America. We are the northernmost big city on the continent, built at a crossroads in the heart of Western Canada, covering a region the size of Puerto Rico. The strategic economic importance of this city in this province in this country at this point in history is hard to overstate.

The second part was more complex. Such is the nature of ITS. The video explains it best:

Here’s the gist:

• Like many big modern cities, Edmonton has elements of ITS (cameras, roadway sensors, electronic messaging signs) built into several major roadways.

• Unlike any other city in the world, Edmonton is experimenting with software that creates predictive traffic modeling to offer real-time solutions to traffic congestion on Yellowhead Trail.

Here’s how the innovation works:

• Cameras and sensors currently monitor traffic flow on the Yellowhead.

• The new software takes the data feed from Yellowhead and automatically adjusts the traffic lights to maximize traffic flow based on a predictive algorithm (read: lots of complex math).

• Whenever there is an incident causing a traffic jam (e.g. a collision or construction) the software does three things:

1. Adjusts traffic lights on Yellowhead to improve flow, based on historic data.
2. Posts information about the incident on the overhead Dynamic Message Signs to tell motorists of trouble ahead and suggest detour routes.
3. Adjust traffic lights on the suggested detour routes to maximize their traffic flow.

All of which means a traffic jam can be cleared more quickly and efficiently.

Several mainstream media have covered Edmonton’s traffic technology. As the video mentions, the only other two cities in the world that are looking at this technology are London and Hong Kong, and both are interested in the results of the Edmonton pilot project.

So is BMW. The company is developing software for in-vehicle navigation systems that could tap into the predictive data feed and provide notifications to drivers more directly. Imagine driving a car that tells you: ‘Traffic jam ahead, take next turnoff to avoid.’

Over the long term, the City plans to build more grade-separated interchanges on Yellowhead Trail. But such projects are expensive, disruptive and decades away from completion. ITS offers medium-term solutions to traffic problems, and with its pilot project Edmonton is showing the world what is possible.

Anyone living in Edmonton last winter probably remembers that we saw enough snow to last a lifetime.  Does the term ‘Snowmageddon’ ring any bells?

Between November 2010 and April 2011, nearly 160 cm (or 63 inches) of the white stuff fell throughout the city.  And just to compound matters, we were hit with a number of freeze-thaw cycles that saw the snow pack on residential areas break down and make many areas nearly impassable.  Streets became dangerously obstructed as people parked their cars outside of windrows, and in many cases Edmonton Transit had to be rerouted because the narrow lanes.

What became patently clear was that changes were needed.  A detailed operational analysis and peer review of our procedures took place, and a number of excellent suggestions were made to improve the way we do our job.

The snow policy has been updated and new equipment purchased to improve residential service, a seasonal parking ban has been created (to be called as conditions require) to help get roads cleared faster, and important adjustments have been made to the way we communicate with citizens about winter road maintenance activities.

There are a number of changes that have been brought into effect for this winter:

• A seasonal parking ban has been created for residential bus routes. The City of Edmonton will call a ban with a minimum of eight hours notice. At that time, vehicles must be moved from those routes with the ‘Seasonal Parking Ban’ signs; those not moved after the eight hours will be tagged and towed

• Once priority routes are plowed, crews will move into residential areas to blade to a 5 cm snow pack. Even if there is another snow event that requires additional work on priority routes, crews will NOT be removed from residential areas until the blading cycle has been finished

• If the snow pack on residential streets cannot be maintained at 5 cm, crews will plow down to bare pavement where required

As important as the changes to the way we do our job are the changes we have made in the way we let citizens know what we are doing.  We will still be sending out announcements through the media and posting them to our website, but we are taking our communications to the next level this year.

Posts are going to be made through the City’s Facebook and Twitter accounts to keep residents up to date on our activities.  In addition, we have introduced a new email notification system that will let subscribers know instantly when a parking ban has been declared/ended, when residential snow maintenance begins and, when spring arrives, when we will begin street sweeping.

Another new feature will mean that when crews begin work in residential areas, citizens will be able to find out exactly when equipment will be moving in.  Through our new interactive map, residents will be able enter and address and find out exactly when crews will start work in a given neighbourhood.

No amount of either equipment or communications can prevent the snow from falling; we do, after all, live in Canada.  Our commitment, however, is that we will keep Edmonton roads in good winter driving condition, and let you know what we are doing and when we are doing it.

To subscribe to the email alerts, to access the interactive road maintenance schedule, or to find out more about winter road activities, please visit www.edmonton.ca/winterroads.

Welcome to the Edmonton this Week Podcast, an in-depth look at City of Edmonton programs and initiatives that affect your life. Each week, your host, Wade Sorochan, takes you inside City Hall and around Edmonton to speak to the people who operate our city.

Listen on iTunes

Listen to an interview:

• Downtown arena financial framework approved
• Home$aver Event
• Scona Road rehab completed

The Edmonton This Week radio show airs every Saturday at 7:30 am and 6:00 pm on 630 CHED.

Please leave your thoughts and comments below, but note that it may take time to answer specific questions.

Last spring, Brad Smid, LRT Design & Construction Project Manager, took a helicopter tour of downtown and northwest Edmonton. The purpose? To get a bird’s-eye-view of the future North LRT route and bring back footage to help residents and City administration visualize where the North LRT to NAIT will run less than 2.5 years from now.

Check it out:

From ground level, it’s difficult to envision the future North LRT and what it will mean for the way we move in the city.  We focus on construction impacting traffic, businesses and neighbourhoods in the MacEwan, Kingsway and NAIT area, when the conversation should really be about how these areas will benefit from accessible public transit when the project is completed.

However, progress is being made. Kingsway has been relocated, the tunnel portal on 105 Avenue and foundations for Kingsway/Royal Alex Station and MacEwan Station are being built and track slab is being laid on 104 Street, Kingsway and 106 Street.

Relocated Kingsway between 102 St & 106 St open

Construction crews constructing tunnel portal on 105 Ave between 101 St & 103 St

Track slab laid on Kingsway & 104 St with starting of Kingsway/Royal Alex Station foundation construction in background

Hopefully the helicopter video and animated NLRT videogive you a better idea of what the North LRT will look like once it’s complete and in operation.

Aggressively expanding Edmonton’s LRT network will bring us one step closer to having a more sustainable, compact and environmentally friendly transportation system and a revitalized downtown.

For more information on North LRT, visit www.edmonton.ca/nlrt

Tell us your thoughts and hopes for the future of public transportation in our city by commenting below.

Welcome to the Edmonton this Week Podcast, an in-depth look at City of Edmonton programs and initiatives that affect your life. Each week, your host, Wade Sorochan, takes you inside City Hall and around Edmonton to speak to the people who operate our city.

Listen on iTunes

On this week’s show:

• The City welcomes new UofA Traffic Safety Chair
• The City purchases first all electric vehicle
• New book: “Ride of the Century – The Story of the Edmonton Transit System

The Edmonton This Week radio show airs every Saturday at 7:30 am and 6:00 pm on 630 CHED.

Please leave your thoughts and comments below, but note that it may take time to answer specific questions.