Edmonton AB - It's been a few days since my last post due to being tied up with other things but a commentary piece out of the Edmonton Sun put other things on hold.
In the article, it is clearly stated that the Edmonton LRT system has been plagued with "high costs, low ridership and poor planning" since its inception.
Wow. If you listen to the pro-rail crowd, Edmonton has a world class LRT system that has more riders than can fit into the LRV's.
The article caused me to do a little digging into my stacks upon stacks of paper to find out a little bit more about the early years of the Edmonton system as well as the much more successful Calgary C-Train operation.
What I found from back in the days when the line was proposed is this. Edmonton wanted LRT to spur development and be among the first cities in North America to be on the LRT bandwagon (yes, the phrase "we need to get on the bandwagon" was used by the city). Planning was rushed to secure funding and be among the early cities in North America to have a new LRT line.
Calgary on the other hand was the exact opposite even though they too were among the early pioneers of the LRT craze. Calgary placed the route where it did for two reasons. First was to provide service to the Stampede Grounds and second was to serve the already rapidly developing southern portion of the Calgary area.
Today, Calgary's C-Train is doing very well while Edmonton's LRT operation is stagnating and in some areas, going downhill. The reason? Calgary planned the line using the proper reasoning as to how best to utilize rail while Edmonton was in a hurry to just slap a line down to spur development which has been lackluster at best to date.
I found some other articles from various rail advocates at the time of the two systems starting up. While they gushed over both lines, the pro-rail crowd was worried about Calgary's operation while stating that Edmonton's line would be the "Gem of Canada".
That started me thinking about why the pro-rail crowd was so worried about Calgary's new line. It was properly planned, it was placed where it was needed and proper amenities such as ample parking were provided. Could that be it? Calgary didn't just slap down a rail line just for the sake of having a rail line? Knowing many pro-rail people and how they think, I'm more than sure that they were upset over the fact that Calgary built their line with a real purpose behind it.
I E-mailed two pro-rail people I know just for a quick opinion. What I found amusing was that they were still gushing over Edmonton's system but were quick to criticize Calgary's system. I might also add that the two I contacted were flaming Liberals who love government waste, especially when it comes to building LRT and streetcar lines. I responded to both asking why are they criticizing a successful operation while praising an operation that is having problems. No response from either.
I am constantly amazed at how the Liberal pro-rail crowd loves wasteful LRT operations while having big problems when the very thing they claim to love actually works efficiently and effectively. No wonder public transit has so many problems these days.
3 comments:
Well I finally received responses from both the pro-rail people I was corresponding with regarding the Edmonton and Calgary operations. The reponse to my comments to them was rather scary.
The response from both of them was basically this: "Well I suppose I should be happy that Calgary's C-Train works well but I'm not".
That sentiment tells me more than they probably wanted to let me know. What it tells me is this. The pro-rail crowd just wants rail lines to be slapped down rather than having a properly planned line that actually works efficiently and effectively.
In other words, they don't want LRT or other rail lines to really work. They just want rail lines for the sake of having rail lines. The more is costs and the less efficient it is, the better.
While that makes little sense to anyone with an ounce of common sense, to the radical pro-rail crowd it makes perfect sense.
As I said before, no wonder public transit is in the state it's in with thinking like that...
220,000 daily rides in Calgary vs. 41,500 in Edmonton? There's no way you can dress up that pig and make it look pretty.
Even worse, the article notes that Edmonton is still making the same mistakes - the new extension has few park & ride lots.
Could it be that the pro-rail types resent the fact that the C-Train appears to actively court the suburban commuters? After all, we're always told how light rail promotes 'liveable cities' where everyone can work and reside near stations and never need a car.
Jim
You have a good point Jim.
LRT and other transit projects aren't used for their stated purpose in many cities. The stated purpose is often far different than what it should be which is to move people from point A to point B.
The hidden agendas behind many of these projects aren't easily found unless your willing to dig or have enough understanding in the industry to see trends.
As far as Edmonton and Calgary, it could very well be a hidden agenda of wanting to eliminate "urban sprawl" as to why many pro-rail people have problems with the very successful Calgary operation.
C-Train was designed as you said to cater to the suburbanite and address the transportation needs related to the sprawl in the Calgary area with multiple options for people to use the line. Drive to it or hop a bus to it and the drive to it part is probably driving the pro-rail/environmentalist crowd nuts.
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