Proposed BRT on Whyte Ave would remove parking, travel lanes

The City of Edmonton has released two configuration options for one of its bus rapid transit routes down Whyte Avenue and in the University of Alberta area, both of which would remove street parking from most of the corridor, reduce vehicle travel lanes to one in each direction, and allow emergency vehicles to use the BRT lanes.

The city's BRT Route B2 will connect West Edmonton Mall to Bonnie Doon via the main U of A campus and Whyte Avenue. BRT typically features dedicated travel lanes, priority at intersections, and bus stations providing enhanced services over typical bus stops, the city said.

Administration is looking for feedback on the configuration of the route in the university area and down Whyte Avenue. The survey is open until June 24. There will also be open houses on June 9 and 10.

Each proposed design also includes improved pedestrian features such as wider sidewalks and new trees. Prioritize Whyte Ave, a coalition of advocacy groups and business leaders, said it was excited the BRT proposal implements some aspects of the Old Strathcona Public Realm Strategy. "We encourage the city to enhance and expand these proposals so that they reflect the direction provided in the Public Realm Strategy," the organization said in a blog post. "This approach ensures that investment on Whyte Ave does not turn into a decade-long series of construction projects, but rather creates better transit connectivity and public spaces within one construction project."

The design booklet for the Whyte Avenue portion of the project shows that the dedicated BRT lanes would run from 109 Street to 83 Street at Bonnie Doon Mall, either in the lane next to the curb or in the centre lane. Both options would see street parking eliminated from nearly the entire corridor. The booklet said property access and loading zones will be maintained. Sidewalks would be reconstructed and widened along much of the corridor.

If buses run along the curb, pedestrians would be able to more easily access them from the existing sidewalk, but the buses would encounter more interaction with vehicles turning right and accessing driveways, the city said. The curbside design would eliminate left turns onto 108 Street, 102 Street, and 100 Street.

The curbside option would see six stations spread between 109 Street and Bonnie Doon Mall. All stations in the curbside configuration would be shared with local buses to provide connections to other routes.

If buses run in the centre lanes, stations would be in the centre of the road, and pedestrians would need to cross to get to them. This configuration would decrease conflicts with other vehicles, the city said. The proposed design would eliminate more left turns than the curbside options — there would be no left turns onto 11 streets along the avenue.

The centre-running option would see five stations spread between 108 Street and Bonnie Doon.

The city has also proposed two options for the BRT route in the university area. The first option would see northbound and southbound lanes on 112 Street, while the second option would see a northbound lane on 114 Street and a southbound lane on 112 Street. Both options involve a station at the University Transit Centre, but the integration is subject to collaboration with the university, the documents said.

Prioritize Whyte Ave reiterated its call to have the two projects funded for construction at the same time. At an urban planning committee meeting in March, councillors supported a motion from Coun. Michael Janz, whose Ward papastew includes most of Whyte Avenue, directing administration to bring forward two funding packages to budget deliberations. Council will consider funding the detailed design, infrastructure delivery, and operations of the B1 and B2 BRT routes. It will also consider funding simultaneous improvements to the pedestrian realm along Whyte Avenue, which would involve removing some vehicle parking to make way for wider sidewalks.

For more on recent civic issues, including the BRT proposals, an effort to protect trees on private property, a refresh of Jasper Avenue, and the Edmonton Police Service's new stabilization centre, listen to Episode 358 of Speaking Municipally.