Edmonton has received the green light it needs to proceed with the expansion of its rapid-transit system.

But reaction from the business community to the plan to fast-track the LRT is mixed.

The federal government and Alberta municipalities have signed a $477-million pact, called the New Deal for Communities, which will see federal gas-tax revenues shifted to cities, towns and villages across the province.

Edmonton's initial share, $107.7 million over five years, means that the long-awaited southern expansion of the city's Light Rail Transit (LRT) system from the University of Alberta to the site of the former Heritage Mall can now move forward.

Illustration courtesy of the City of Edmonton
Artist's rendering of the Health Sciences station, which is scheduled to open in January 2006.

It also means that city officials can look toward improving rapid-transit access in other parts of the city such as a western leg that would connect the LRT to West Edmonton Mall.

"Our council decided a while ago to extend the LRT down to Heritage," but needed funding, says Edmonton Mayor Stephen Mandel.

Edmonton will leverage the gas-tax revenues against the cost of the entire project, which will see four new stations added to the system at a cost of about $600 million. Borrowing numbers could come down, though, since on top of the $107.7 million Edmonton expects to get an additional $220 million in the second five-year period of the gas-tax deal, giving the city just under $328 million.

Officials with Century Park, a 43-acre mixed-use project going up on the site that Heritage Mall once occupied, are thrilled.

"It's the icing on the cake," says Bob Rennie, owner of Rennie Marketing Systems, a Vancouver-based company that will oversee the project's marketing concept. "That's one of the top three components of the development that will really (help) form it into a community."

Century Park, to be built out over an 11-year period, will be comprised of 2,800 housing units, including low, mid and highrise towers, 200,000 sq. ft. of office space, 160,000 sq. ft. of commercial space and 18 acres of green space. It will be home to between 4,000 and 5,000 people when completed in 2016.

The LRT extension, which is scheduled to reach Century Park sometime in 2009, means the development could move forward more quickly. Rennie says having high-speed public transit at its doorstep will allow Century Park to access a larger base - from first-time buyers who can put their gasoline dollars toward mortgages, or empty-nesters not wanting to take the car everywhere - as opposed to just relying on a residential market focused on buyers who have vehicles.

The LRT will also help Century Park's retail component, adds Rennie. "For destination retail, it's phenomenal to have the ease of transportation right in front. It may increase the absorption of the retail or change the type of tenant that is attracted. Having the LRT at our doors, I can't find one negative."

Reaction is also positive at Edmonton Economic Development Corp. (EEDC).

"It's critical for us to convey that Greater Edmonton is a cosmopolitan metropolis of more than one million people and that it has all the amenities one would expect to find in a major metropolis, an efficient LRT system being just one," says EEDC spokesman Kenn Bur.

Bur adds once the south LRT expansion is completed, it will provide more synergies and connectivity with downtown and the city's northside - where the bulk of the LRT line and stations are now located.

But the Edmonton Chamber of Commerce has a different viewpoint.

"The chamber has never supported the concept of the expansion of the LRT at the expense of other identified priorities for the city," says Ruth Kelly, chair of the chamber's board of directors. "We recognize that there's a need to move people around in an efficient way, but to date the LRT has not proved this."

There is the need for a strong transportation infrastructure that moves both goods and people around, Kelly adds. Improvements to the Yellowhead Highway and new segments of Edmonton's ring road are vital if Edmonton is to be a transportation hub for northern Alberta and northern Canada, she says.

The city has already gone ahead with a $100.1-million LRT addition to bring the line back above ground from its existing endpoint at the University of Alberta to a new Health Sciences station on the southwestern edge of the university's main campus. The new station is scheduled to open in January 2006.

Edmonton has also spent $8.8 million on planning and land acquisition to facilitate the work on the next part of the southern leg, which will encompass two of the four planned stations. The four stations, one at 76 Avenue and 114 Street, another at Foote Field (to be called the South Campus station), one in the vicinity of Southgate Centre Mall and at Heritage, represent 7.7 km of new track.

Edmonton Transit figures show the existing 10 LRT stations have a ridership of about 40,000 people per day. Officials expect that once the south LRT extension reaches the proposed Southgate station, they should be able to double that number to 80,000 per day.

This means Edmonton Transit would be able to remove 45 buses from city streets.

In a process that is already under way, the city is examining LRT planning and borrowing scenarios. Mandel said this should be in council's hands for its meeting at the end of the month.

The mayor is optimistic that council will ultimately give the project the final go-ahead. He added he is not concerned that the "New Deal" funding is tied to the Liberal budget, saying he feels it will be respected by whichever party forms the next government.

Calgary also has plans for the dollars it will receive under the deal. Mayor Dave Bronconnier, who was in attendance at the recent Edmonton press conference and deal-signing, says the city's priorities will be public transit and road improvement projects.