Edmonton explores sign and signal changes on Valley Line LRT for safety

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The city is reviewing signage and signals along the southeastern leg of Edmonton’s Valley Line LRT to reduce the number of crashes with vehicles and people crossing the tracks.

Crossing arms aren’t being contemplated right now. But director for Edmonton Transit Service (ETS) Carrie Hotton-MacDonald says the city and the operator and builder of the line, TransEd, are looking at the existing signage and whether the timing at traffic signals at crossings makes sense.

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Valley Line LRT trains have been involved in at least 23 collisions with drivers since the line opened last November. After two collisions this week, Hotton-MacDonald said ETS and TransEd are looking to find the “root causes” but she pointed out the choice not to use crossing arms was a deliberate decision by the city council at the time the design was approved.

“Lots of people are frustrated” with the crossings around Bonnie Doon station, she said, adding the review there is ongoing. There’s already been some upgrades there to shorten the length of time cars and people need to wait at red lights when trains are approaching.

“There’s been adjustments, and I know they’re still actively monitoring and looking, and not just for that location, but entirely along the line,” she told Postmedia Friday.

“If (TransEd) thinks we need more interventions in terms of better signage, more communication, etc., we’ll explore that. We will work with TransEd and see  (if there are) things within the current suite of tools that we can apply just to strengthen and reinforce those messages about being really cognizant and aware of following the rules of the road.”

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Hotton-MacDonald acknowledged there’s also room for improvement in how ETS handles filling transit service gaps if the LRT isn’t running. It wasn’t enough to have only nine buses available to mirror the Valley Line route after the crash this week, she said. The train was out of service for nearly 11 hours, which concerned her as well.

“We had nine that were providing the contingency support. We’re going to do more next time, if it comes up,” she said. “I think we can also put more of our inspectors out directing people, working with TransEd, to help people get connected to the buses because sometimes riders get confused.”

Crashes expected?

Critics have warned about the potential for collisions along the route since it was designed.

The city did not say how many crashes were expected or if there is evidence the number of crashes will decline over time.

Even before trains were running, the city and TransEd have been consistent in messaging that collisions are a matter of driver education.

Brian Latte, director for Valley Line LRT at the city, during a group tour of the train line for developers on Thursday, again referred to driver awareness. He pointed to the prominence of the Valley Line’s public perception being connected to drivers crashing into the train by making illegal right turns at red lights.

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“That unfortunately is a bit of the public image it has. I can’t

for the life of me figure out why Edmontonians can’t understand this,” he said. “People in Europe do. People in Australia do.”

“Those bugs, I think, will eventually weave their way out of the system, and you will have a line you can take all the way from Mill Woods Town Centre all the way to Lewis Farms.”

In an interview after the tour, Latte said even if the city wanted to build crossing arms in many places there isn’t enough room for them — such as around Bonnie Doon.

Broken shelters

Meanwhile, the city and TransEd are removing doors from the shelters along the line.

Many train station doors were quickly broken along the line shortly after it opened to the public last year. The city says most of the damage was vandalism.

In response, TransEd has removed the doors, making those spaces similar to the city’s bus shelters that provide some protection from the elements but cannot be closed to keep out the cold air, snow and rain.

Hotton-MacDonald said the city and TransEd determined this was the most cost-effective solution. It’s not clear whether this arrangement fulfils what was required of TransEd.

Those shelters were heated last year, but that may not be the case this winter.

The city is looking at whether it makes sense to keep the heaters running without doors to keep in the heat.

lboothby@postmedia.com

@laurby

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