[Out of Towner]

City council is seeking more information about removing the long-defunct train overpass on 97th Street. The Chinatown Transformation Collaborative says the community welcomes its removal.

 

[Wax]

I completely understand and agree with that sentiment but it’s a shame as it had a lot of potential (and still does) without needing to tear it down. Whatever happens change is needed.

 

[David A]

I completely understand and agree with that sentiment but it’s a shame as it had a lot of potential (and still does) without needing to tear it down. Whatever happens change is needed.

Yes, satisfactory improvements could probably be made for a fraction of the funds needed to tear down and replace it, not to mention all the disruption. However, the city still loves to spend capital dollars it doesn't really have.

 

[EdmTrekker]

I want it torn down and connectivity to Chinatown completed.

 

[Out of Towner]

I want it torn down and connectivity to Chinatown completed.

Same here. Get rid of it. It has no practical purpose. The underpass may have some sentimental value for a few people but opening that artery would have a positive impact on mobility and the social barrier that it currently represents.

 

[David A]

I realize demolition always seems to be the most Edmonton thing to do, but we need to compare the cost to maintain and improve it vs. demolishing it, also considering the disruption involved.

 

[thefreezebreeze]

could instead turn it into a pedestrian overpass/plaza

 

[northlands]

could instead turn it into a pedestrian overpass/plaza

There was a community garden that existed on it for a brief period but I'll let you take a guess what happened.

The only feasible reason to keep it would be if Qualico wanted it for integration into a later phase of the eastern Station Park lands, but that's probably minimum decades away, and they may change their mind anyway. So what exactly is the reason to keep it beyond the cost of demo'ing, filling and rebuilding the road bed?

 

[ChazYEG]

out of the many things I see reason to be nostalgic of, this is definitely not one of them. I honestly perceive it as a very big divider between "new" Chinatown, "old" Chinatown and the rest of downtown. It doesn't feel safe walking/biking either under or over it, it serves absolutely no purpose and any disruption that might come from removing it will likely be more than compensated by the benefits of it

 

[ChazYEG]

out of the many things I see reason to be nostalgic of, this is definitely not one of them. I honestly perceive it as a very big divider between "new" Chinatown, "old" Chinatown and the rest of downtown. It doesn't feel safe walking/biking either under or over it, it serves absolutely no purpose and any disruption that might come from removing it will likely be more than compensated by the benefits of it

 

[David A]

There was a community garden that existed on it for a brief period but I'll let you take a guess what happened.

The only feasible reason to keep it would be if Qualico wanted it for integration into a later phase of the eastern Station Park lands, but that's probably minimum decades away, and they may change their mind anyway. So what exactly is the reason to keep it beyond the cost of demo'ing, filling and rebuilding the road bed?

The cost is exactly the reason, for a city that complains it does not have enough money to do all the capital projects required now.

All the disorder that happened downtown after the city's attention shifted elsewhere after the area was built and during COVID seems to be abating some now. Also there are funds targeted particularly at Chinatown now to deal with improve things. So perhaps this is the time to revisit either the community garden or something else that could work here.

I realize this answer will not appeal to the spend money crowd in the city government, but they need to choose where to spend wisely now

 

[Edmcowboy11]

Well as far as I know they could tear the bridge down but there would only be so much of re-grading of the road due to the RAM