[MoreDensity]

I very much appreciated the video and am a Patreon supporter. In fact, I showed it to my partner, who’s first comment was astonishment at how much you actually DID understand about Edmonton (ex: how does a non Edmontonian know that the Century Park escalators/station in general is woefully inadequate for the crowds?). Please keep producing more Edmonton content.

 

[Glenco]

I don't know how he decided to route the Valley Line down 66 St, rather than 50 St. The plan has always been 50 St. Doesn't seem logical to not continue to use the Mill Woods stop, and associated bus terminal. Additionally, he suggests there's already been consideration for LRT along 66 St because of the grassy strip. I guess he missed the part where 66 St narrows south 23 Ave to a single lane in each direction. I'm sure that grassy RoW has always been intended for when 66 St ends up being widened. Anyone remember how 91 St narrowed in the same way just south of 23 Ave?

Oh contra. I think this is one of his better suggestions. The 66 r/w is very wide capable of four lanes of traffic and The Valley line. The stub to MWTC should be extended to 50 street and then down to 23 avenue and east to the The Meadows Community Recreation Centre. Besides the overpass at AHD is only two lanes so another bridge would have to be built why not make it an LRT bridge.

 

[Edmcowboy11]

Oh contra. I think this is one of his better suggestions. The 66 r/w is very wide capable of four lanes of traffic and The Valley line. The stub to MWTC should be extended to 50 street and then down to 23 avenue and east to the The Meadows Community Recreation Centre. Besides the overpass at AHD is only two lanes so another bridge would have to be built why not make it an LRT bridge.
View attachment 578480

I like this idea as it would bring in a ton of people in and out of that area. The neighborhood in that area has been growing in leaps and bounds, hence the new high school set open there.

As for Reece's video as a whole, it was created to feature Edmonton to a much wider audience and illustrate the successes we have had here. If there was an error or two in pronunciation, we'll that's the way it goes, definitely that's being nit picky. Remember even on the Valley Line train they pronounced Muttart as Mutt art. By the way, they have changed the in train announcements to use the more common pronunciation.

 

[archited]

The correct pronunciation for Muttart is Muh-tart with the accent on the second syllable.

 

[The_Cat]

Give @Reecemartin some benefit of the doubt. He may not have complete knowledge of the City of Edmonton, but I think his video raises some interesting ideas. As knowledgeable as @Reecemartin is about the news on LRT, he may not have info on St. Albert's LRT plans. I'm glad that he's discussing some ideas for Alberta's HSR and transit.

 

[The_Cat]

I like the idea of the SE LRT going to the Meadows even if it’s the Laurels (being far south). An LRT on 23 Avenue to Century Park would provide another connection, and it would probably wouldn’t be that expensive, given that the only bridge would be on Gateway.

 

[Seamusmuldrew]

I figured since I got @'d I would come here and reply. I was surprised that there was so much negative reaction to the video I made (and spent quite a bit of time on) if I'm honest, but I guess I figured it would be more openly received - after all I've made ones with much more dramatic suggestions for larger Canadian cities with more established transit systems.



I'll just say to this that I find the assertion that I just make a video with 0 research difficult to respond to. I have made videos about cities all around the world - including ones that I think many people are not even aware of having large transit networks like Bangkok, Valencia, and Santiago - but, its assumed that I draw the line at researching Edmonton when I make a video? I have family in Edmonton and I'm here on the local urban forum and have been for years - I'm just not sure where the sense that I just looked at a map and started drawing came from.

When you make videos about cities in numerous countries and you are constantly "context switching" or whatever sometimes you may not say the street names the way locals do - a lot of cities have street names with the format "X northwest" etc., simply spending time in the city is not going to make it so you forever pronounce things the local way.

With regard to there not being passionate people - there's loads of people on here, and loads of people I've met IRL, I guess my idea of a lot isn't . . . correct?



I don't think the point of the video was to suggest that every idea that is currently proposed is bad!



I have an old friend who works on the catenary who has suggested otherwise, and based on the engineers I've talked to this is not the case - speed limit is much lower than that, the poles being closer together is inherent to the design.



Using different contact in tunnels is common, I haven't looked at it in the tunnel in quite some time, but I assumed it was semi-rigid (which of course still has a "wire") which is common around the world. Lower speeds are usually ok in a city centre tunnel with fairly tight spacings, and mounting is typically much more rigid.



The OCS definitely supports lower speeds without a support wire, the frequency of poles does not mitigate for that. Single wire design is common for low speed trams and depots, without a support wire you are going to have lower allowable speeds - "At the other end of the scale, a tram depot may have just a single wire hung directly from insulated supports. As a pantograph passes along it, the wire can be seen to rise and fall." - the amount of tensioning possible through the supports is limited (it tends to largely come from the panto). Some good reading for those interested here:

https://www.arema.org/files/pubs/pgre/PGChapter9.pdf

http://www.railway-technical.com/infrastructure/electric-traction-power.html (Piers Connor is great)



Most land west of Sherwood park is industrial so you're going to be going past industry no matter what. Going from the south means not being able to have as fast of a right of way (or as nice of one for that matter) for the rest of the trip.

The high floor trains are indeed better suited for suburban trips - but that's not an arbitrary thing, the trains are literally capable of higher speeds (especially with upgraded suspension) and are substantially higher capacity, which I think are both pretty important considerations for any suburban service. Routing off of the rail row on the Capital Line is also very nice because it has probably the most flexibility and long term potential capacity of any above ground section of rail on the network.



Yes I am aware, I have a friend who did a bunch of planning work for Fort Sask. if Edmonton could get the price to build "LRT" down a single tracked line out there would not be unprecedented globally, loads of places in Europe have electric rail in similar contexts.

-------------------------------------------

I am sorry that folks seem to think I came in scattershot and without enough local knowledge (or I guess I didn't communicate that I am familiar with Edmonton, I've even made a number of videos on the region in the past). I'll stick to Toronto and Vancouver going forward. Ciao.

@Reecemartin I just want to thank you for taking many precious hours to research our city’s system and propose a possible plan that is meant to outline how we should go about building transit in the future. You can’t possibly know everything about the transit situation, and I’m not sure why people expect the most detailed and perfect video from a non-local, especially considering we don’t have any local transit YouTubers. If you’ve looked on any thread on here, you’ll notice that some people are impossible to please about literally anything but don’t let that cloud those of us who, despite maybe not 100% agreeing, really appreciate your content on our often ignored city. It’s your perspective, and while everyone has a right to disagree, I don’t think it’s necessary to tear the video apart, especially about the pronunciation of a hospital that has very little to do with the point of the video, or saying “northwest” because how dare you say that when it says NW. Again, thank you, and please don’t be too discouraged by the perpetually unimpressed crowd.

 

[Platinum107]

I figured since I got @'d I would come here and reply. I was surprised that there was so much negative reaction to the video I made (and spent quite a bit of time on) if I'm honest, but I guess I figured it would be more openly received - after all I've made ones with much more dramatic suggestions for larger Canadian cities with more established transit systems.



I'll just say to this that I find the assertion that I just make a video with 0 research difficult to respond to. I have made videos about cities all around the world - including ones that I think many people are not even aware of having large transit networks like Bangkok, Valencia, and Santiago - but, its assumed that I draw the line at researching Edmonton when I make a video? I have family in Edmonton and I'm here on the local urban forum and have been for years - I'm just not sure where the sense that I just looked at a map and started drawing came from.

When you make videos about cities in numerous countries and you are constantly "context switching" or whatever sometimes you may not say the street names the way locals do - a lot of cities have street names with the format "X northwest" etc., simply spending time in the city is not going to make it so you forever pronounce things the local way.

With regard to there not being passionate people - there's loads of people on here, and loads of people I've met IRL, I guess my idea of a lot isn't . . . correct?



I don't think the point of the video was to suggest that every idea that is currently proposed is bad!



I have an old friend who works on the catenary who has suggested otherwise, and based on the engineers I've talked to this is not the case - speed limit is much lower than that, the poles being closer together is inherent to the design.



Using different contact in tunnels is common, I haven't looked at it in the tunnel in quite some time, but I assumed it was semi-rigid (which of course still has a "wire") which is common around the world. Lower speeds are usually ok in a city centre tunnel with fairly tight spacings, and mounting is typically much more rigid.



The OCS definitely supports lower speeds without a support wire, the frequency of poles does not mitigate for that. Single wire design is common for low speed trams and depots, without a support wire you are going to have lower allowable speeds - "At the other end of the scale, a tram depot may have just a single wire hung directly from insulated supports. As a pantograph passes along it, the wire can be seen to rise and fall." - the amount of tensioning possible through the supports is limited (it tends to largely come from the panto). Some good reading for those interested here:

https://www.arema.org/files/pubs/pgre/PGChapter9.pdf

http://www.railway-technical.com/infrastructure/electric-traction-power.html (Piers Connor is great)



Most land west of Sherwood park is industrial so you're going to be going past industry no matter what. Going from the south means not being able to have as fast of a right of way (or as nice of one for that matter) for the rest of the trip.

The high floor trains are indeed better suited for suburban trips - but that's not an arbitrary thing, the trains are literally capable of higher speeds (especially with upgraded suspension) and are substantially higher capacity, which I think are both pretty important considerations for any suburban service. Routing off of the rail row on the Capital Line is also very nice because it has probably the most flexibility and long term potential capacity of any above ground section of rail on the network.



Yes I am aware, I have a friend who did a bunch of planning work for Fort Sask. if Edmonton could get the price to build "LRT" down a single tracked line out there would not be unprecedented globally, loads of places in Europe have electric rail in similar contexts.

-------------------------------------------

I am sorry that folks seem to think I came in scattershot and without enough local knowledge (or I guess I didn't communicate that I am familiar with Edmonton, I've even made a number of videos on the region in the past). I'll stick to Toronto and Vancouver going forward. Ciao.

Thanks for taking the time to respond to this form, Reece. Please, for the love of God, do not take the opinions of the form posts as the overall opinion on you or your content here, because it isn't. Most people do just like and move on, which was me for a while, too. And Please, please, please keep caring about Edmonton, your perspective like anybody else's is appreciated and respected.

In a lot of ways, caring so much about and having a degree of in-depth knowledge about urban systems and transit is a gift and curse imo. It's great that we have a community here to share information and have valuable discussions, heck this form is partially what influenced me to pursue Urban Planning in my post-secondary studies. With that said, I believe that, at times, we lose the forest for the trees when it comes to bigger picture of all of this. For example, If you know about the exact specifications of LRT catenary poles and recognized that Reece may have not been 100% correct in his assertions, that's great and good for you, but in my view that's more of a "let me make a mental note of that" moment rather than something worthy of putting him on blast for.

I get and understand why details are important, and there's a time to be nit-picky, but I fully believe that this wasn't the time, guys.

 

[chrisvazquez7]

Thanks for taking the time to respond to this form, Reece. Please, for the love of God, do not take the opinions of the form posts as the overall opinion on you or your content here, because it isn't. Most people do just like and move on, which was me for a while, too. And Please, please, please keep caring about Edmonton, your perspective like anybody else's is appreciated and respected.

In a lot of ways, caring so much about and having a degree of in-depth knowledge about urban systems and transit is a gift and curse IMO. It's great that we have a community here to share information and have valuable discussions, heck this form is partially what influenced me to pursue Urban Planning in my post-secondary studies. With that said, I believe that, at times, we might lose the forest for the trees when it comes to bigger picture of all of this. For example, If you know about the exact specifications of LRT catenary poles and recognized that Reece may have not been 100% correct in his assertions, that's great and good for you, but in my view that's more of a "let me make a mental note of that" moment rather than something worthy of putting him on blast for.

I get and understand why details are important, and there's a time to be nit-picky, but I fully believe that this wasn't the time, guys.

Um… I’m not sure if this is the right time to be nit-picky, but it’s “forum”, not “form”.

 

[dunno]

Thanks for taking the time to respond to this form, Reece. Please, for the love of God, do not take the opinions of the form posts as the overall opinion on you or your content here, because it isn't. Most people do just like and move on, which was me for a while, too. And Please, please, please keep caring about Edmonton, your perspective like anybody else's is appreciated and respected.

In a lot of ways, caring so much about and having a degree of in-depth knowledge about urban systems and transit is a gift and curse imo. It's great that we have a community here to share information and have valuable discussions, heck this form is partially what influenced me to pursue Urban Planning in my post-secondary studies. With that said, I believe that, at times, we lose the forest for the trees when it comes to bigger picture of all of this. For example, If you know about the exact specifications of LRT catenary poles and recognized that Reece may have not been 100% correct in his assertions, that's great and good for you, but in my view that's more of a "let me make a mental note of that" moment rather than something worthy of putting him on blast for.

I get and understand why details are important, and there's a time to be nit-picky, but I fully believe that this wasn't the time, guys.

Why wasn’t this the time? Reece is sharing content in a public forum about a place he has never been. I have been criticized repeatedly over the years on forums just like this for nitpicky details. I would expect someone with Reece’s online presence to anticipate some criticism from time to time, and to not take it so personally that we have to flood him with pleading remarks to pump him back up. Anytime you post on the internet, you are opening yourself up to criticism.

Just as Reece is allowed to have his opinions about what Edmonton should have transit-wise, I am allowed to disagree or offer constructive criticism. This isn’t a personal knock against him or his character, but, again, a challenge for him to do better, and also to offer a different perspective. We should be allowed to offer something other than universal support and acclaim without someone crawling back with a tail between their legs stating they’ll just stick to Toronto and Montreal because one person critiqued their post. This is ridiculous.

 

[EdmTrekker]

“This isn’t a personal knock against him or his character, but, again, a challenge for him to do better, and also to offer a different perspective. ”

What an arrogant comment. I have relied on Reece’s videos for many of my travels throughout Europe and elsewhere. I use public transit where ever I travel as I live out of country and look for tips and tricks that I gleam from his vids. And while I value the work that Reece provides I don’t have the time of day for arrogant pricks that dunno a damn thing.

 

[thommyjo]

@Reecemartin very grateful for the video. Thanks for your encouragements and also challenges for ways our city can improve!

87ave connection/bridge seems like a massive opportunity, glad you mentioned it!

Not sure who crapped in some people’s cornflakes, but please ignore the unhelpful criticism. Appreciate the work done to learn a system and the nuances of potential future development options. Not easy.

Tons of love from us Edmontonians to you

 

[dunno]

“This isn’t a personal knock against him or his character, but, again, a challenge for him to do better, and also to offer a different perspective. ”

What an arrogant comment. I have relied on Reece’s videos for many of my travels throughout Europe and elsewhere. I use public transit where ever I travel as I live out of country and look for tips and tricks that I gleam from his vids. And while I value the work that Reece provides I don’t have the time of day for arrogant pricks that dunno a damn thing.

It seems like you do have time, since you replied to me.

Just because you disagree with me doesn’t mean I can’t share my opinion.

It seems like the near-unanimous idea here is that we shouldn’t criticize something someone puts on a public forum. It’s unhelpful or arrogant or whatever. Which is wild considering the years of criticism I’ve had thrown at me on this and other similar forums for years. I don’t agree with being blind yes men.

While I do think I should be allowed to state my piece without personal attacks, I think my presence here is more unwelcome than Reece’s. If anybody should be saying “ciao” it’s me. So… see ya. There’s like 2 projects happening and this forum would be even more empty without them so it’s not like I’m missing much. I can see the Falcon and Parks every day.

 

[erudyk_29]

I am allowed to disagree or offer constructive criticism.

You certainly are, and I think a lot of the points brought up are certainly valid, except for complaints about pronunciation and whether or not one says "northwest" when talking about road names.

I think the issue is that it doesn't come across as constructive criticism in your initial comment. It sounds like you're nit picking tiny details in order to attack his character, and make some point about how he cares less about Edmonton than other cities.

It's also very clear he isn't looking that closely at Edmonton

I'm not sure how much research he did, or what sources he used

I also think these comments are attempting to undermine the amount of work or research he put into the video, which he clearly did quite a bit, as I think he actually did a really good job considering he's never actually been here.

I guess to summarize, it feels like people are using the veil of constructive criticism to make some sort of point about how much he cares about Edmonton or Alberta. I think it's pretty clear he does, as he made this video. He hasn't done a video like this for any cities other than Toronto or Vancouver actually (none for Montreal, Calgary or Ottawa). Which shows that Edmonton is a city of particular interest.

Sure there are some flaws, and it's important to hold anyone and everyone to a high standard. I and most people I think have no problem with pointing out legitimate issues with the video like the the issues with the catenaries, though these are very minor, they are actual problems. But there's a difference between providing constructive criticism and questioning someone's intentions and over analyzing every single thing said for the tiniest little flaws such as pronunciation.

 

[Edmcowboy11]

I can definitely appreciate the time and effort it can take to create videos and manage a YouTube channel. With my little channel I try to do what I can to produce videos that are interesting and hopefully look good. They can take a whole lot of time and effort. Comparatively my video's are definitely not as nice as what he creates. Unfortunately sometimes though the tone of commenter's can sound harsh which regardless of how thick skinned one can be ( I'm pretty thick skinned) it still can be off putting to the person that has put all that work into their videos.