So beautiful, this line really is adding a lot to the areas it goes through! I hope that some new buildings could be built fronting the quarters stop, not getting rid of the old ones but just building on the empty lots or dilapidated buildings there.
 
It'd be cool if a fair free zone could be made in downtown like in Calgary, and ours would be even more extensive in the end too!
 
Platinum107 said:
It'd be cool if a fair free zone could be made in downtown like in Calgary, and ours would be even more extensive in the end too!
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After working in downtown Calgary for over 12 years and using the train almost every day, I can say - unequivocally - that this is absolutely essential to getting people to flow through downtown. It was so easy to hop on/hop off to go to client meetings, go for lunches, head to the Stampede Grounds (that's an extra stop but no one ever paid for that lol). It should never be anything different - it foments street-level activity and what I can assume gives a serious bump, especially to retail areas.
 
Welll . . . . Calgary's LRT free zone is basically 5 stations in the zone, if you include bi-directional stations. I think Edmonton's zone could easily hit five stations across the downtown core, especially if one includes that there are three lines at play (Metro, Capital, Valley).

Calgary's downtown has more taller buildings, but the heart of the core (basically 5th St. SW to Centre Street between 3rd Ave/Chinatown and 9th Ave) really isn't that much bigger than Edmonton's general core of activity. The more west you go in the free zone the more you hit residential/smaller offices. Additionally, Rogers Place would be very handy to have a free zone - especially in the dead of winter if you don't want to/can't park close enough by.

I think Edmonton could accomplish the same thing - especially if the city wants to attract more free-moving pedestrians around the core.
 
The_Cat said:
Perhaps other incentives could include all-day pass for use of the gondola, LRT and high-level streetcar (that will connect with the gondola and LRT.
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Do they offer free transit for students? When I was at U of C we had a the U-Pass that worked great. I think they should have a free zone passage for at least MacEwan, NAIT, and U of A students if they can't offer a free zone to everybody. Those are big campuses and it's the younger people living in central areas that spend money on bars and restaurants regularly in the core.

If I could get from U of A to Churchill Station for free as a student, that's incentive for me (if I was a student) to come downtown more often. Having some form of pass that could get me on the gondola and street car would be incredible IMO - being able to jump around easily.
 
Omega Prime said:
Do they offer free transit for students? When I was at U of C we had a the U-Pass that worked great. I think they should have a free zone passage for at least MacEwan, NAIT, and U of A students if they can't offer a free zone to everybody. Those are big campuses and it's the younger people living in central areas that spend money on bars and restaurants regularly in the core.
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Do we have free student transit? Kind of. All post-secondary students here have a U-Pass, which is rolled in as part of your tuition costs. You still pay for it, but it's a mandatory expense and is at an extreme discount when compared to monthly passes or tickets. This year's been a bit different owing to Covid, obviously, and it wasn't implemented since most students are at home. The current work around is allowing us to purchase and use "Youth" passes instead.
 
Omega Prime said:
Do they offer free transit for students? When I was at U of C we had a the U-Pass that worked great. I think they should have a free zone passage for at least MacEwan, NAIT, and U of A students if they can't offer a free zone to everybody. Those are big campuses and it's the younger people living in central areas that spend money on bars and restaurants regularly in the core.
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The U-pass, outside of Covid, at least, allowed this, and a lot more. U of A also had some sort of arrangement for staff that lets them ride for free between Main Campus and Enterprise Square, if i'm not mistaken. I loved having a U-pass, it was great. it opened up the whole city to you (provided buses went where you needed to go) there is an underground economy of them being resold, however. Some students refuse to ride transit, free or otherwise, which is cultural thing i should not even attempt to talk about here lol.
I think just making the Valley line free to ride from 96th street to 112th would work wonders, connecting Macewan with the rest of downtown better. The only reason i don't suggest the underground line is because of convenience; walking through the pedways, down to the platform, catching a train, and going back again is probably gonna be slower than just walking at street level. that being said, it certainly wouldn't hurt.
It would be great to have some kind of reduced fare in the central part of the city, from Health Sciences, NAIT, and 124 Street inwards, to support higher transit usage in these denser, less car-friendly areas. Could Edmonton bring in teired fare zones? I know with regional transit, smartfare, and commitments from Prairie Sky to tie fares into ETS somehow we'll end up with a pretty cohesive transit system from a ticketing perspective. maybe once things settle out in the next couple years there will be conversations about free fare zones and the like?
 
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102 st Station
 
I know it would be a long time before this happens, but I can't help but imagine how much of a power intersection that will become once Regency (or whomever) develops a tower on that vacant lot, Manulife podium is opened up and modernized, and the 102st stop completed and full of foot traffic 😍 Hopefully this will help make people feel safer when shopping there with all the added foot traffic. Also, is that just going to be a single, one way road adjacent to the line along 102 ave? Or are there supposed to be two lanes there? Sorry to derail (pun intended) the thread topic about the U-Pass btw! As a university student myself, it definitely gave me more incentive to explore the city and take transit. I think everything that everyone mentioned previously certainly will incentivise people to take transit and come to the core.
 
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