Roads In Edmonton
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Transport in Edmonton is fairly typical for a Canadian city of its size, involving air, rail, road and public transit. With very few natural barriers to growth and largely flat to gently rolling terrain bisected by a deep river valley, the city of Edmonton has expanded to cover an area of nearly , of which only two-thirds is built-up, while the metropolitan area covers around . This has resulted in a heavily private transportation-oriented transportation network typical of any other city of its size in North America. However, Edmonton does not have the extensive limited access freeway system typical of what one would find in a US metro area, and the road network is somewhat unusual in regard to access to downtown.


Public transportation

The Edmonton Transit System (ETS) is the primary public transportation agency, covering most parts of the city, but only within the City of Edmonton proper (with one exception). Neighbouring communities outside Edmonton's city limits such as
Sherwood Park Sherwood Park is a large hamlet in Alberta, Canada within Strathcona County that is recognized as an urban service area. It is adjacent to the City of Edmonton's eastern boundary. While long confined to generally south of Highway 16 ( Ye ...
and St. Albert operate their own public transit agencies and offer public transportation to and from neighbouring communities. The smaller city of
Fort Saskatchewan Fort Saskatchewan is a city along the North Saskatchewan River in Alberta, Canada. It is northeast of Edmonton, the provincial capital. It is part of the Edmonton Capital Region#Edmonton CMA, Edmonton census metropolitan area and one of 24 muni ...
contracts out bus services there to ETS.


Light rail

In 1978, Edmonton became the first city with a population of under one million to operate a
light rail Light rail (or light rail transit, abbreviated to LRT) is a form of passenger urban rail transit that uses rolling stock derived from tram technology National Conference of the Transportation Research Board while also having some features from ...
transit (LRT) system in North America. The LRT currently runs on three lines the Capital Line, the Metro Line, and the Valley Line extending 37.4 km. The system runs from Clareview Station in northeast Edmonton, across the North Saskatchewan River, to Century Park in the south; northwest from downtown to NAIT; and southeast from downtown to Mill Woods. Of the 29 stations on the network, five are underground, running through the downtown core and the University of Alberta main campus, one ( Churchill) has platforms both underground and at ground level, with the rest of the stations at ground level. , the city was constructing the extension of the Valley Line to the western parts of the city. A two-stop Capital Line extension to the Heritage Valley Transit Centre was under construction as well.


Buses

The ETS operates a fleet of well over 960 buses across the city with 180 regular routes. Edmonton was one of two cities in Canada (the other is
Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...
) that operated a
trolley bus A trolleybus (also known as trolley bus, trolley coach, trackless trolley, trackless tramin the 1910s and 1920sJoyce, J.; King, J. S.; and Newman, A. G. (1986). ''British Trolleybus Systems'', pp. 9, 12. London: Ian Allan Publishing. .or troll ...
system until service was discontinued in May 2009. The ETS also operates a specialized system for disabled people called DATS (Disabled Adult Transit System). Commuter service to Edmonton's suburbs is provided by
Strathcona County Transit Strathcona County Transit provides local, commuter, and school bus services to the community of Sherwood Park, Alberta, Canada, which is east of Edmonton in Strathcona County. Transportation for elderly citizens and people with disabilities is pr ...
and St. Albert Transit.


Roads and streets


Highways

Edmonton is connected to
British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...
and
Saskatchewan Saskatchewan is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada. It is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and to the south by the ...
via the
Yellowhead Highway The Yellowhead Highway () is a major interprovincial highway in Western Canada that runs from Winnipeg west to Graham Island off the coast of British Columbia via Saskatoon and Edmonton. It stretches across the four western provinces of Britis ...
( Highway 16, or Yellowhead Trail within city limits), and to
Calgary Calgary () is a major city in the Canadian province of Alberta. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806 making it the third-largest city and fifth-largest metropolitan area in C ...
and
Red Deer The red deer (''Cervus elaphus'') is one of the largest deer species. A male red deer is called a stag or Hart (deer), hart, and a female is called a doe or hind. The red deer inhabits most of Europe, the Caucasus Mountains region, Anatolia, Ir ...
via the Queen Elizabeth II Highway (known as Calgary Trail (southbound) or Gateway Boulevard (northbound) within city limits, on the alignment of the former
Calgary and Edmonton Trail The Calgary and Edmonton Trail was a land transport route between Fort Edmonton and Fort Calgary in the Northwest Territories. Prior to European contact, there was already a route through the area that local Indigenous peoples used to travel be ...
).


Freeways

Anthony Henday Drive is a main freeway that encircles the city which was completed in 2016. Whitemud Drive is an east–west freeway in the southern part of the city within the bounds of the Henday.
Sherwood Park Freeway Sherwood Park Freeway is a freeway that connects east Edmonton to Sherwood Park in Alberta, Canada. It begins in the Gainer Industrial area, where Argyll Road and 82 (Whyte) Avenue merge, before it intersects 50 Street. It then curves slig ...
is a 7.1 km freeway in east Edmonton. Yellowhead Trail, a major east-west road in north Edmonton, is currently being upgraded to a full controlled-access road which 0 at-grade intersection will be present.


Anthony Henday Drive

Anthony Henday Drive (Highway 216) is a ring road encircling the City of Edmonton completed on October 1, 2016. In a clockwise direction, the of free-flowing road spans from the Yellowhead Trail (Highway 16)/Meridian Street in the east to Manning Drive Highway 15 in the northeast. The southeast leg from Calgary Trail/Gateway Boulevard to Highway 14 opened on October 23, 2007. The northwest leg of Anthony Henday Drive from Yellowhead Trail in the west to Manning Drive in the northeast opened on November 1, 2011. The remaining leg in the northeast, from Manning Drive to the Yellowhead Highway in east Edmonton, began construction in 2012, and was completed on October 1, 2016.


Street layout

Edmonton's roads were originally all named (as opposed to numbered) and arranged so that roads titled "avenues" ran north–south and "streets" ran east–west. The first move to a grid-style system began as the city expanded west the streets west of Queens Avenue were switched to run on a north–south orientation with 1st Street (now 101 Street) being west of Queens Avenue, and the street numbers increasing further west (i.e. 10 Street was one block west of 9 Street). West of Queens Avenue, the avenues also switched (running in an east–west direction); although, unlike the streets, the avenues were not numbered. This led to a confusing situation with avenues becoming streets despite no change in direction. For example, Mackenzie Avenue (now 104 Ave) became Boyle Street west of Queens Avenue, and Athabasca Avenue (now 102 Ave) became Elizabeth Street west of Queens Avenue. The city of Strathcona had adopted a grid and quadrant system before its amalgamation with Edmonton, with the city being centred on Main Street (now 104 Street) and Whyte Avenue (also named 82 Avenue). This street system was similar to that of present-day
Calgary Calgary () is a major city in the Canadian province of Alberta. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806 making it the third-largest city and fifth-largest metropolitan area in C ...
's system, having NW, NE, SW and SE quadrants. Strathcona's grid/quadrant system was abandoned in 1914. In 1914, following amalgamation with Strathcona, Edmonton adopted a new street numbering system, which with a few small modifications is still in use. The centre of the city, Jasper Avenue and 101 Street, was set as the starting point. Jasper Avenue was one of the few streets that was not assigned a number. The other avenues were numbered as if Jasper Avenue (between 124 Street and 97 Street) had been 101 Avenue. Several other streets have maintained their names despite having been reassigned as numbers these include but are not limited to Whyte (82) Avenue, Norwood Boulevard (111 Avenue), and Alberta (118) Avenue, while others were given new names over time, such as Rue Hull (99) Street which is a segment of what used to be Queens Avenue. Avenues run east and west; streets run north and south. Avenue numbers increase to the north; street numbers increase to the west. When a street lies between two numbered streets, letters are appended as suffixes. For example, 107A Avenue lies between 107 Avenue and 108 Avenue. Occasionally the letter B will be used and more rarely C, to denote multiple streets between 2 different street numbers. For example, 17A, 17B and 17C Avenues all lie between 17 Avenue and 18 Avenue. Houses with odd numbers are on the east side of a street or the south side of an avenue. Dropping the last two digits of a house number tells what two streets or avenues the house lies between, for example 8023 135A Avenue is between 80 Street and 81 Street, and 13602 100 Street is between 136 Avenue and 137 Avenue. As the city grew in the 1980s, it began to run out of street numbers in the east, and avenue numbers in the south. Therefore, in 1982 a quadrant system was adopted. Quadrant Avenue (1 Avenue; only constructed west of the river) and Meridian Street (0 Street) divide the city into four quadrants: northwest (NW), southwest (SW), northeast (NE) and southeast (SE). The vast majority of the city falls within the northwest quadrant, 105 Avenue SW (Highway 19) being the south boundary, 33 Street NE being the farthest east the city extends, while in the other direction the city extends west of 200 Street NW and north of 200 Avenue NW. All Edmonton streets now officially have their quadrant included at the end of their names, but it is usual even on official signage to omit the "NW" especially when there is no possibility of confusion with a street in another quadrant. The city's emergency services, however, have begun to encourage residents to get into the habit of using quadrants in all addresses.


Airports

Edmonton is served by one major and several smaller general aviation airports. The largest airport,
Edmonton International Airport Edmonton International Airport , officially branded YEG Edmonton International Airport since 2022, is the primary air passenger and air cargo facility in the Edmonton Metropolitan Region of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian pro ...
is located south of the city limits, near the city of Leduc. It is the fifth busiest airport in Canada, with 8 million passengers using the facilities in 2015. Edmonton has scheduled daily non-stop service to all major Canadian cities and several major US hubs including Denver, Las Vegas, Minneapolis, Phoenix and Seattle. Seasonal destinations include various Mexican and Caribbean resorts as well as Hawaii. Edmonton Airports controls Edmonton International, and Villeneuve Airport, which primarily provides
general aviation General aviation (GA) is defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as all civil aviation aircraft operations except for commercial air transport or aerial work, which is defined as specialized aviation services for other ...
and
flight training Flight training is a course of study used when learning to pilot an aircraft. The overall purpose of primary and intermediate flight training is the acquisition and honing of basic airmanship skills. Flight training can be conducted under a str ...
services. Edmonton is located geographically closer to many destinations in Europe and Asia than the airports in Calgary, Vancouver, Winnipeg as well as points in Western United States. Edmonton International Airport is the future home of an
inland port An inland port is a port on an inland waterway, such as a river, lake, or canal, which may or may not be connected to the sea. The term "inland port" is also used to refer to a dry port. Examples The United States Army Corps of Engineers publ ...
logistics support facility in support of the Port Alberta initiative. The port is designed to provide a comprehensive shipping hub connection rail, air, and naval cargo shipments through the Port of Prince Rupert.


Inter-city rail

Edmonton railway station is served by
Via Rail Via Rail Canada Inc. (), operating as Via Rail or Via (stylized as VIA Rail), is a Canadian Crown corporation that operates intercity passenger rail service in Canada. As of December 2023, Via Rail operates 406 trains per week across eight ...
trains on their transcontinental service ''
The Canadian ''The Canadian'' () is a transcontinental passenger train operated by Via Rail with service between Union Station in Toronto, Ontario, and Pacific Central Station in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Canadian Pacific introduced this serv ...
''. Westbound trains of ''The Canadian'' continue toward
Jasper, Alberta Jasper is a specialized municipality and townsite in western Alberta within the Canadian Rockies. The townsite is in the Athabasca River valley and is the commercial centre of Jasper National Park. History Established in 1813, Jasper ...
, while eastbound trains run toward
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan Saskatoon () is the largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It straddles a bend in the South Saskatchewan River in the central region of the province. It is located along the Trans-Canada Hig ...
. The station is about 6 km from the centre of the city. Formerly, the Via trains arrived at the
CN Tower The CN Tower () is a communications and observation tower in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Completed in 1976, it is located in downtown Toronto, built on the former Railway Lands. Its name "CN" referred to Canadian National, the railway co ...
downtown, in the Old Canadian National rail yard, but the downtown trackage has been abandoned to the LRT and new urban development. The High Level Bridge, formerly CPR's route into the downtown, is used in the summer for historical streetcars.


Bicycle and pedestrian

Edmonton has an extensive multi-use trail system totaling over 150 kilometres in length, 130 of which lie within the
North Saskatchewan River valley parks system The North Saskatchewan River valley parks system, also known as the Ribbon of Green or the River Valley Parks, is a continuous collection of urban parks around the North Saskatchewan River valley in the Edmonton Metropolitan Region of Alberta, Can ...
. The unpaved trail network is even more extensive — 420 kilometres in total. The city also has 105 km of signed street bike paths across the city with protected crossings. Edmonton has an indoor pedway system connecting the
Edmonton City Centre Edmonton City Centre is a shopping mall in the downtown core of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, across the street (west) from Churchill Square. History In 1974, the City Centre Place office tower (Oxford Tower) was completed within the larger Edmon ...
mall, the Stanley A. Milner Library, the LRT system and other commercial office buildings in its downtown core. The pedway system runs above ground, at-grade as well as underground.


Funicular

The
100 Street Funicular The 100 Street Funicular is an inclined elevator in Edmonton, Alberta. It connects 100 Street in Downtown Edmonton with Louise McKinney Riverfront Park, which is part of Edmonton's North Saskatchewan River valley parks system. Design The ...
beside Hotel Macdonald connects
Downtown Edmonton Downtown Edmonton is the central business district of Edmonton, Alberta. Located at the geographical centre of the city, the downtown area is bounded by 109 Street to the west, 105 Avenue to the north, 97 Street to the east, 97 Avenue and Rossdale ...
with the river valley.


See also

*


References


External links


Edmonton Transit System
{{DEFAULTSORT:Transportation In Edmonton