Edmonton mayor suggests reinjecting $5M to snow and ice budget to improve access to transit
Natasha Riebe | CBC News | Posted: October 11, 2023 11:01 PM | Last Updated: October 12, 2023
Advisory board also calls for clearer pathways to stop, more bus shelters
Edmonton may put more than $5 million back into its snow and ice clearing budget over the next three years to help make sidewalks and paths leading to transit stops safer.
Mayor Amarjeet Sohi suggested the idea, to add $5.114 million to the snow removal budget, in a motion on Wednesday after council's urban planning committee meeting discussed a projected dip in snow-clearing service this year.
Sohi said reinjecting funds will help create safer access to bus and LRT stations.
"This is investing in people," Sohi said at the meeting.
"This is investing in how people experience winter, this is investing in two core services: snow and ice and public transit."
Under the city's current budget, manually clearing areas at bus stops, paths and public amenities is projected to take up to 22 days, up from 13 days last year.
- Edmonton city councillors agree snow removal budget needs boost
- Edmonton's slow snow removal blamed on staff, budget shortages
Administration also said city sidewalks, parking lots, wheelchair ramps, bridges and, stairs could take six days up from four days in 2022.
Council as a whole is set to debate and vote on Sohi's suggestion at a meeting Oct. 24.
During budget talks last December, council rejected an ongoing increase to the current $61 million annual snow and ice clearing budget that enhanced service in 2022 and the first part of 2023.
Advisory board recommendations
The Edmonton Transit Service Advisory Board is also recommending the city make clearing paths and sidewalks a priority.
"It's always best that a pathway is clear of snow and ice just to make sure that all mobility users will not have the possibility of slipping and injuring themselves," Serena Tang, vice-chair of ETSAB, said after an urban planning committee meeting Wednesday.
Their findings are outlined in a report discussed Wednesday: A Review of Winter Mobility and Accessibility of Pathways to Transit Stops.
Board members also encourage more communication between city operations and Edmonton Transit Service to support cleared pathways near transit stops.
They're asking the city bus drivers to "strive for timeliness and adherence to posted schedules to maximize connections."
Sohi said he'd like to see a dedicated fund for improving service, and consider the option of allocating Epcor dividends between $7 million and $9 million a year to transit.
"We need to catch up," Sohi told news reporters after the meeting. "Population has grown but bus service has not kept up with population."
Members of ETSAB observed and recorded their own commutes to and from transit stations for two months before presenting their findings.
Future shelters
Another ETSAB recommendation that is that the city create more heated shelters or non-heated bus shelters at stops that currently only have signs or benches.
"The biggest takeaway from our data analysis is that winter commutes could be improved with the inclusion of infrastructure that will provide shelter from the cold," the report says.
Carrie Hotton-MacDonald, branch manager of the Edmonton Transit Service, said she has concerns with heated bus shelters, such as the expense and increased likelihood of vandalism.
Of Edmonton's 5,050 bus stops, about half have covered shelters, she added.
Vandalism up
In 2022, the city spent $456,000 repairing 1,600 glass panels in bus shelters that had been vandalized or damaged, Hotton-MacDonald said.
That's up from $394,000 in 2021 to repair 1,273 damaged panels, and $113,000 to fix 339 panels in 2018.
"Since the pandemic, we've seen it increase year over year. I think it correlates overall with what we're hearing and seeing related to security disorder," she said.
The design and material used in future transit shelters will likely change, she added.
ETS is working with the University of Alberta's urban planning department on a study to determine the amenities and design needed for the future.