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Transportation in Edmonton
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 768 km2 (297 mi2), of which only two-thirds is built-up, while the metropolitan area covers around 9,430 km2 (3,640 mi2).
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.
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 and St. Albert operate their own public transit agencies and offer public transportation to and from neighbouring communities. The smaller city of Fort Saskatchewan contracts out bus services there to ETS.
In 1978, Edmonton became the first city with a population of under one million to operate a light rail 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. As of 2023[update], 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.
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) that operated a trolley bus 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 and St. Albert Transit.
Edmonton is connected to British Columbia and Saskatchewan via the Yellowhead Highway (Highway 16, or Yellowhead Trail within city limits), and to Calgary and Red Deer 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).
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Transportation in Edmonton
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 768 km2 (297 mi2), of which only two-thirds is built-up, while the metropolitan area covers around 9,430 km2 (3,640 mi2).
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.
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 and St. Albert operate their own public transit agencies and offer public transportation to and from neighbouring communities. The smaller city of Fort Saskatchewan contracts out bus services there to ETS.
In 1978, Edmonton became the first city with a population of under one million to operate a light rail 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. As of 2023[update], 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.
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) that operated a trolley bus 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 and St. Albert Transit.
Edmonton is connected to British Columbia and Saskatchewan via the Yellowhead Highway (Highway 16, or Yellowhead Trail within city limits), and to Calgary and Red Deer 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).