~ EDMONTON ExAMINER - February 4, 2004

Report disputes merits of.city's trolley bus system

Five-day forecast -- Page 63 -

~Crashes knock2~,~

out trolley system"It's primarily because diesel

buses are roughly half the cost(to buy) oftrolleys," said consul­tant Bob Kreeb. The report alsoshows better diesel buses avail­able by 2008 will release feweremissions than the emissionscreated by power plants to runtrolley buses.

Ward 2 Coun. Allan Bolstad ­who has voiced concerns aboutshutting down the system ­called it a "strong report," but hewants to know ifthe city will buylow-emission diesel buses. Andthe chairman ofCitizens for Bet­ter Transit argued reduced noiseand no curb-side emissions fromtrolleys make them worth thecash. It will cost $388.7 million toreplace the trolley fleet in 2010compared with $368.9 million foran all-diesel system.

City trolley-bus riders got apossible taste ofthe future whenEdmonton's trolley systemstopped running yesterday.

Two separate vehicle crashesknocked out power to the 39 trol­ley buses at the beginning ofmorning rush hour, said cityspokesman David Schneider.

And that happened at thesame time several diesel busesdied in cold weather and sevenother buses were tied up shel­tering firefighters and condo­minium residents at a north-endfire, Schneider said.

"I think it's safe to say thetransit system (Yesterday) morn­ing was pretty much at its limit."

But next time the trolleys arepulled from service, it might beno accident. A report releasedthis week from an independentU.S. firm contracted to re-view Edmonton's trolley Pn-de wanns Canad.-anssystem shows the city could 'save $20 million in capital Keny Diotte - Page 11costs and another $1.5 mil­lion to $2 million a year inoperating costs if it dumpsthe trolley buses by 2010.

JENNIFER PARKSExaminer Staff

The long-standingenvironmental argument thattrolleybusesare~.thantheirdiesel counterparts, is challengedin a recent study by a consultanthiredby the ci~

liolleys cost more than dieselbuses, and will no longer have a"clean" advantage in 2CXJ7, whenall new diesel buses are requiredto emit 80 per cent less pollution,states the report by Booz AllenHamilton, which was presentedto the transit system advisoryboard last week.

'The results of the consultant'sreportmakea strong financial andenvironmental argument forpurchasing new diesels starting in2008," conceded WayneMandryk, manager of EdmontonThmsit

The city's 59 electric trolleyswere purchased in 1982 and willbe at the end of their expected lifein 2()10. Its 740 diesel buses arealso aging, with 40 per cent. ofthemover20years old. Thecost toreplace a trolley is about $900,(XX)and a new diesel· bus costsroughly half that, the report says.

It further states Edmontonwould save $20 million by 2010,and $1.5 million annuallythereafter, as the costs associatedwith maintaining trolleyinfrastructure - such as overheadlines and poles - are eliminated.

All trolley routes run throughthe downtown core. Some gowest to 156 Street, along 118Avenue to the Coliseum and asouthern leg to Southgate Mall.

Bob Clark of the EdmontonTrolley Coalition argues there'smore to the issue than the bottomline.

The heritage value of trolleys inEdmonton and environmental

factors, like noise and pollution,need careful consideration, hesays.

"We have a perfectly goodsystem here that does notpollute," says the retired transitplanner who helped to developEdmonton's trolley system in themid-70s.

He disputes the rePort's findingthat diesel buses are a cleanerform of public transit that willproduce less emissions thantrolleys in the future.

''Just because. you make aregulation doesn't mean it will beadhered to," he says. 'They'relooking at pollution produced at apower station, not emissions inthe street. Trolleys are electric anddo not pollute.

Kevin Brown, chair ofEdmonton Citizens For BetterTransit, is also wary of the report.

He says attempts to equate theharmfulness of power ,plantemissions kilometres away withwhat is speWed from the tail pipeofa dieselbus at street level, is likecomparing apples to oranges.

"Even if you've got emissionsproduced at a power plant, ifs notnear you The impact of the dieselemissions is still greater because itgets released on the street," heargues.

By 2020, says Mandryk, thetailpipe of a regulation diesel buswill produce .06 grams ofemissions per kilometre,considerably less than the 2.5grams released into the air at thepower station that produces theelectricity to run a trolley bus thesame distance.

Brown adds there's also nodisputing the noise factor: dieselbuses make twice the noise astrolleys as they pass throughneighbourhoods.

A public hearing will follow inApril.

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significant factor. Diesel exhaust isknown to be a strong carcinogen and acontributor to respiratory problems,heart disease and birth defects.

Diesel buses release their emissionsin the streets, where they are not onlyinhaled by pedestrians and transitusers, but also are drawn into nearbybuildings through ventilation systems.

The Canadian Government statesthere is no safe level of exposure toparticle emissions, and recommendsavoiding particle exposure. Theconsultants' report says very little aboutin-street emissions, focussing insteadon what it calls "area-wide" emissions.But the study does acknowledge thatpeople waiting at diesel bus stops areexposed to particle emissions up to 40times higher than the levels in ambientair.

The city is currently purchasingbetween 35 and 50 new diesel buses ayear to replace 25-year-old GM models.Before the stringent diesel exhauststandards come into force in the 2008model year, the city will have finishedreplacing most of the old fleet and thatmeans Edmontonians won't see the'ultra-clean' diesels in any largenumbers until about 2028. Eighteenyears is a long time to suffer dirtydiesels on Edmonton streets on thepromise it will get better.

The study claims diesel prices will"remain stable for the foreseeablefuture" but anybody who fills up theircar at a fuel pump will know dieselprices fluctuate with world oil prices.For the past three years, city councilhas had to inject additional funds intothe city budget to

..

old trolleys with a diesel fleet that ishalf brand new - hardly a fairmeasurement. And the report fails toexamine life cycle costs, of trolleysversus diesel buses.

The group argues there are too manyfuture unknowns like oil prices tocertain that abandoning trolleys is thecorrect course to follow. They say theexisting system should be retained ­and they're right.

Although their operations are lessflexible than that of motor buses, trolleybuses are much quieter and lesspolluting. They also operate better onhills, can require lower maintenanceand are tend to be longer lasting thanmotor buses. Modern trolley buses havean auxiliary power unit (APU) , whichallows the buses to travel off-wire forseveral blocks and avoid anythingblocking their normal route, such as anexcavation in the street or a street fair.Modern trolleys are also low floor,enabling persons with mobilitychallenges to board and exit moreeasily.

The study contains no noise impactassessment and, for anyone living orworking right next to a bus route, thehigher noise generated by diesels is a

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study's conclusions are notcomprehensive enough. "A fairevaluation just cannot be made withoutsomething more complete andbalanced," says spokesperson KevinBrown.

He is exactly right. Despite thestudy's fixation on costs, the 57-pagedocument fails to assess the value of thetrolley infrastructure, with 140kilometres of wire, 4,600 poles andeight power substations, as a capitalasset. When Vancouver conducted astudy into its trolley system, it placed avalue of $184 million on itsinfrastructure and that value was afactor in the city's recent decision topurchase 228 new trolley buses.

The Edmonton study looks atexpenditures for trolleys and diesels,expressed as a cost per kilometre, butthis is only half the story. The cost perpassenger and revenues earned bytrolleys were not evaluated and they arenecessary to compare the financialperformance of the trolley systemagainst the diesel system or the transitsystem as a whole.

Citizens for Better Transit also notesthat the study's maintenance costanalysis compares operating 23 year

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Edmonton's electric trolley bussystem -- one of only two remaining inCanada ,- may well be on its last legs. Areport by an American consulting firmcommissioned by the city's AssetManagement Department concludesthat trolleys cost more to operate andraises the possibility that Edmontonwould be better off abandoning thetrolley system. But the report fails toexamine several factors and Citizens forBetter Transit, an Edmonton not-for­profit organization, believes thoseinadequacies cast doubt on theobjective value of the study.

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and comprehensivecost-atid Impactanalysis,~there's-nogood reason Edmontoncannot do the same. Trolleys are a rich andvaluable part of Edmonton's past and theyshould be a rich and valuable part of itsfuture. The ears, the lungs, the health andthe wallets of citizens depend on it.

The iSsue goes before city council'sTransportation and Public WorksCommittee on Tuesday, March 16th andpublic hearings maybe held in April. ITyoufeel strongly about trolley buses, I'dencourage you to speak out. EdmontonTransit seems to be on a misguided courseto eliminate the cleanest and quietest busesfrom city streets.

Call or write your City Councillor or theMayor's Office; Contact the CitizensAction Centre at 496-8200, by fax at 496­8210 or by electronic mail atcacentre@edmonton.ca. For furtherinformation on how to speak to Council orfor details on the scheduled meetings, callthe City Clerk's Office at 496-8178 orcontact them bye-mail at:civic.agencies@edmonton.ca

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Trolley Buses Under ThreatContinued from page 4

cover the rising costs of diesel fuel.Electricity prices can be negotiated onlong-term contracts, where there is betterstability.

Edmonton's Transportation MasterPlan, adopted by Council in 1999, pledgesthat the impacts of transportation on thecommunity will be reduced or mitigated.But replacing trolleys with diesels wouldactually increase environmental impact,adding noise and vehicle emissions to ourstreets.

The report states that trolley use is in adownward trend and cites Hamilton's andToronto's decisions to shut down theirsystems in 1992 and 1993. But thedocument neglects to mention thatToronto Transit Commission ChairHoward Moscoe later called the move a"regrettable mistake."

North American cities, includingVancouver, Seattle, San Fransisco, Bostonand Dayton, Ohio are expanding theirtrolley systems. Vancouver has just ordered228 new wheelchair accessible electrictrolleys from New Flyer Industries ofWinnipeg. Neoplan USA is supplying 28buses to Boston, while Maryland-basedElectric Transit Inc. has recently providedtrolleys for San Francisco and Dayton, Ohio.

When all the beans are counted andthe city bases its decision on a complete

I

THE EDMONTON EXAMINER - March 3, 2004 315

Community groups call trolley report one-sidedJENNIFER PARKSExaminer Staff

Several community groups are angeredby findings in an independent report thatcould drive a decision by council to doaway with Edmonton's trolley bus systemin favour of diesel buses.

Bob Clark, a retired city transit workerand member of the Edmonton TrolleyCoalition, thinks critics of the Bo02 AllenHamilton trolley study, released inJanu~ have a strong case for saving thecity's trolleys.

They will present their case at the nexttransportation and public workscommittee meeting on March 16.

"If common sense is going to prevailthen we have every case," he says.

A recent statement by the Citizens forBetter Transit, an Edmonton-based non­profit group, denounced the trolley studyas one-sided.

In January, Bo02 Allen Hamiltonreleased a city-commissioned reportwhich provided a cost comparison andenvironmental impact assessment ofEdmonton's trolley and diesel bussystems.

The report stopped short ofrecommending retirement of the city'saging trolley fleet, but noted by 2007 themore costly, environmentally-friendlytrolleys will no longer have the clean

'advantage over new diesels, which bythen will be required to emit 80 per centless pollution.

It further stated the city could save $20million by 2010 and $1.5 million annuallyafterward, as the trolley system, includingoverhead poles and wiring, is dismantled.

The city's transit department hasalready acknowledged there is a strongfinancial and environmental argument forbuying the new diesels. The current cost ofreplacing a trolley is about $900,000 and a

"If common sense isgoing to prevail, then we

have every case:'

- Bob Clark,Edmonton Trolley Coalition

new diesel bus costs roughly half of that,states the report.

Community groups argue thateliminating trolley bus infrastructure ­which includes 140 kilometres of wire,4,600 poles and eight power substations ­would result in a loss of millions of dollarsin capital assets.

"Vancouver's system was valued at$184 million, and this was a factor in theirrecent decision to buy new trolleys.Edmonton's system is about half the size,"says Kevin Brown, spokesperson forCitizens for Better Transit.

He also argues the report'senvironmental impact analysis is a"numbers show," that incongruentlycompares "area-wide" emissionsproduced by the trolley system at powerplants with emissions produced at streetlevel by diesel buses.

"(The report) compares quantities ofemissions from power plants far outsidethe city to in-street diesel fumes andconcludes that 2007 standards will makediesels 'cleaner' than power plants. Thestudy did not include refinery emissionsfor diesel fuel as part of its analysis. It'sgood to know that the 2007 standards willreduce diesel emissions but (they) will stillbe in the streets," says Brown.

The Canadian government has statedthere is no safe level of exposure to particleemissions and recommends avoidingparticle exposure, Brown further notes.

"When I first heard of the idea of more noise and pollution~ trolleys.scrapping the trolleys in this day and age, "We would be really sad to see Route 7,it struck me as being an obscene idea. I still which goes from Belgravia downtown andthink it's obscene," says Clark from the Jasper Place, eliminated," says Unsworth.Edmonton Trolley Coalition. He argues the.l~~,bottom line is money

"We're in a position today where we're should be speflf)fo'::tdequately subsidizesensitive to the enviromnent and to add public transit, in Edmonton, like citiesmore diesel pollutant and switch from across Europe..what could be a renewable resource to a "I'd like to see the city buy more trolleysdepleting resource - oil- it just flies in the rather than taking them out," saysface of nature." Unsworth.

He says while new trolleys cost double Castle Downs resident Colin Ellis is allwhat a diesel bus costs, they cost half to for retiring trolleys in favour of dieseloperate. buses.

"As long as you're recouping that with He says the issue goes beyond cost andhigher productivity and lower ,cQSts -of environmentalcoJlcexps •,and is aboutoperation it's fine." ,equalaccess forcUld~ehs'

Clark says the report should, have In parts of'the city:!,where there 'is nolooked at the number., of passengers diesel bus service, Ellis says old~.l"citizens,serviced by trolleys versus diesels~'rather many, of whom hav~~t:ljsal>lli~~cio:notthan simply tallying cost per kilometre, have access to low~floorbusesoecause thewhich yields deceiving results. current trolley fleet does not have this

"Running in the dense city core, trolleys fe~ture..carry more passengers than many diesel ''''They're getting left behind. I've beenservices operating in the suburbs," says on'a bus early in December when twoClark. "The study should have looked at ladies were left behind with theirdaily passenger loads on trolleys, diesels walkers/' says Ellis. "1 just think it's beingand LRT and provided a system-wide looked at wrong. Trolleys are past theiraverage. That way you could tell how well prime _ they'!e exp~~tye",~dtrolleys are doing. It puts your costs in inc:onvenient."·:,'(;' ••.. .·;;,:;,:::,,;i;"~;"~;'~,,;;;:\,,;;-,

.' . ....,,>... ."::,:,'-.' , .-' " . '}~<~'~l):t~,'-¥:,::.,.,,_-<,,) ~":~'t'~~~:~:"""'''~'<'5-~:;~Y~~':}' ,,", "\,.",:,,..,

perspective." "~fO~,,hoW~X~'l"9P;t~;;ffltJ;his"~.~'Brown says council should learn from piOblemtha~.,~~;~~~esto.ifb.~3>~f

cities like Toronto, which retired its trolley' trolJe~eet:·;;\;"'""'C"f::~,>f~:~-"'·;,,,.t·o" ,,}<~

system when the goverIiment was ' "!tis importariftC)notet,rnlt~~trolle.ys,pushing natural gas vehicles as a "solution whiCh the cityW<>W9:~ 1:l-':J.m~·Utll~Yto pollution," but was then hit by rising decide to con~}1~?\7it.b;ioll~/wouldbemaintenance costs and could not revert low floor ·and eV'eiybit as accessible as theback to trolleys because their supporting current low floor diesel buSes that areinfrastructure had been dismantled. operating onIJ?Clny~downtoWniroutes

"Once dismantled you can't go back," now," says Brown." . 'says Brown. Th~ city's',' 59 electric trolleys were

, Belgravia Community League vice- purchased in 1982 and will be at the end ofpresident Martyn Unsworth says as the their expected"lifein2010. Its 740 dieselcity builds an economic case for the buses are also aging, ,with 40 per cent ofelimination of trolley buses, it is making a them over 20 years old.compromise because diesel buses create . Jparb4t...D............NLCOIII

EDMONTON JOURNAL CITYPLUS

• Plan would park trolleybuses

tee wrote in a report to council.Mayor Bill Smith said Thursday he

doesn't see a place for trolleys in the tran­sit system's future. ''As far as my under­standing ofit long term, Ican't see thembeing in ourplans for high-speed routeswith buses because we're going to havea combination of LRT and high-speedbus routes throughout the city," Smithsaid. "Over the next 10 years, I don'tthink they're going to fit."

EdmontonTransit's proposalwill go tocouncil's transportation committee onTuesday and is expected to be followedby a public hearing in earlyApril.

sodonnell@thejournal.canwest.com

STEPHAN HERBRIG, THE JOURNAL

Atrolley bus manoeuvres through traffic downtown on Thursday. Edmonton Transitis hoping to replace trolley buses with diesel buses over the next 10 years.

combustion, and they look less envi­ronmentally friendly, he said.

He said new emission standards fordiesel buses to be phased in by 2007are expected to cut exhaust emissionsbelow that generated by power plantsthat fuel electric buses.

Still, the city's transit advisory board,a committee set up to give EdmontonTransit and council advice, is urgingcouncil to avoid a hasty decision.

It is wrong for council and the city t~

base a decision on what some say isflawed and incomplete information in a$100,000 trolley report that Edmon­ton Transit commissioned, the commit-

SARAH O'DONNELLCivic Affairs Writer

EDMONTON

~ Diesel buses cheaper,transit officials say

-All trolley buses will be offcity streets1'>ysummerifcmmcilendorsesa planEd­mantonTransitsayswill savemore than$60 million over the next 10years.\ The trolleys have beenpartofthe city'stransportation landscape for nearly 65years.- But transit officials said Thursday ­they're convinced the financial savingsimd flexibility ofdiesel buses outweigh~yenvironmental ornostalgic reasonsfor keeping the trolleynetwork.! "We're trying to reduce the costsassociatedwith runningour transit sys­tem, which affects everybody in thiscit;y,"EdmontonTransitmanagerWayneMandryk said.

There are 59 working trolleys in the802 bus-fleet, though at best only 37trolleys operate alongseven routes dur­ingweekdayrush hours.-Cheaperdieselbuses make up the restQfthe fleet. Only three bus routes, run­ningthrough Belgravia,AlbertaAvenueand Inglewood, are serviced exclusive­lyby trolleys, Mandryk said.

"We're investing a lot ofmoney into aservice that serves a very small portiondfthe city."

Vancouver will be the only Canadiancity left using trolley buses if councilagrees to the change. But approval oftheplan is by no means certain.

A number ofvocal opponents are lin­ingup to urge council to keep the trolleysystem in place.

Tony Kernahan, a retired physics pro­fessor, says the city will be throwingaway millions ofdollars it has investedin the trolley system over the years.

"Yes, they're more expensive, butthey last longer," Kernahan said oftrol­leys.,''They're cleaner, they're less noisyand

people like them better. Not only that,there's zero emissions at street level."

Mandryk agreed trolleys do not gen­erate pollution at street level. But fac­tor in how the electricity that drives thebuses is created, primarilythrough coal

lJe~ 9'.03 '/r-Unplugging

trolley systemamistake

Re: "Plan would park trolley bus­es,"Journal, March 12.

;, These are the reasons forkeepingthefleet of trolley buses from the pointofview ofa layperson:• We already have the infrastructurein place. Once it is gone, it will neverbe replaced in the eventthat there is achange ofmind by the decision-mak­ers at city hall. Edmonton's infra­structure has to.be worth mega-dol­lars and is already paid for. Where isthe sense oftrashing somethingvalu­able that still works well?• The argument that newdieselbuseswould have low floors for handi­capped loading is meaningless whenyou know that new trolleybuseshavethe same low floor capability.• Thebiggestbenefitoftrolleybuses isthe fact that there are no harmfulemissions where there are people.Diesel buses, even the new ones withlower emissions, spew out these pol­lutants on the streets and at the busstops in our city. The power plants,'while just as bad for the environmentas a whole, at least pollute the airwhere there are no large populations":which can be affected. People in our;citycomplainaboutsmellydieselbus­esbutIhave neverheard anyone inthe

,city complaining about the smellypower plants as a trolleybus goes by.• Anotherbenefit is the quiet runningof the electric trolley buses, which isappreciated by those who live andwork on the routes they serve. Noisepollution is also a factor worth con­sidering. If it is such a good idea toget rid of the trolley buses, then whyhave the administration not also ad­vocated getting rid ofLRT?

In this dayand age, whenwe are pol­luting our planet at ever-acceleratingrates, there can be nojustification forswapping our electricbuses for dieselones. We should be expanding thetrolley routes and service.

Nora Clark, St. Albert

EDMONTON JOURNAL March 17 2004

Public hearing delayed on fate of trolley buses

Public officials will consult with residents

BILL MAH Journal Staff Writer

EDMONTON

A public hearing to help decide the fate of Edmonton's trolley buses has been put offuntil transit officialscan consult with residents - months after council vetoed just such a public consultation.

The flip flop has delayed until at least June any decision council might make on a proposal to permanentlypark the trolley buses.

Edmonton Transit wanted council to endorse a plan they say will save more than $60 million over the next10 years.

Councillors on city hall's transportation and public works committee voted Tuesday against holding apublic hearing on the issue on April 8.

They sided with trolley advocates who appeared before the committee chiding the city for not talking tointerested groups before putting the controversial proposal to a hearing.

Members of the city's transit advisory board, a citizens' committee set up to give council and EdmontonTransit advice, say it's wrong to base a decision on what they called a flawed and incomplete $100,000report commissioned by Edmonton Transit.

"We caution you of the administration's push to make a hasty decision," said Debra Gillett, a boardspokeswoman.

But city manager Al Maurer reminded councilors that the same committee, with different councilors,decided against having a public consultation in September when they called for the consultant's report.

On Tuesday, the committee's new members ordered administration to delay holding a public hearing untilJune, so city officials can consult with committees and interested groups.

Short sighted for transit to abandonelectricity in favour ofdiesel

I lived in Holland during the SecondWorld War. Cities that had abandonedthe use of electricity in favour of themodern bus ended up without publictransport. The reason was a shortageofoil. The cities that retained their street­cars were able to maintain service.

In the world today, the so-called un­derdeveloped countries are starting todrive cars. China and Russia now havetraffic congestion. All this increases thedemand for oil.

Yet the discoveryofnew oilfields is notkeeping pace. The estimates are that inthe nextdecade the shortfallwill sharplyincrease the price of oil. Rationing isby price, and in Canada the price issetbyworld prices, regardless ofthe cost

ofproductionlocall~

Any form of energy can be convertedto electricity, such as coal, oil, gas, hydroand wind. To convert energy into oil isvery expensive, although Germany didconvert coal into oil during the SecondWorldWar. To expect hydrogen and fuelcells to provide the solution ignores theenergy required to produce hydrogen.

For Edmonton to abandon electrictraction with their trolleybuses is veryshort sighted. The city consultant's re­port estimates only a two cent price in­crease of diesel oil. A factor of two ismore likely! Sound public policywouldbe to electrify whatever can be electri­fiednow, starting with urban transit.Other possibilities are nuclear power at

the tar sands, rather than using naturalgas. It would be safer to use Candu re­actors in Canada than exporting thesereactors to unstable countries.

Abandoning trolleybuses, rather thaninvesting in logical extensions to \'VestEdmonton Mall and Northgate, is a de­cision Edmontonwill regret. Just lookatthe number of cities in North Americathat are now using light rail transit. Allof these cities abandoned streetcars inthe past, to their regret. It is very ex­pensive to reinstate infrastructure, onceit has been removed.

John J. Bakker, professor-emeritus ofcivil engineering, University of Alberta.and western Vice-president of Transport

2000, Eagle Bay, B. C.

Presto! Construction has made trolleybusesdisappear and the audience hasn'tnoticed

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1) The ability to independently bendthe topknuckle onall fingers, includingthe pinkies.

2) The ability to express antipathyand/or menace with an upward flickofthe left eyebrow.

3) The ability to smell diesel fumes attrace levels measured inparts pergazil­lion.

I've used myfirst ability, knucklebend­ing, to enlivendulldfunerparties. "Hey,betyou can't do this?!"

The second is a staple in my parent­ing repertoire, though its efficacy di­minished when my progeny beganbrow-flicking back.

The third talent is a curse. Ican'tcountthe number of times I've been the onlyone in the office to smelldieselexhaust.

Me: "Canyou smell that?"Them: "Smellwhat?"Ionceinquiredabouthowdiesel fumes

enter offices. It seems the stink from

idling transitbuses enters thebuilding'sair intake, snakes its way through heat­ing dUC1S,creeps ninja-like past securi­ty, then shoves itselfup my nose.

For this reason alone, I should be thecity's biggest critic ofdiesel transit bus­es. And I should be the city's No.1 fanofelectric trolleybuses.

Alas, I am neither. I am certainly notone ofthose peoplewho waxes roman­tic about Edmonton's trolleys, as ifthey're San Francisco streetcars.

I've ridden countless trolleys over theyears. And I've watched countless dri­vers mumblecountlesscursesas theyde­part thebus towrestle the danglingum-

bilical cords back onto the overheadwires.

I've ridden diesel buses countlesstimes, too. And I've ridden my bike be­hind dieselbuses, cursingthe greatbluecloud enveloping me and my nose.

ThusIremain tomonthewhole diesel­versus-trolleydiscussion,whichis aboutto rear its stinkyhead again. City coun­cil, this month, will discuss the fate ofEdmonton's trolleys for the umpteenthtime in their 65-year history.

The city transportation departmentrecommends trolleys finally be dis­patched to the scrap heap. Trolley pro­ponents are rallying their forces for apublic hearing on the matter June 22.

Trolley lovers argue correctly thatdieselbusescreatesmogandrelease un­healthyparticles into the airwebreathe.

Trolleys aren't lilywhite. They run onelectricity, generated in power plantsthatpollute. Buttheiradvocates saythatpollutionis differentbecauseit's notcon­centrated in a populated urban area.

See McKEEN / B6

- -- .........

McKEENContinued from Bl

These advocates also point out thatrolleys lastlongerand run quieter. They~ven argue that the publicsimplyenjoys·~lectrical buses more.So why is cityhall scrapping trolleys?

Well, money. Edmonton's trolley fleetisn't getting anyyounger and new trol­leys cost as much as $500,000 morethan diesel buses - each.Trolleysalso have troublesomequirks.

For one thing, they only go where thewires go. Altering routes is difficult.Road constructionandpoweroutages

render trolleys useless, meaninga dieselmust be kept on standby in the garagefor every trolley on the street.The city is regularly replacing its old

diesel buses with swanknew ones thatare far less polluting. It has also testedafter-marketanti-pollutiongadgets thatreduceparticleemissions byas much as70 percent.

Thecityargues itcansave $1.9 millionayearonoverheadwire maintenance iftrolleys are scrapped.

Factor in bus-replacement costs and

thesavings reach $60millioninthenext10years,

Thatmoneycouldbe invested inanti­pollutioncontrolsand inexpandingbusservice to attract new users to the sys­tem.

The potential to entice more peopleout of their cars and onto buses is real­ly the key issue here, because the pol­lution created by diesel buses in Ed­monton pales in comparison to that ofpersonal vehicles.

Ifscrapping trolleys gives cityhall theflexibility and the money to improveits fleet, expand its network and gainnewriders, everyone wins, eventhe en­vironment.

As for those unique talents I men­tioned at the beginningofthis column,well, itseemsEdmontonTransithas oneofits own: makingbuses disappear be­fore our very eyes.

Road constructionthis springhasdis­rupted trolleyroutes tothepointwherenot a single one is operating right now.In fact, there hasn'tbeena trolleyonEd­monton streets in three weeks.

Not one citizen has complained.smckeen@thejournal.canwest.com

.: The· city 'will have to spend an extra,$3"to-$4 million fuelling its vehicles if the recenti sur'~e in oil prices lasts to the end ofthe year, an of­:'ficiaI says..: "Ifthis spike stays, thenwe're in trouble," AlexLee,managerofmateriaIequipmentservices, said Mon­dayfollowing a meeting ofcouncil's transportationand public works committee.. Unrest in Iraq, rising demand and other factors1}ave combined topush the internationaI price ofoilup to $44 US a barrel, far higher than the city's

City's costs will soarifoil prices don't fall·GO RDO N KENT ~ Y. projected price of $31. Every dollar-per-barrel in- snowfalls increased the amount oftime snowplowsC iv ic Affa i rs Write r .OJ'. . crease boosts Edmonton's annuaI fuel expenses by and other equipment had to spend on the road, he

EDMONTON r;y $400,000. said.However, the city has only spent $200,000 more But he also credits part of the drop to the Fuel

than expected on gasoline and diesel for its 3,400 Sense program, which teaches civic employees en­trucks, buses and policecars so far thisyear, Lee said. ergy-efficient driving.

He's hopeful oil prices will start dropping, keep- He plans to reinforce that message as part of theing the cityclose to its $13.5-millionfuel budgetfor push to keep gasoline costs under control.2004. "We will try to remind all the operators in the

Although local pump prices have jumped city that the fuel price does have all impact on theto a record 88.9 cents per litre, the citybuys direct- bottom line ofthe city's tax base," he said.ly from local refineries and pays about 55 cents, "Beyond that, if this price stays up this high, thenLee said. we will need to formulate some strategy ... to say

TotaI fuel spending is still about $200,000 lower we have to cut back."thanitwasforthesameperiodlastyear, whenheavy gl1ellt@thejournal.canwest.com

or

AY, JUNE 21, 2004 / EDMONTON JOURNAL

Jx1Pulling the plug

on trolley-bus era

• A14

The city's fleet of59 trolleys have cre­ated some defining moments for Ed­montonians: the stoic courage ofa dri­verstrugglingtoalignandreconneethisbus's cableswithoverheadpower linesonabitterlycoldFebruarymorning; thesudden, silent surge ofenergy as thetrolley zips away froIl) the bus stop.

The trolleyshavebeenabigpartofEd­monton's streetscape since they firstrolled out in 1939.'But they are a luxury the city can no

longer afford.-The current trolleys, whichwere pur­

chased in 1982,'are scheduled for re­placementin2010 atacostof$900,000each, compared with $400,000 for adieselhus.

EdmontonTransitwillpresent its casefor scrapping the trolleys at a publichearing at city hall tomorrow.

It's a compelling argument, indeed.Opponents to theplanface a toughchal­lenge iftheyhopetopersuadecitycoun­cil to continue using trolleys.

EdmontonTransitestimates thatmov­ing to adiesel-onlyfleetwill save $60.7million over the next decade - mon­eythatcouldbe used to enhanceserviceorreplace older, smoke-belchingbuseswithnewlow-emission, lowfloor accessvehicles.,The department currently has more

than 800 buses in its fleet and replacesabout 35 of them eachyear.

The city has set a target of replacingbuses every 18 years, but Transit man­agerWayne Mandryk said the averagelifespan is about 28 years.

Thesavingsinclude $1.9 millionayearthat is spent to maintain overhead trol­ley lines, which would be removed. Ifthat money alone was added to thetransit budget, Mandryksaid, it wouldbe enough to provide bus service tonewly developed 'areas ofthe city.

The trolleysystem- one ofonly twoleft in Canada (the other is inVancou­ver) - is notoriously inefficient. Thesystemhasbeenshutdownfor a monthbecauseofroadconstruction. Blackouts

or traffic accidents can also bring trol­leys to a halt.

When the systemis operating, a max­imum of37 trolleys are on the road atpeakperiods. Theother22are garag~dfor cleaning or maintenance. Edmon­ton Transit has a staff of specially­trained electricalmechanicsjust to ser­vice the trolleys'and drivers, who nor­mallydrive diesels, cont:in.uallyrequirerefresher courses before taking thewheel ofa trolley. \

Butmorethanjust the trolleyfleet, Ed­monton Transit also has to set aside 37dieselbuses asbackups incase the trol­leysystemfails. Thatmeans onanygiv­enday96vehicles are tiedup, but37orfewer are ~n the road at anyone time.

At a timewhen cityfinances are tight,such inefficiencycan't be tolerated.

Earlier plans to scrapthe trolleys metwith strong opposition from environ­mental and other groups. They arguethat the trolleys are less polluting andquieter than their diesel counterparts.

But Mandryk counters that the trol­leys aren't'as environmentally friendly .as theyseembecause fossil fuels-coalor natural gas - are burned to gener­ate the electrical power for the trolleysystem.

Newregulations for dieselvehicles, headds, will also help reduce pollution.Starting in 2006, all diesel fuel sold inCanadawillbe "ultra-lowsulphur" andbeginning in 2007, tougher emissionstandards will cut nitrous oxide emis..sions from new diesel buses py 95 percent and particulate matter by 80 percent.

And a new hybrid technology ­dieseVelectric- is emergingwhich of­fers fuel efficiencyand evenloweremis­sions without the need for overheadwires.

The transit industry is seeing majorchanges that will make it more envi­ronmentallyfriendlyand costeffective.

Edmontoncan't afford to letnostalgiaprevent it from fully enjoying the ben­efits ofthat progress. .

•

B6 WEDNESDAY, JUNE 23,2004

Trolley issue arough ride·for. city transit managers

CIT YI

CII

KEITH GEREINCivic Affairs Writer

EDMONTON

. Transit managers receiv~daw roughrideThesdayfrom a group· ofdetermined residentsvyingto- save the city's trolleybuses from: the scrap heap.

In what may have been their· lastchance to catch citycouncil's· ear on the issue, close to 60 trol-

ley backers swarmed an after­w noon publiChearing to decryad­: ministration plans. to switch to~' all-diesel bUSes..o Wielding arguments ranging· from the economic to the envi-· ronmental, they spent nearly- four hours hammering at the· proposal, which could be put: into action as early as this sum­o mer.

"There was a time we used tow celebrate our trolley buses and• today city management would· sentence them to death," said· DougCowan, one of22 residents· to make a presentation during· the lively hearing. Not one of: them sided with transit man-

agers.The electrically powered vehi-

cles, which run on power lines· suspended above the street, have· been a part ofEdmonton's tran-· sit system for 65 years.

While there are only59 trolleysremaining in the city's fleet of

- 802 buses, getting rid of them· will save more than $60 million· overthe next 10years, managers· say. That includes both replace-

men!costs and the maintenanceofnetworkwires and poles.

Administratorshave alsopoint­ed out that diesel vehicles aremore accessible and reliable thantrolley buses, which often haveto be taken out ofservice due topowerdisruptions and construc­tionwork.

There are no trolleys runningin the city right now because ofsummer road maintenance,transit manager WayneMandryk told councillors.

Arecent surveyoftransit ridersfound 58per cent favoured go­ing,to all-diesel buses, while 30percentwanted to keep the trol­leys, he added.

That result, however, did not'reflect the mood ofthe residentswho showed up at City Hall onTuesday.

The trolleys are a historical as­set that could again become areal feature of Edmonton if thecitymanagers tooksomepride inthein, Cowan said.

"I'd like to see them painted intheir original red and greencolours. What a unique tourist at­traction that would be," he said.

Other residents went after theeconomic arguments, suggest­ing that the citycould cheaplyre­furbish some of the trolleysrather thanbUyingnewvehicles.It would be a good investment,because the electric buses lastlonger than theirdiesel counter­parts, Elizabeth Paschen said.

"Trolleys are as sustainable asPincherCreekwinds. DieSels are

not," she said.'Manyalso spoke about the en­

vironmentalbenefits oftrolleys,which are quieter and have noemissions.

"At a time when everyone issearching for environmentallyfriendly solutions"we've alreadygotone in ourownbackyard.Wedon'thave tobuild it," Inglewoodresident Terry Dejong said.

Cjty managers responded byreferring to a recentconsultant's .report which found that newdieselbuses comingonline inthenext few years will have just afraction of the toxic emissionsofthe m9dels currently in use.

In fact, the newbuseswillspewless pollution than the powerplants which generate the elec­tricityneeded for the trolleybus-es, the report said. .

That argument didn't sit well Jwith the trolley backers, who ,said the cityshould be most con­cernedwith the pollution on citystreets, not at the power plants.

Dieselfumes have helpedmakeEdmonton the "asthmacapital ofthe world," Aiko Lawrie said.

"There is a cost to having trol­leys, but there will be an evenbiggerprice paidbycitizenswhohave to breathe more diesel,"Paschen added.

The public hearing on the trol­leys' future will continue onJuly6 when councillorswill questioncitymanagers.Afinalvote ontheissue is tentativelyscheduledforJuly 13.kgerein@thejournal.canwest:com

I.

THE EDMON1;QN ExA~I;R -·July 14,~

Dismantling city trolleys abackward step, says Thiele

, 'eDtl-- 0&;' '-'

NewtrolleybusesdeselVe afair

road testNostalgia isn't drivingpush to keep system

Your editorial last Monday "Pullingthe plug on trolleybus era" cannot gounchallenged. It is full of half-truthsand implies that for the trolleybus sys­tem to be retained it could only do soforreasons ofnostalgia. Nothingcouldbe further from reality.

Has the editor (or transit) investi­gated the performance ofa modernstate-of-the-art trolleybus? If theywere to do so they would discover asilent, highlyefficient, low-~oorvehi­Cle (either standard or artIculated)with zero emissions atstreetievel.Moreover it would be equipped withanauxili~power unit to permit op­erationaround roadworks, emergen-

,des etc. Its operating costs would beJess'than a diesel bus ofthe same vin­"-tage and itwould last longer.." The argument that because trolleys.nIDoneleetricitytheypollute as much,as diesels is ridiculous. Seven-hun­.dred-plus diesels on the streets con­,'stitute 700-plus potential sources ofI cancer not to mention discomfort:'(.orasthmasufferers. ,Whataboutpol­'l,utantsproducedin the extraction;;mdrj;efiningofoil? ~u~t as there cu:e clauns~pf reduced effilSsions from dIesel en­;gines after 2007, a ~ecentJour;tal a:-:tide discussed major reductIons m~missionsassociatedwithcoaland oil- ,,fired generating stations within the;~extfew years. . .,I' One thing that is not mentIoned IS_the cost and availability of oil (andhence diesel). The $40-a-barrel price

'for oil is only the tip of the iceberg..China India, Russia and other coun­tries ~re rapidly becoming large oil.consumers. There is barely enough'I~Ogo around now inspiteofOPEC~dthe oilsands. The city should thmk

':tarefully before it puts all its transit',~ggs in, the one (diesel) basket.. A state-of-the-art demonstrator

_trolleybus should be brought in for a,thoroughevaluationofat least a year.given that $75 million is already in­~¥ested in the infrastructure, any de­cision to abandon the trolleybus sys­tem in haste would be irresponsible

'@1d certainlynot in the best interests~fEdmontonians, especially the in­geasingnumberofresidents ofdown­=wwnwhere all thetrolley routes run.1;Rather thanbeing based on nostal­;Sia, a re.:equipped trolleybus system'in Edmonton would be based on effi-fiiency, prud~nce, environmental re­~~ponsibility and common sense.. ; '.A. Kernahan. Edmonton

PATRYCIA CHALUPClYNSKAExaminer Staff

The city should keeptrolley buses running andconsider expanding the fleet,says one city councillor.

Ward 6 Coun. Dave Thielesays the city would bemaking a backward step topurchase more diesel busesto replace the trolleys.

"I see significant value inmaintaining and improvingthe legs in downtown. Wetalk on and on aboutdowntown renewal. This iswhat many communitiesthroughout the world areusing as a means of gettingpeople back into thedowntown. There'scountless examples of that,"says Thiele, pointing out

. cities where the scrapping oftrolley fleets led to thedemise of city cores.

"It's a significant amountof infrastructure that wehave," says Thiele. ''Wedon't even know the value ofit."

The issue of the trolleyswas before the

transportation and publicworks committee on July 6.

The committee will decideon July 20 whether torecommend to city council tocontinue operating thetrolleys.

Thiele says themaintenance costs would besimilar for the trolleys anddiesels. But running thetrolleys could end up beingcheaper in the long run.

"Diesel fuel, I haven't seenit go down in price for manyyears. It keeps going up andquite drastically at times," hesays.

City administration is toowrapped up in savingmoney in the short term, andshould be looking at the longterm instead, says Thiele.

He wants the city to get ademonstration low fl60rtrolley bus to be utilizedwithin the system forinformation gathering.

''We need to look at thenew technology."

Thiele also recommendedthe expansion of the trolleyfleet to Northgate beconsidered in the 2006

budget. The EdmontonTrolley Coalition, CitizensFor Better Transit andEdmonton Transit ServiceAdvisory Board are strongsupporters of continuingand expanding the trolleyfleet.

City administration isrecommending that thetrolley system bedismantled, saying it's moreexpensive to operate andmaintain than equivalentdiesel service.

The recommendation wasbased on a study done byconsultants Booz AllenHamilton - known forevaluating trolley operationsin North America.

The report estimates thatfrom 2004 to 2010, based onidentified capitalexpenditures, the city couldsave $60 million if trolleyservice was eliminated in2010. It also estimates that atleast $1.5 million annuallyfor infrastructuremaintenance and capitalupkeep would be saved afterdismantling the trolleys.

.paIr)••__lto:lIl~

I;

!f,(,

r'

THE EDMONTON EXAMINER - June 30, 2004 314

Residents continue fight to keep trolley buses runningwill rise to about $500,000.

Brown estimates it would costaround $50,000 to modify andretrofit a current trolley bus tomake it wheelchair accessible.

Bob Clark, of the EdmontonTrolley Coalition, says it doesn'tmake any sense to scrap millionsof dollars of infrastructure.

"We are going to throwaway$100 million of infrastructure thatthe citizens of Edmonton havepaid for?" he asks.

Clark points out that dieselbuses will not attract more peopleto take public transit.

But trolley buses would, if thecity decided to expand andupgrade the fleet.

"They're more quiet,comfortable, faster. They're a moreattractive vehicle," says Clark,who worked as supervisor intransit development for the cityfor 10 years.

According to a recentsymposium, Clark points out thatridership in Salsburg increased by19 per cent when the city replaceddiesel buses with trolleys.

Another European city saw a 15per cent increase.

John Bakker, professor-emeritusof civil engineering at the U of A,says the costs of operating trolleybuses in Edmonton are highbecause the city doesn't make fulluse of the trolley infrastructure.

"Besides the routing changes,management will take any excuseto substitute diesel for trolley. Soby operating less trolleys, the costof the infrastructure has to becarried by fewer and fewer trolleybuses. So it is easy to show thataccounting-wise, the trolley bus ismore expensive," says Bakker.

Bakker says it would be wise forEdmonton to examine its routestructure and add on to the trolleyfleet.

Trolleys could save the citysignificant money in fuel costs, asoil prices are going up and willremain a trend, says Bakker.

"Alberta will not be isolatedfrom these price increases," saysBakker. "Edmonton has somecontrol over electricity prices,being the owner of Epcor."

Bakker says there is one moreproblem the city needs to resolve ­drivers who don't like driVingtrolley buses.

"1 don't think that driversshould determine the operatingpolicies of a transit system or theenvirorunental policies of the city,"says Bakker, suggesting that theETS could be made into a separateoperation, bid on and run undercontract for the city.

"1 don't think it should come tothat. But if drivers want toterminate the operation of anelectric trolley bus system, thenthat may be the only alternative,"says Bakker. "The city may find, asdid St. Albert and Sherwood Park,that operating costs would beless."

...

"They're more quiet,comfortable, faster.

They're a moreattractive vehicle:'

- Bob Clark,Edmonton Trolley Commission

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unconvincing," says Kevin Brown,who represented the EdmontonTransit Service Advisory Board ata public hearing about the trolleyslast week

The issue will be back beforecity council on July 6, whencouncillors will have the chance topose questions to administration.

More than 50 residents showedup for the meeting last week and22 spoke in favour of the trolleys.

City administration isrecommending the trolley system

PATRYCIA CHALUPCZVNSKAExaminer Staff

A recent survey of 400 transitriders found that 58 per cent wantdiesel buses to replace the trolleysystem.

But that statistic hasn'tdiscouraged those that arefighting to keep the trolleysrunning.

"We found the argumentswhich administration has putforward for scrapping the trolleys

diesel service.The recommendation was based

on a study done by consultantsBooz Allen Hamilton - known forevaluating trolley operations inNorth America - who looked atfinancial, envirorunental andoperational issues of the trolleys.

The report estimates that from2004 to 2010, based on identifiedcapital expenditures, the city

be dismantled because it is, and could save $19.83 million if trolleywill be, more expensive to operate service is eliminated in 2010. Itand maintain than equivalent also estimates at least $1.5 million

,.._________________________ !'"' .. would be saved annually forinfrastructure maintenance andcapital upkeep afterdismantling the trolleys.

Brown says the study ismisleading.

"The studies completedcontained serious analyticaland factual errors andoversights and they don'texamine the full range offinancial options," says Brown,adding that major benefits oftrolleys and negative impactsof diesel buses wereminimized.

The advisory board arguesthe benefits of trolleys - whichinclude less noise and airpollution and increased ridecomfort - outweigh the highercosts of operation.

The board also feels the citycould take advantage of grantsto help maintain the trolleys.

"There are grant fundingopportunities for projects thatdemonstrate envirorunentalleadership," says Brown.

Brown says the trolleysexhibit a tangible commitmentto improving quality of life andthe city as an envirorunentalleader.

"Here we have theopportunity to keep somethingthat makes a positivecontribution to the health andwell being of our community,"he says.

Brown says city councilneeds to seriously consider allthe advantages of the trolleysbefore making a decisionwhether or not to dismantlethem.

"All options haven't beenconsidered," says Brown.

It wants council to add morenew trolley buses, instead ofdiesel buses.

"That's been one of theissues. The public is comparinga 23-year-old trolley bus to abrand new diesel. The newtrolley buses are different fromthe ones we have," says Brown,adding the city should bring ina new low-floor demonstratortrolley bus for the public to tryout.

Brown says the cost for anew low-floor trolley bus isaround $900,000.

A new diesel bus costsaround $400,000. In 2007, whennew emissions standards areput in effect, the cost of diesels

Edmonton's Trolley Buses at the End of the Line?

Photo by Dave RobbEdmonton Trolley Bus

to mention that Toronto Transit CommissionChair Howard Moscoe later called the move a"regrettable mistake."

Trolley afficionado Doug Cowan, whoknows more about buses than most anyone Ihave ever met, rightly says Edmonton's trolleysare a historical asset that could again becomea real feature of pride in the city if citymanagers took some pride in them. Cowansuggest the buses should be painted in theiroriginal red and green colours, making them afantastic tourist attraction.

In a time everyone is searching forenvironmentally friendly solutions to urbanproblems, Edmonton already has one in itsown backyard. But city administrators, in amisguided and narrow-minded approach todecision making, are ready to abandon it.

City council should do exactly what everyother council has done in the last 65 years andkeep the trolley system alive. Councillorsshould show foresight and vision and make thesystem, significant as an attraccion by its verysurvival, a centrepiece in a green andprosperous city. They should direct EdmontonTransit to invest in new trolleys and put thenecessary resources in place to help the systemthrive, instead of starving it and hoping it willdie a slow death.

Ifyou'd like to offeryour thoughts, please drop mean email atlawrenceherzog@hotmail.com

For information on reprints of previouslypublished articles, check out my website atwww.lawrenceherzog.com.

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persons with mobilitychallenges to board andexit more easily.

The American studycontains no noise impactassessment and, foranyone living or workingright next to a bus route,the higher noise generatedby diesels is a significantfactor. Diesel exhaust isknown to be a strongcarcinogen and acontributor to respiratoryproblems, heart diseaseand birth defects. Dieselbuses release theiremissions in the streets,where they are not onlyinhaled by pedestriansand transit users, but alsoare drawn into nearbybuildings throughventilation systems.

The CanadianGovernment states thereis no safe level ofexposure to particleemissions, andrecommends avoidingparticle exposure. Theconsultants' report saysvery little about in-street emissions, focussinginstead on what it calls "area-wide" emissions.But the study does acknowledge that peoplewaiting at diesel bus stops are exposed toparticle emissions up to 40 times higher thanthe levels in ambient air. Diesel buses only addto the pollution in a city that is the asthmacapital of Canada.

Edmonton's Transportation Master Plan,adopted by Council in 1999, pledges that theimpacts of transportation on the communitywill be reduced or mitigated. But replacingtrolleys with diesels would actually increaseenvironmental impact, adding noise andvehicle emissions to our streets.

The report states that trolley use is in adownward trend and cites Hamilton's andToronto's decisions to shut down their systemsin 1992 and 1993. But the document neglects

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• I II.

60 of them jammed into the hearing roomand, for four hours speaker after speaker - 22in all- hammered at the proposal, which couldbe put into action as early as this summer. Nota single one of them sided with the city'stransit managers, who have longbeen ready toclose the book on the long and distinguishedstory of electric trolley bus use in Edmonton.

The electrically powered vehicles, whichrun on power lines suspended above the street,have been a part ofEdmonton's transit systemfor 66 years. The first trolley was put intoservice in 1938, making Edmonton the thirdCanadian city to use the modem trolley bus,after Toronto and Montreal.

Among those who spoke at the publichearing were a trolley driver and a mechanic,who believe abandoning the trolleys would bea decision of historic consequences. Tworepresentatives from the ETS Advisory Boardalso pointed out errors and oversights in theconsultant's report, ranging from mistakes inthe emissions analysis to glaring oversights inthe cost analysis.

They castigated administrators for failing tomaximize the use of the trolley system asdirected by council in 1993, noting that trolleyuse is now nearly half the levels 11 years ago.The Board pointed out that trolleys couldoperate in construction zones by usingauxiliary power units (APUs), designed topower the trolleys in the event ofpower failure,but that five of six units purchased withtaxpayer dollars, have never even beeninstalled.

The reality is that, despite all the spin beingspun by Edmonton Transit and the cityadministration, there are ways to keep thetrolleys and capitalize on potential sources ofgovernment assistance. While Edmonton istalking about abandoning its trolley system,other cities are expanding theirs. They includenot only Vancouver but also Seattle, SanFrancisco, Boston and Dayton, Ohio.

Although their operations are less flexiblethan that of motor buses, trolley buses aremuch quieter and less polluting. They alsooperate better on hills, can require lowermaintenance and tend to be longer lasting thanmotor buses. Modem trolleybuses have APUsand are available in low floor designs, enabling

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Inside Edmontonby Lawrence Herzog

EdlDontonInternational

Edmonton City Council is to vote as early asnext week on whether to abandon the city'selectric trolley bus system - one of only tworemaining in Canada. The vote comes after amonth long effort by Edmonton Transit toconvince both citizens and electedrepresentatives that the system of 59 trolleys inits fleet of 802 buses is woefully inefficient andthat switching to an all-diesel fleet will save $60million over the next 10 years.

City administrators and an Americanconsultant have concluded that diesels aremore accessible and reliable. They have painteda picture of a trolley system that is expensiveand prone to disruptions. But the claims havebeen countered by the Edmonton TransitSystem Advisory Board, which is urgingcouncil to include the continued operation oftrolley buses in the city's ten year financialplan.

Citizens for Better Transit, longtime strongsupporters of investment in quality publictransit, charges that the study of Edmonton'strolley system has not been comprehensiveenough. A study this spring looked at some ofthe costs of the system but failed to assess thevalue of the trolley infrastructure, with 140kilometres ofwire, 4,600 poles and eight powersubstations, as a capital asset. When Vancouverconducted a study into its trolley system, itplaced a value of $184 million on itsinfrastructure and that value was a factor in thecity's recent decision to purchase 228 newtrolley buses.

4,t a public hearing June 23rd, transitmaligers got an earful from residentsdetermined to save the trolley system. Nearly

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•

EDMONTON JOURNAL CITYPLUS WEDNESDAY, JULY 21,2004 83

Holleys' demise delayed by committeeRecommends system not only remain to 2007, but expand downtownKEITH GEREIN

Civic Affairs WriterEDMONTON

Plans to send Edmonton's trolley busfleet to the scrapyard have been steeredoffcourse by a council committee.

In a three-to-one vote on Tuesday,committee members not only recom­mended the trolleys continue to operateuntil at least2007, but further suggestedthe city look for ways to expand theservice.

The decision was a short-term victoryfor a small, butdetennined group oftrol­leysupporters, whowillhave towait un­til nextweek's councilmeetingfor the fi­nalvote.

"It's a step forward. It's nice to see a de­cision going to council with a positivespin on it," said Graeme Feltham, chair-

man of the Edmonton Transit SystemAdvisory Board. .

The group, a committee set up to giveEdmonton Transit and council advice,has taken a strongstance against the ad­ministration's proposal to immediatelydecommission the system.

In making its decision, the committeelooked past a $100,000 consultant's re­port that said the citycould realize sub­stantialsavings byabandoning the city's59 trolleys and replacing them withdiesel buses.

City managers argued the plan wouldsave Edmonton about $60 million overthe next 10years. Dieselbuses are abouthalfas expensive as trolleys and the citywould no longer have to maintain the

network ofpower poles and wires sus­pended above the street, theysaid.

But the committee sided with the ad­visory board, which took issue with theadministration's financial projections.Board members argued the city couldfind ways to reduce the cost disparity,such as by refurbishing some older trol­leys rather than buying all new ones.

Coun. Janice Melnychuk said the city. should lookat enhancingthe trolleysys­temin the downtown area. Such amovewould make the innerqtymore ''people­friendly" since the electricallypoweredvehicles are quieter and emit no street­level pollution.

"We have to understand the decisionswe make now will affect the city for 10,

20, 50 years down the road," she said."I believe we should be looking at moretrolley lines and trolleys going by every10 minutes to provide an adequate lev­'e1ofservice to ourmature conununities."

There are roo manyurumowns with an,all-diesel systembecause the costwillde­pend heavily on the fluctuating price offuel, she added.

Coun. Jane Batty was the only com­mittee member to support the adminis­tration's plan. ''Trolleyshave played a sig­nificantrole as we've developed as a city,butIbelieve firmly that theyhave servedtheir term and are no longer financiallyviable," she said. ''Theyare a luxurythatthis citycannot afford."

Administrators will make their case

~··BAc.K(>ROUNDRead a previous story and a columnon Edmonton's trolley buses. Go to

.www.edmontonjournal.comand dick on Online Extras

again next Tuesday in front ofcouncil.In addition to the costsavings, the con­

sultant's reportsaid newdiesel buseswillhave just a fraction of the emissions ofcurrent models. In fact, the new buseswill spew less pollution than the power,plants which generate the electricityneeded for the trolley buses, it said.

City managers have also pointed outdiesel vehicles are more accessible andreliable than trolley buses.

kgerein@theiollrnal.canwest.com

EDiTOR: PETER MASER, 429-5399; city@thejournal.canwest.com EDMONTON JOURNAL

irrrolleybuses get 'reprieveMayor not happy as council overrules reportGORDON KENT

Civic Affairs WriterEDMONTON

Trolley buses will continue glidingthrough Edmonton streets Ulltil at least2008 after city councillors overruledstaffrecommendationsTuesdayandvot­ed8-5 to keep the vehicles running.

1'hemove is expected to costmore than$8.7 million over the next four years inhigher operating and other expenses,leading Mayor Bill Smith to blast it as"apolitical decision, (not) a business de-

cision.""Fortunately for the people who like

trolleys, they're going to be there," saidSmith. "Unfortunately for people whodon't like to pay taxes, they're going togo up."

Butmostofhis colleagueswanted sev­eral more years to look atsuch alterna­tivesas hybrid electric-dieselbuses thatstill aren't widely used.

"1 thinkthis isa decisionaboutscience,"

said COUll. Janice Melnychuk, who hasreceivede-mails from aroundthe worldwarning Edmonton to retain trolleys.

"Within five to 10years, theywillhavetechnologythatwillhelp usworkbetter,but1don't think the time is now."

Smith's comments didn't sway COUll.

Ed Gibbons, who said the citywill sim­ply have to find other ways to achieve$3.5 million in spending cuts orderedduring last fall's budget deliberations.

"1 guess we can all be stuck in a rutand not look to the future, but 1believewe have to lookto the future... whenwedon'thave to fall behind dieselbuses andcough and sputter."

The vote is a victory for trolley sup-. porterswho argued thevehicles are qui­eter and don't produce air pollution atstreetlevel. Theychallenged a $100,000consultant's report that said the citycould realize substantial savings byabandoning its 59 trolleys and replacing .them with diesel buses.

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6 1l9WSO lHE EilMONTONSU'N' ·Wedllel

Bill SmithOff trolleys

Vote saves fleet until 2008

City to keeptrolley buses

The city is SIJmillion to takeUniversity ofAllsurface and exteHealth Sciences

There are alscfurther eight kHeritage Mall, 2of $522 million.

ures."We don't know, because we're

predicting five to 10 years out," Mil­lican said.

"The most important thing is,you're using your best estimate ofland use and behaviour. And if youchange any ofthose things, your pre­dictions are off."

A city report suggests an LRT ex­tension to Southgate Mall could beoffset by an extra $2.4 million in rid­ership revenue.

But transportation and streetsmanager Rick Millican said the citywill still need to keep revising andupdating the computer models be­hind that figure if it wants solid fig-

Kerry Koble and Angela Santos do a move called a freeze at Ronald McDonald House y~

will perform in the Hip Hop For Hope fundraiser which runs Friday at the U of A Myer .,

Report sees big LRY Cc

2008 will release fewer emis­sions than those created bypower plants to run trolleys.

During yesterday's meeting,Mayor Bill Smith slammed theplan to keep trolleys on citystreets, saying it's a sure route to

another tax in­crease.

"This is an emo­tional thing," Smithsaid. "I have a diffi­cult time saying totaxpayers, who havea difficult time withus increasing taxes,saying we will keepthe trolleys.

"It definitely is apolitical decision; itcertainly isn't a busi­ness decision."

Rossdale residentDiane Oxenford said

the decision was a relief."It's great, because it shows

there are a majority of council­lors who seem to be a little morevisionary," she said.

Trolleys should stay on thestreets because they're easieron the environment and makeless less noise than diesel buses,Oxenford said.

City council voted yesterdayto k~ep trolleys on Edmontonstreets until at least 2008, withan eye toward expanding trolleyservice to Northgate Mall by2006.

Most councillors said theystill' see a role forthe transit system, atleast until they canget a better pictureof how hybrid die­sel-electric buseswould serve the city.

"There hasn'tbeen enough done atthis point to makethe decision to letthe trolleys go," saidCoun. Larry Lang­ley.

City',' administra­tors recommendedin March that coun­cillors pull the plug on the 59trolley buses in Edmonton's 802­bus fleet after a $100,000 con­sultants' report outlined the po­tential costsavings.

The consultants' report notedtrolleys cost roughly twice asmuch to buy as diesel buses. Italso said better technologymeans diesel buses for sale by

The city's trolley buses .will berunning for at least another fouryears.

Last week, council voted 8-5 infavour of keeping the trolley systemunti12008, when it will once again bereviewed.

Mayor Bill Smith is disappointedwith council's decision.

"It's time to move the trolleys on. Ithink council made the wrongdecision," says Smith, pointing outmaintaining the trolley fleet willprobably result in a tax increase.

City administration hadrecommended the trolley system bedismantled, saying it's moreexpensive to operate and maintainthan diesel service.

The recommendation was basedon a study done by consultants BoozAllen Hamilton - known forevaluating trolley operations inNorth America.

The city projects a savings of $1.9million in operating costs per yearbetween 2004 and 2013 and $43.2million in capital costs, from buyingdiesels instead of trolleys.

Smith says he's concerned thatcouncil's decision was a political oneaimed at appeasing the public, inlight of the upcoming civic electionon Oct. 18.

Coun. Larry Langley, who is notseeking re-election next term, doesn'tfeel there was a political agendawhen it came to the trolleys.

"It just makes common sense,"says Langley, who voted to keep thetrolleys. '1 think it was a matter ofmaking the best use of the financialresources and the infrastructure wehave inplace ... We have just spent, in

'\ '.THE EDMONTON EXAMINER - August 4, 2004

Trolleys saf~,until2008PATRYCIA CHALUPCZYNSKA rece~' '.', years; '. $i4<~tnillion on ,to'adnUnistration estimates.Examiner Staff infrastructure to keeptro~eys gomg:"<:",:/1t's Just going to cost taxpayers

It wouldrosl $13 million to take" 'titoJ:{! money," he says.down the infrastru~. We've got ,·1p.e'.Edrilonton Trolley Coalition,this money invested.1'Q walk away. along with Citizens for Better Transitfrom things now, \\ToW-d ',not be a and the Edmonton Transit Servicegood idea. As long as,;)Ve/ve got the Advisory Board, are stronginfrastructure, we Iriightas well supporters of continuing andmake use of it." expanding the trolley fleet.

Langley feels administration Brain Tucker, chair of theshould be able to find elsewhere the Edmonton Trolley Coalition, says he$1.9 million in savings that was expected a stronger commitmentexpected from dismantling the from council to save the trolleys,trolley fleet. rather than call for another review in

'We have been told. by the city four years.manager, that over· the last several 'We're certainly pleased with (theyears, administration has saved $10 decision to maintain the trolleys formillion a year. When I ask, where is it now), but we would have liked to see- let's see the bank account - we're a more permanent type decision. But,told, we saved it in one place, but this is a step in the right direction."that made it possible to spend it The coalition wants the trolleys toelsewhere. That to me is not saving operate for at least another 10 years.money. That's just redirecting it. Just Tucker is also happy with council'slike I told them, if you can save $10 directive to test a new low-floormillion a year, I think you can find trolley and hybrid bus for evaluation.$1.9 million to keep the trolleys "We have a very significantgoing." investment in them. I don't think

Langley also feels the consultant's we've received a full return on ourreport wasn't satisfactory. investment, because half of the fleet

'We got better information from sits in storage most of the time."the Edmonton Transit Services Tucker says the group is still tryingAdvisory Board than we got from the to find out how the city came up withconsultant's report. These people an estimate of $60 million in savingsspent a lot of time delving into this would be generated by thewhole thing," says Langley. "For my dismantlement of the trolley fleet.money, there weren't enough 'We just don't buy that at all.comparisons' made in the We've asked for a detailedconsultant's report between explanation of how this figure wasoperating trolleys and operating arrived at, and we never get it," saysdiesels." Tucker. "We're still going to be

Coun. Terry Cavanagh, who voted watching transit that they doagainst keeping the trolleys running, maximize the use of the system fromsays trolleys are not an economical now on."option since the service only City council also directedaccounts for a small percentage of administration to consider thetotal kilometres driven by the transit extension of the trolley system tofleet, about seven per cent according Northgate in the 2006 budget.

>/Ito.

Real Estate Weekly, August 4, 2004

A Reprieve for Edmonton's Trolley BusesInside Edmontonby Lawrence Herzog

A decision last week by Edmonton CityCouncil to save the city's endangeredtrolleybus network until at least 2008correctly recognizes the enormous value ofthe system and the role it can play in ahealthier future. The eight-to-five votehalted a plan by Edmonton Transit andthe city administration to terminatetrolleybus service this summer. It followeda year of debate about the fate of the quietand environmentally friendly vehicles thatserve seven routes and 46 communities inthe core of the city.

Council also passed a directive to testnew low-floor trolleys and hybrid busesand to consider in the 2006 budgetextending the trolley system to Northgate.The city's administration, which hadrecommended killing the 66-year-oldtrolley system, was also directed in a later

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motion to maximize the system'soperational cost-benefit.

The Edmonton Trolley Coalition,Citizens for Better Transit and theEdmonton Transit Service Advisory Boardhave allbeen strong supporters ofretainingand expanding the city's trolley fleet For thehundreds of volunteers and communitymembers who worked so hard to save thetrolleys, the decision comes as an enormousvictory. The lungs and the ears ofEdmontonians will also come out winners,as trolleys are less polluting and quieterthan their diesel bus counterparts.

Various community leagues, residentsand civic organizations repeatedly assertedthat the trolley's benefits oflow noise andzero in-street pollution more thancompensate for any slight additional costthey may have over diesels, especially whenused on busy routes and in high densitycore areas of the city. The elimination oftrolley service would have meant residentsofInglewood and Westmount, for instance,would have been subjected to the noiseand pollution of 300 to 400 more dieselseach day.

Brian Tucker, Chair of the EdmontonTrolley Coalition, applauded the decisions,calling them a step in the right direction."We need to be looking ultimately atrenewing the trolley fleet. When you havea big investment in trolleys like we have,you don't just rip it down withoutexamining its value and full potential."

Tucker praised the initiative to testnew technology. "Getting a demo low­floor trolleybus to evaluate the latest introlley technology is a real necessity.We've seen three hybrid diesel demos inone year, but no trolleys."

Edmonton Transit and the cityadministration, which at every step hasdone all it could to kill the trolley system,would do well to listen. In 1993, Councildirected administration to maximize theuse of trolleybuses, but that just didn'thappen. For years now, the city has hadtrolleybuses sitting idle and the network

has not been used to its full potential.The tipping point in the fight to save

Edmonton's trolleybuses may well havecome at a public hearing in June, whentransit managers got an earful from citizensdetermined to save the system. Nearly 60 ofthemjammed into the hearing room and, forfour hours speaker after speaker - 22 in all- hammered at the proposal, which couldbeput into action as early as this summer.Not a single one ofthem sided with the city'stransit managers, who have long been readyto close the book on the long anddistinguished story of electric trolleybususe in Edmonton.

Eight of the city's 13 council membersobviously listened and learned.Trolleybuses have a place in Edmonton'sfuture, just as they have long had a placein its past.

The electrically powered vehicles,which run on power lines suspended abovethe street, have been a part of Edmonton'stransit system for 66 years. The first trolleywas put into service in 1938, makingEdmonton the third Canadian city to usethe modern trolleybus, after Toronto andMontreal. By the late 1940s, trolleys wereoperating in more than 70 North Americancities but an aggressive lobby by diesel busmanufacturers whittled that total downover the next 30 years.

Edmonton's trolleys are a historical assetand council's decision positions the systemto again become a feature of pride in daysahead. We're one of only two cities(Vancouver is the other) that has retainedits trolleybus system. Earlier this year,Vancouver ordered 228 new wheelchair­accessible trolleybuses and other cities,including Seattle, San Francisco, Bostonand Dayton, Ohio, are also expanding theirtrolley systems. Cities in Europe rely almostexclusively on electrically powered vehiclesas buses in their cores.

Bruce Lake, world news editor forTrolleybus, a specialist magazine in theUnited Kingdom, has been watchingEdmonton with interest over the past

several months. "Here in the UK,trolleybuses have notbeen in public serviceon the streets since 1972. There areconstant calls for their reinstatement inmany towns and cities. However, therebuilding of the infrastructure required,particularly in a deregulated transportenvironment, is seen as being verydifficult."

Lake notes that many cities have cometo regret ripping out their trolleyinfrastructure. "There is definitely agroundswell of international opinion thattrolleybuses provide the answer to clean,efficient and popular publictransportation."

City administration had argued thattrolleys really aren't much moreenvironmentally friendly because fossilfuels are burned to produce electricity. Butelectricity can be produced from a myriadof renewable resources, such a wind, waterand wave turbines. Noise and air pollutioncreated by diesel buses is spewed into theatmosphere at street level in the cities ­right where people live, breathe and hear.

The flexibility of electricity as anenergy source and its relative stabilitycompared with the likelihood of sharpdiesel price increases make trolleys a wisechoice for a city that already has a sizeableinvestment in this technology.Throughout the world, the search is on forenvironmentally friendly solutions tourban problems, yet Edmonton alreadyhas one in its own backyard.

The CouIlcillors who voted to save thesystem displayed foresight and vision.They have now positioned our trolleys,significant as an attraction by their verysurvival, as a potential centrepiece in agreen and prosperous city.

Ifyou'd like to offeryour thoughts, pleasedrop me an email atlawrenceherzog@hotmail.com. Forinformation on reprints of previouslypublished articles, check out my website atwww.lawrenceherzog.com

Seema Sahni~~Jlooj

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Brotest council's trolley plau\What an enormous fuss over such a

fewtrolleybuses-the debate far out­weighs their importance in the fleet,and their environmental "contnbution"is negligible compared to maintenancecosts. .

I come not to praise the decision, butto bury it'. The upshot of city council'splan is that ifthebuses canbeused theyWill be; this is apparently ETS's knee­jerkreaetiontoyet?Jlotherbungledmu­nicipaldecree.

It is my substantiated understandingthe plan of transit is to run trolleys ~x­

clusivelyon allmain routes where theycan, including routes 3,5, and 9. Low­floor and articulated buses will nolonger be used on these routes after

-September. When I heard· a driverspeaking ofthis onWednesdayIw~'j)oastounded I asked several othersforconfirmation, and got it. ..Ifyouare disabledorelderly,you IJ;lust

act! This decision was made exclusiveofyou. Your vote does not matter ~<:lETS can afford to do without your fare

. ---:- that much is plain. _ ,Remember the Shaw Centre strike?

Smoking bylaw? Airport mess? Con­struction season? Refusal to hire mQrefirefighters? Ban on gay pride parade?Remember voting last municipal el~-tion? ,

Please vote responsibly - don't addyours to a list ofpoor decisions. ..,

Ian P. Johnston, Edmonton

THE EDMONTON EXAMINER - August 4, 2004

II EDMONTON EXAMINER II

lewpolnTrolleys cables should be cut

~ i ty council should have decid­ed to scrap Edmonton's trolley

' .. " bus network, saving taxpayersmillions of doIIars.

Instead, councillors voted 8 to 5 lastweekin favour ofmaintaining the cost­ly trolley system for at least four moreyears, at which time the matter will bereviewed yet again.

It's the latest in a series of foot-drag­ging and "non-decisions" by councilsince administration first recommend­ed in March that the trolleys be axed.

Armed with a $100,000 consultant'sreport, city managers suggested asmuch as $60 million could be savedover the next 10 years if the plug werepulled on the 59 electric buses.

But, rather than taking decisive andfiscally responsible action immediately,council instead chose to hold a publicconsultation process which delayedthe issue by monihs.

And, even then - when it finallycame time to make a decision - themajority of councillors essentiallyopted to put the matter off for anotherfour years at which time there willlike­lybe a second $100,000 study, followedby another long drawn-out publicdebate.

Scrapping the trolley system shouldhave been no-brain~ considering allthe factors.

we, trolleys are a quieter and moreenvironmentally alternative to dieselbuses.

But, the fact remains the trolleys aretwice as expensive to replace thandiesel buses and the elimination of thetrolleysystem. isn't going to significant­ly increase the city's environmentalimpact.

'frolley routes represent less than 10per cent of the city's total transit net­work - a drop in the bucket And, that

a •

number isn't likely going to increasesignificantly despite a notion beingfloated by council to expand trolleyservice to Northgate Mall

The city is having trouble keepingup with basic road repai4 never mindtrying to string more overl1ead cablesto allow trolleys to cover more area.

Even staunch trolley supporterswould admit Edmonton's newestneighbourhoods will be never be ser­viced by trolleys.

So, it makes little sense to keepspending extra tax dollars maintaininga system. that will neverbe more than asmall portion of Edmonton's 800 busfleet.

City administration is constantlyunder fire to come up with ways tospend tax doIIars more prudently.

This is one suggestion by adminis­tration that council should have heed­ed.

EDITOR: PAUL CASHMAN, 429-5220; FAX 498-5677 LETTERS'-

EDMONTON JOU

Unfair for city brass to enlist media in trolley fightVolunteer transit advisory boardsees council's decision to retain service as victory for quality oflife

The Edmonton Transit System Advi­soryBoard is a group ofvolunteers ap­pointed bycitycouncil to give advice to

I the city and council. Ithas not been thepracticeoftheboard to use the media asthe vehicle to carry our message. Un­fortunately, ourcityadministrationdoesnot feel the same way. In a recent trans­portation and public works committee

. meeting, our city manager, AI Maurer,admitted to bringing the trolleyissue toThe Journal's editorial board. Prior tocouncil making a decision, the admin­istration made their "scrap the trolleys"

case to The Journ,al and two supportiveeditorials were subsequently penned.This demands aresponse.

Ourboardfeels that the benefits to op­erating a trolley system outweigh.thecosts. Trolleys are significantly cleanerand quieter than diesels. It is encourag­ingto learn thatnewdiesel tailpipeswillbe cleaner, but trolleys don't have atailpipe. Diesel buses are so loud thatthey have an exemptionfrom the city'sown noise bylaw. The trolleys need nosuch exemption.

Buses getold and need to be replaced.

The trolleyb.usesare old. Ourboardsup­ports the renewal ofthe trolleyfleet.

Therearemanyfaets thathavebeencit- .ed byour cityadministration. Here area couple that have been overlooked:t Since aJ993 directive from council tomaximize the use ofthe trolleynetwork,scheduled service has shrunkfrom 3.9million kilometres to two million kilo­metres;t Vancouver has a spare ratio of15 percent (15 extra buses for every 100) andEdmonton Il?-aintains a spare ration inexcess of100 percent;

t Old diesel buses have been retrofittedwith powersteerulg, trolleys have not;t Power prices are falling and dieselprices continue to rise. .. .... ..

There are many things that the cityofEdmontondoes thatcostmore than thealternative. We have a recycling pro­gram. We have a river valley parksys­tern. We have many swimming l"Oo!s.And we have a trolleysystem. All thesethings add to our quality of life andshould continue to be supported.Graeme Feltham, chairman, Edmonton.

Transit System Advisory Board'

ft

THE JOURNAL, FILE

Abus steers through traffic.

Trolley bus criticshave wires crossed

Reading about the pros and consof trolley bus operation in Edmon­ton, it appears thatmanyargumentsagainst the environmentallyfriend­lybuses are made up or else the en­tire trolley bus system is badly mis­managed.

For example, the claim that foreach trolley bus a diesel bus has tobe kept as a backup is ridiculous.Apartfrom the fact thatelectric mo­tors are more reliable than dieselones, overhead wires can easily beadapted for road construction andmodemtrolleybuses are capable ofrunning a short distance on theirbatteries or generators. Hence,there is absolutely no need to takethe trolleys off the road during thesummer.

Furthermore, it is economicallymost questionable whysuch a largenetwork ofoverhead wires is being

: 'j

alloweG tIllS to nappen.Dianna Bradley, Sherwood Park

Look a century aheadfor downtown projects

Re: "Growing pains for 104thStreet,"Journal, July 20.

Paula Simons's columnonthe de­velopment ofCentury 2 tower onl04th Streethadexact1ythe rightin­formation, inflectionand tone. Howcome she gets itbut citycouncilandthe developers cannot?

I live one block north on 104thStreet and the city market is in myfront yard. My building is over 90years old and will be here for an-other 90 years. .

Youonlyhave towalkdown 104thStreet and then any other down­town street to feel the difference. Ifthe developers had the long-termview, as the residentsdo, theywouldagree with the design guidelines(and hopefully soon, the bylaws)and see that theyaddvalue tobuild­ings now and in the future.

Putting the tower on the back ofthe podium and making residencesor commercial space on the frontwillhardlydrive the price ofthe pro­jectup so high that it will be un­buildable. However, making thestreet livable will have long-termbenefits.

True North is building somethingthat will last 100 or more years.Theybetter get it right the first time.Once they have a spade in theground itwillbe too late andwe willhave to live with their short-sightedvision, as will our children andgrandchildren.

I hope that council can get the by­laws inplace to protect this heritagearea before True North gets ap­proval to go ahead.

Ton Hall, Edmonton