How do you get around the city? The City of Edmonton wants to get you out of the car and has many initiatives in place including new LRT lines and bike lanes. But what about right now? We looked at the City of Edmonton’s 2016 Census results to get a feel for how our city moves.
As you can see, we are a city that drives. Even in central Edmonton, over half the people get around by driving. That said, you can see how the LRT line increases transit use along the line.
It will be interesting to see what happens to people’s commute choices as more LRT and bike options become available. We can’t wait to see what the numbers say about the new downtown bike network.
So, are we a well-off city with a manageable population that makes driving convenient and the costs associated with it are within our budgets? Are we a bad example of urban sprawl making dedicated transit solutions impossible and we’re being forced to drive? Is it poor transit planning or an unwillingness to invest in infrastructure that could affect this balance? Or are we just an oil city that prefers the comfort and independence of a vehicle?
Let us know what you think.
More on Edmonton’s commuting preferences to come.
Tags: