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2009 Edmonton and Area Spotting


M. Parsons

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For anyone with mid-day (1100-1300 - ish) off on Friday Nov. 06, if you're fanning downtown you may want to take in the annual chili cook-off. $2.00 / bowl. For anyone whose *bean* there before - some creations are pretty good, with lots of meat. It is being held on the main floor of Scotia Place.

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For anyone with mid-day (1100-1300 - ish) off on Friday Nov. 06, if you're fanning downtown you may want to take in the annual chili cook-off. $2.00 / bowl. For anyone whose *bean* there before - some creations are pretty good, with lots of meat. It is being held on the main floor of Scotia Place.

Don't ride the bus after.

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LRT park-and-ride issue could derail at any moment

Charging a fee--even a partial one--for a longtime free parking service could create backlash, leaving lots empty

BY SCOTT MCKEEN, EDMONTON JOURNALOCTOBER 30, 2009

Murphy's Law says that whatever can go wrong, will go wrong.

The Law of Unintended Consequences says that something will go wrong -- you just won't see it coming.

Murphy's Law is whimsical. The Law of Unintended Consequences is not.

For example, the unintended consequences of high cigarette prices in Canada was a black market in tobacco.

The advent of e-mail gave us timesaving, split-second communication. Who knew we'd spend so much time responding to messages, deleting spam and worrying about hidden viruses?

The Law of Unintended Consequences applies to us all. But its effects are attributed most often to the actions of government.

Edmonton city council has for several months now weighed the possibility of charging a fee at LRT park-and-ride lots.

And why not charge for parking? Land is expensive. The city has to pay for paving, maintenance, lighting and security of those lots.

If motorists don't pay, then the operating costs are borne by all transit riders, if not all taxpayers.

One certain consequence of park-and-ride fees is a drop in ridership. Some people will opt for driving to work and paying at nearby parking lots.

But what about unintended consequences? In this case, Edmonton has the benefit of experience. Calgary's experience. The Law already did its dirty work in our sister city.

When Calgary imposed a $3-per-day parking fee at C-Train stations, their parking lots emptied.

Many Calgarians opted out by parking in residential streets or nearby malls.

All hell broke loose. Mall officials were furious, as were citizens with homes near C-Train lots. The city responded by ticketing violators.

Parking fines skyrocketed in Calgary. And while higher fine revenues might fill civic coffers, they don't enhance public confidence in government.

Then came another unintended consequence.

Calgary's system of monitoring C-Train parking depended on camera-equipped vehicles.

They drove through lots checking licence plates. But the curious modern habit of backing into stalls hid licence plates, creating more havoc.

People who paid their parking fee were ticketed. They protested. The city was forced to respond. What a mess.

Transportation general manager Bob Boutilier raised the idea of park-and-ride fees here only because council was keen to balance its budget.

But blanket LRT parking fees don't make sense here. At least, not yet. The LRT system isn't comprehensive enough, or good enough, to make further demands on customers.

Edmonton is too spread out--its population density too low--to offer first-class transit.

Under these conditions, you entice customers one by one, mostly by expanding LRT. You don't charge too much. You offer as much service as you can afford to areas you think will buy in.

And you get as creative as you can. Boutilier, knowing council is cash-strapped, is now advising a partial park-and-ride fee.

The idea is to offer LRT users a reserved parking spot at stations, for something like$40 a month. Some people will pay for the peace of mind and privilege of knowing they won't have to drive around, looking for a spot.

Great idea. And I suspect council will go along with it next spring.

I mean, what could possibly go wrong? OK, a few people each day might accidentally park in a reserved spot. The city might have to hire extra bylaw officers to monitor LRT lots.

Some tickets might be issued. Maybe a few cars will have to be towed.

But surely, nothing else bad can happen.

Can it?

The Law of Unintended Consequences suggests council wait on this idea until after the next election.

Do it sooner and their political aspirations might meet Murphy's Law.

smckeen@thejournal.canwest.com

© Copyright © The Edmonton Journal

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Kinda a little surprised to find this but if anyone hasnt seen the moving Edmonton video that was shown at the ETS VIP event for the 100 anniversary yet, i found it online today on the video creators site. http://rbcc.ca/moving-edmonton-long.shtml please note that it is 16 minutes long and you are stuck watching Charlie many times on it.

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Kinda a little surprised to find this but if anyone hasnt seen the moving Edmonton video that was shown at the ETS VIP event for the 100 anniversary yet, i found it online today on the video creators site. http://rbcc.ca/moving-edmonton-long.shtml please note that it is 16 minutes long and you are stuck watching Charlie many times on it.
Nice, thanks for the link!
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Saw an ad on the train yesterday about graffiti - it said something along the liens of: if you see someone doing graffiti, call 911, but if you see someone on transit doing it, call 311.

I'll probably come across it again to get the exact wording, but I thought that was odd to have two different numbers.

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Saw an ad on the train yesterday about graffiti - it said something along the liens of: if you see someone doing graffiti, call 911, but if you see someone on transit doing it, call 311.

I'll probably come across it again to get the exact wording, but I thought that was odd to have two different numbers.

I just don't see the point of tying up 911 with Graffiti calls.

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So while driving up the the Beverly area today on the highway (216/14) I spotted 3 700 series GMs being driven south on the highway. NOt sure where they were going. You'd think if they were coming from Westwood to the scrapper they'd have taken 17 street instead of back tracking. One was white, and two were blue. One blue had a flipdot the other 2 roll signs.

Also there seem to be more blue GMs at Clearway recycling along the highway as well.

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Saw a 1998-2001 D40LF with a SRA plate but no visible rear fleet number - there was an ad that took up the entire tailgate section.

4237 was out at the University this morning too.

ETS Plans to Stuff a Bus Again

Our annual Christmas promotion Stuff a Bus is back. ETS volunteers will be collecting non perishable foods for the Edmonton Food Bank from November 23 - 28 this year.

We’re pleased to announce that two new sponsors are joining our current partners Save on Foods and Global Television. We’d like to welcome JOE FM Radio and the Edmonton Sun to the campaign.

An ETS bus will be at select Save On Foods stores on weekdays from 7am - 8pm. We’re kicking off the campaign on Monday at Londonderry. On Tuesday we’re at Mayfield, on Wednesday it’s Calgary Trail, on Thursday we’re at Namao, and on Friday we’re at the Kingsway store. We’re collecting both food and cash donations.

JOE FM on-air personalities will be broadcasting live at various times throughout the campaign, so stop in and say “Hi”.

ETS volunteers will be at all 13 Edmonton Save on Foods stores on Saturday, November 28 from 8:30am - 4:30pm. Look for us on the ETS bus! Please come out either during the week or on Saturday and help support the Edmonton Food Bank.

NOTE: Strathcona County Transit is at all three Save on Foods stores in Sherwood Park on Saturday.

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Has the stuff a bus campaign ever stuffed a GM bus? Or has it been only going on with D40LF's?

Not that I am aware of. I believe 1999 was the first year, and while I only saw one or two stuff a buses that year, they were low floors.

Saw an ad on the train yesterday about graffiti - it said something along the liens of: if you see someone doing graffiti, call 911, but if you see someone on transit doing it, call 311.

I'll probably come across it again to get the exact wording, but I thought that was odd to have two different numbers.

I beileve it's more so along the lines of if you see graffiti call 311, if you see someone doing it on transit call 911. Those ads have been around for months too :P

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