15 collisions between vehicles and trains on Edmonton’s Valley Line since opening: city

Since it started operating in November, the City of Edmonton says the Valley Line LRT has been involved in 15 crashes between vehicles and trains.

The figures show three pedestrians have been hit over the same timeframe.

Just last week, a train partially derailed after hitting a truck and two people suffered minor injuries. Police say the truck was making a right-hand turn against a red light.

“At the end of the day people need to follow the rules of traffic,” Mayor Amarjeet Sohi said.

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At the intersection of that collision, like many others along the Valley Line, there are signs barring right turns on red lights.

The mayor says drivers are not paying attention.

“It’s pretty clear that if it’s a red light, you don’t turn,” Sohi said. “(We just need to) continue to enforce and create that awareness.”

David Cooper of Leading Mobility helps cities plan public transit. He says Edmontonians still need to adjust to the Valley Line.

“Over time we will see less and less of this,” Cooper said.

“If there is an intersection or segment of the line where we have continued issues, I think there is an opportunity to look at other ways to put in additional safety protections.”

“The city reviews the locations and the circumstances of the collisions to ensure that all modes of transportation are safe and consistent with the vision of the low-floor LRT line,” a statement from Walter Cadieux with Edmonton Transit Service reads, in part.

“Based on these reviews, we implement changes where improvements can be made to signage, lane markings and traffic and pedestrian signals.”

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