Edmonton Pedway

One of the underground tunnels in the Edmonton Pedway system, beneath Churchill Square

The Edmonton Pedway system is a pedestrian network connecting office buildings, shopping centres, and parkades in downtown Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It consists of approximately 13 kilometres (8.1 mi) of year-round climate-controlled tunnels, and walkways between the second floors of buildings, approximately 15 feet (4.6 m) above ground. The main network connects more than 40 buildings and parkades, and three of the five Edmonton LRT stations in the downtown area.[1][2]

The pedestrian tunnel from Government Centre station to the Alberta Legislature Building.

Throughout the city, there are some independent connections between buildings that are not linked to the wider system, as well as shorter tunnels leading from the surface directly to transit. Notable examples include connections to the Alberta Legislature Buildings that leads to Government Centre station and the Government Centre Transit Centre, and networks connecting buildings at the University of Alberta, MacEwan University, Northern Alberta Institute of Technology, Concordia University of Edmonton, and Edmonton International Airport. MacEwan University and Northern Alberta Institute of Technology are entirely traversable indoors through extensive pedways and building interconnectivity.[3][4]

History

In 1968, the City of Edmonton approved a pedway concept plan though there was no grand plan for the system. Most pedways in the system were a result from the 1970s building boom as developers worked out agreements to construct pedways to connect their buildings.[5] Labelled as the last link of the system,[6] a pedway connecting Churchill station and Edmonton City Centre temporarily opened from December 14, 1990 to January 2, 1991 for Christmas shopping before it held its official grand opening on February 18, 1991.[7][8] A pedway connecting Manulife Place to CityCentre and an underground tunnel connecting Royal Bank Building with CityCentre and Central station opened in March and April 1993, respectively.[9]

Connections

The Pedway system is integrated with public transit via climate controlled access to LRT stations.

Linked to Churchill station:

Future connections to Churchill Station:

Linked to Central station:

Linked to Bay/Enterprise Square station:

References

  1. ^ McIntyre, Heather (April 1, 2012). "Help may be on way for Edmonton downtown pedway's wayfaring soles". Metro Edmonton. Metro. Retrieved May 31, 2012.
  2. ^ "'Bleak' pedway network needs an overhaul". Edmonton Journal. Canada.com. July 15, 2010. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved May 31, 2012.
  3. ^ MacEwan University Campus Map. https://www.macewan.ca/wcm/ContactUs/MapsParking/CityCentreCampus/index.htm. Retrieved December 2, 2019.
  4. ^ NAIT Campus Map. https://www.nait.ca/maps?campus=main&building=&category=buildings&place=&room=&tour=N. Retrieved December 2, 2019.
  5. ^ Zabjek, Alexandra (November 18, 2013). "Are pedways good for city or not?; The jury's still out on network of downtown tunnels, passages". Edmonton Journal. Canada.com. p. A3. Archived from the original on November 30, 2024. Retrieved November 30, 2024.
  6. ^ Sadava, Mike (September 2, 1989). "Pedway link could be delayed". Edmonton Journal. pp. B2. Retrieved November 30, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ Cashman, Paul (December 4, 1990). "Edmonton Centre - Churchill LRT pedway to open for Yule shopping". Edmonton Journal. pp. B3. Retrieved November 30, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ Fritz, Michelle (February 19, 1991). "New pedway features voice-activated alarm". Edmonton Journal. pp. B3. Retrieved November 30, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ MacDonald, Jac (February 13, 1993). "Building managers pave the way for newest pedway link to open". Edmonton Journal. pp. A5. Retrieved November 30, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ a b "The Switch at Station Lands" (PDF). Qualico Properties. May 2024. Archived (PDF) from the original on September 13, 2024. Retrieved November 20, 2024.