Reed Clarke has been pushing to widen a busy road in his ward since he was elected to Edmonton city council last year. The Ward Nakota Isga councillor says city administration’s proposal to spend $100 million on road-widening projects, including the stretch of 215 Street between Whitemud Drive and Stony Plain Road, in the 2027-30 budget cycle is long overdue. The capital spending plan, which council will begin debating later this month, includes funding to widen several major roads. “It always should’ve been four lanes from the start for a whole bunch of different reasons before my time that never got done,” Clarke told reporters at city hall Tuesday. “It’s great to see that that is on the list.” The north-south corridor, also known as Winterburn Road, is among the city’s busiest and regularly snarled during rush hour. Other projects targeted for widening include Parsons Road from 19 Avenue NW to 91 Street SW in southeast Edmonton and 41 Avenue from James Mowatt Trail to Highway 2 in the city’s far southwest. The road projects are part of a proposed $6.3-billion capital budget for the four-year cycle, including $3 billion for projects already approved. While some councillors say the work is overdue, others argue wider roads ultimately drive up costs and do little to ease congestion. Coun. Erin Rutherford says adding lanes typically attracts more traffic and increases costs for snow clearing and road maintenance. The Ward Anirniq councillor said she would rather see the city invest in renewing more existing arterial roads. “I know there’s a lot of traffic pressures in those parts of the city, but we also have an ongoing cost that comes with increased widened roads, and what we know is that induced demand, from a data perspective, doesn’t actually substantively decrease the congestion,” Rutherford told reporters. Michael Janz, the councillor for Ward papastew, shares Rutherford’s concerns about road widening and its costs, arguing that the “only long-term traffic solution is to provide alternatives.” “I’d like to see how the Valley Line West (LRT) plays out when it opens,” he said. “I’d like to see how we can continue to offer better transit and help make driving not necessarily the first choice for people, and continue to invest in public and active (transportation) and other measures.” The draft budget does not include funding for several council priorities, including bus rapid transit, day shelter spaces and a range of climate initiatives. With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Jeremy Thompson
