Edmonton’s South LRT Grand Opening

Today was the grand opening of the Southgate and Century Park LRT stations (see my previous coverage here). A joint news release issued by all three levels of government declared that “a new era in Edmonton’s transportation history has begun.” Edmonton’s LRT now extends 20.3 kilometers from Clareview Station in the northeast to Century Park in the south.

A number of distinguished guests were on hand for the two ceremonies today, one at Southgate Station and one at Century Park Station. Among others, MP Laurie Hawn spoke on behalf of the federal government, Premier Stelmach surprised many people by appearing himself to congratulate Edmonton, and Mayor Mandel was joined by his Council colleagues.

Here are some of MP Laurie Hawn’s remarks:

Here is Premier Ed Stelmach:

Here is Mayor Stephen Mandel and City Councillors:

After the ceremonies ended, everyone joined the fun already underway at the ETS Community Fair! There were information kiosks, activities for kids, and some of the City Centre Market vendors providing a preview of the upcoming market season.

I’m very happy that our LRT now extends to Century Park, and I was glad to see so many Edmontonians out to celebrate today. Now we need to move on to the next extension, to keep the momentum going. The LRT system map looks a little odd without any “future LRT station” nodes!

You can see the rest of my photos from today here.