As the city prepares to open the long-awaited Metro Line LRT this weekend, nearby businesses are warning an anticipated traffic “nightmare” near NAIT could drive away customers.

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“There’s a bit of a frenzy of (social media) comments from different people saying they might not come to our area. That’s obviously not something we want,” Ellie Sasseville, executive director of the Kingsway District Association, said Thursday.

“We’re expecting it to be a (driving) nightmare, especially for the first week. People aren’t prepared for it, motorists aren’t prepared … We as an association will push the city to ensure they’re changing the traffic signals to ensure they mitigate that.”

City councillors were stunned this week when transportation staff revealed drivers will wait as long as 16 minutes during rush hours where the line crosses Princess Elizabeth and 111th avenues.

Vehicles will likely back up for blocks and wait up to four light cycles to get through at busy times after the line goes into service Sunday morning.

But transportation general manager Dorian Wandzura said the earliest plans for the 3.3-kilometre line saw motorists being held up at intersections while trains passed.

“It’s important to note that traffic delays have always been a part of the Metro Line. The earliest communication talked about traffic delays,” he said during a media trip on the route.

“As we get the trains going faster, we will see improvements in those times, but we will still see traffic delays.”

Officials didn’t do a traffic analysis when council decided to move the station from south of Princess Elizabeth to north of the avenue in 2009 to help kick-start the City Centre Airport redevelopment.

They determined the impact of the train crossings on travel times last month after receiving approval for reduced, slower service until signalling flaws are fixed, Wandzura said.

While Coun. Ben Henderson was aware there would be holdups at other intersections, he said no one knew about major concerns around NAIT.

“If the problems on 111th are as severe as they are, why weren’t they flagged for us?” he asked.

“Something of this nature should have been shared. If they didn’t know about it at the time, I think our modelling is off.”

Sasseville is happy Edmonton Transit is sending teams next week to monitor the line and help passengers.

Council’s transportation committee has asked for a cost estimate for moving the temporary NAIT station to south of Princess Elizabeth.

They also want to study building a tunnel or a bridge over Princess Elizabeth during the next phase of construction.

Wandzura said it’s too soon to say whether these moves are feasible or how much they would cost.

He thinks traffic will soon find ways around bottlenecks, which he said will be minimal in off-peak periods.

Signals and synchronization of trains are being constantly improved to reduce any problems, he said.

Although the head of the union representing paramedics is concerned about timely ambulance access to the Royal Alexandra Hospital, the chief paramedic for Alberta Health Services said they’re working with the city to reduce any bottlenecks.

“It’s not uncommon to us. We frequently deal with construction zones, heavy traffic, weather,” Darren Sandbeck said.

“Honestly, our crews make do, and they will get around a situation.”

About three or four ambulance patients going to the Royal Alex each day require rapid transport, AHS estimates.

Read more http://www.edmontonjournal.com/troubled+metro+line+ready+reduced+service+sunday/11338538/story.html