I hope you are all having a wonderful summer so far. I’m writing today to provide you with an update on a number of transportation updates taking place in Ward pihêsiwin.

Before we get into the transportation update, I would like to invite you to my Summer BBQ on August 22. Join us for an afternoon of family fun, great food, and community connection!

Event Details

Date: Saturday, August 22

Location: Haddow Park – 2111 Haddow Drive NW (The Ridge Community League)

Time: 12:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.

Enjoy: Face painting, balloon animals, fun kids’ activities, fresh popcorn, delicious food from Freson Bros. and a chance to win free Rec Centre passes!

No RSVP required! Bring your family, friends, and neighbours for an afternoon of fun. We hope to see you there! Please note, the event will occur rain or shine. We will move indoors to The Ridge Community League if needed. 

Terwillegar Drive Expansion Project

Terwillegar Drive Stage 2:

The City of Edmonton has opened two new pedestrian bridges as part of the Terwillegar Drive Expansion Stage Two project. The bridges provide safe, dedicated crossings for people walking, cycling and rolling in southwest Edmonton.

The Rainbow Valley Pedestrian Bridge opened on July 8, followed by the 142 Street Pedestrian Bridge on the afternoon of Saturday, July 18. 

The 142 Street Pedestrian Bridge spans Whitemud Drive, connecting the Brookside and Brookview neighbourhoods to existing active transportation routes, including the shared pathway completed during Stage One of the Terwillegar Drive Expansion. The bridge and surrounding area include integrated lighting, bike racks and landscaping to support a safe and comfortable experience for all users. 

Located alongside the Rainbow Valley roadway bridge, the Rainbow Valley Pedestrian Bridge separates people walking, cycling and rolling from vehicle traffic, providing a safer connection for those travelling through the corridor. 

The new bridges are part of the Terwillegar Drive Expansion, which is improving how people move through southwest Edmonton by increasing roadway capacity, improving transit reliability and expanding active transportation connections. Stage two construction is expected to be complete by the end of 2026, with landscaping to follow in 2027.

Whitemud Bridge over Rainbow Valley East Bound is under construction and planned to be in service in late summer 2026.

The bulk of roadways and grading work is complete. The remaining areas will be completed once related bridge work is finalized.

Terwillegar Drive Stage 3:

Construction continues to make steady progress across all major components of the project. This includes the main bridge piling, earthwork for the new interchange, and the Windermere Boulevard intersection. Work has also begun on the shared-use path bridge, with piling activities scheduled to begin in August.

The Terwillegar Drive Expansion is funded in partnership with the Government of Alberta. 

170 Street Construction

The developers for each of these projects has shared a number of updates with me regarding this work which I would like to share with you;

170 Street - Hiller Road Intersection

• Hiller Road new right turn and left turn lane eastbound to be opened September 5th 

• Removal of existing temporary crossover is scheduled for September 7-12th

• Landscaping of all areas ongoing and scheduled to be completed by September 19th

• All lanes to be opened September 19th.

170 Street - Keswick Gate to 28 Ave SW

• Underground works (Proposed Southbound Lanes) – Scheduled from June 17 to July 31

• Surface works (Proposed Southbound Lanes) – Scheduled from August 4 to August 29

• Surface Removal (Existing 170 Street right turn bay removal to 28 Ave westbound) – Removal to occur concurrently during the August 4 to August 29 period

• The right turn bay from 170 Street southbound to 28 Avenue westbound will be removed and the traffic will be reduced to 2 lanes only with appropriate signage. It is not anticipated that this work will require road closures.

• During this period, the contractor will remove two existing medians within the existing 170 Street lanes. It is not anticipated that this work will require road closures.

• Underground works (reinstalling the existing catch basin at the 170 Street and 28 Ave surface removal) – To occur concurrently during the August 4 to August 29 period.

• Line Painting installation (work completion by City of Edmonton Crews) – Scheduled for August 31 (following surface works completion)

• Streetlight/Signal Installation (Proposed 170 Street west lanes and 28 Avenue Intersection for all traffic directions) (work completion by City of Edmonton Contractor) – The work began June 23. The traffic lights are expected to be completed early August.

• Streetlight/Signal Removal and Replacement (Existing 170 Street east lanes and 28 Avenue intersection for westbound traffic) (work completion by City of Edmonton Contractor) – Scheduled for August 31 to September 12.

170 Street - 28 Ave (Rabbit Hill Road) to 41 Ave SW

• The work to upgrade 170 Street between 28 Avenue SW (Rabbit Hill Road) and 38 Avenue SW is continuing to progress, but due to the rain, the timeline has been updated.

• The developer has assured me that crews are working overtime while the sun is shining to get this work done as quickly as possible. 

• They are hoping to be done by August 3rd but given the unpredictability of the weather this summer, they are allowing for the closure until August 10th.

Constable Daniel Woodall School Traffic Safety

The traffic safety concerns around this school continue to be high on my radar, and please know that I’m waiting for further assessment and information from the Safe Mobility Team regarding what our options are to manage traffic safety beside this school.

St. John XXIII Catholic School Traffic Safety

Safe Mobility has informed my office that a number of traffic calming measures will be installed near St. John XXIII Catholic School in Windermere as part of the 2026 Safe Routes to School program, improving the safety of children travelling to and from school.

The measures will be installed by the end of August in advance of the start of the school year, weather and resource permitting.

Based on the plan, which is outlined in the map below, residents should expect to see curb extensions, no stopping zone enhancements, and updated signage added on Windermere Road NW and Whitelaw Lane NW to improve pedestrian safety and address illegal parking and maneuvers during school pick up and drop off. Most of the no stopping zone enhancements will include painted (hatched) areas with safety posts, but some will only include hatched areas. 

Ellerslie Road / Rabbit Hill Road Intersection Update

EverRed has shared the following update with me regarding the upgrades to this intersection;

With much review and conversation, the timing of construction on upgrading the Rabbit Hill Road and Ellerslie Road intersection has been put forward to at the earliest a 2027 commencement. Due to a number of Roadway projects in Windermere and Heritage Valley this season and a very wet construction season it has been purposely pushed at this time to avoid any unnecessary further delays and potential of more lane closures for an unnecessary extended length of time.   

We are working with administration to review if there are any possible temporary lane adjustments that can be made at the intersection to improve capacity in 2026.

Fill Out the Government of Alberta’s Bike Lane Feedback Form

My office continues to hear from many of you with concerns about the City’s implementation of bike lanes, and I can appreciate that this is frustrating for many of you. If you have any feedback to share regarding the City’s bike lanes, I would like to encourage you to fill out the Government of Alberta’s Bike Lane Feedback Form.

The Government of Alberta will be collecting this information to better understand some of the concerns that residents have with how municipalities in Alberta are implementing bike lanes. 

Thank you for taking the time to read this update. Please do not hesitate to contact my office at [email protected] or 780 496 8130 should you have any questions or concerns with any of this information.

Sincerely,

Mike Elliott