Latest leg of Edmonton's Valley Line West LRT construction to bring more major road closures
Traffic woes have plagued the construction area along Stony Plain Road, 156th Street and 87th Avenue for several years.
The new push will lead to the roadwork part of the project being completed this fall, instead of taking two more years, Ward Nakota Isga Coun. Andrew Knack told CBC News.
"We've had so much construction fatigue, and I'm hearing it from folks all the time," Knack said, pointing to a motion he made last October to look into having more construction done in a shorter amount of time.
Constituents often tell Knack that they want to "rip the band aid off, get it done," he said, adding that Wellington Bridge, a major east-west corridor on 102nd Avenue, is coming down at the end of 2025.
"We need to be done the road construction throughout the rest of the west end, so people can at least use Stony Plain Road as their main east-west corridor going in, because they won't have 102nd Avenue," Knack said.
"If we're doing all this work at the same time — it's already a lot for people, I think that would be a disaster."
The $2.6-billion project, now in its fourth year of construction, is the largest infrastructure project the City of Edmonton has undertaken.
The accelerated roadwork plan involves a three-phased approach from April to November:
Phase 1 (April to July)
104th Avenue corridor (106th Street to 121st Street)
Stony Plain Road at 124th Street (full closure)
Stony Plain Road at 156th Street
87th Avenue at Meadowlark Road
Phase 2 (July to September)
104th Avenue corridor (106th Street to 121st Street)
Stony Plain Road at 142nd Street
95th Avenue at 156th Street
Phase 3 (September to November)
104th Avenue corridor (106th Street to 121st Street)
Stony Plain Road at 149th Street
Marigold Infrastructure would then shift the focus to work on building tracks and system infrastructure.
Tammy Hennig is one of many residents in the area whose patience is running thin with project construction.
"Even for walking, it's a headache, because we never know where you can cross and where it's safe to go — anywhere from usually about 149th to farther down," Hennig said.
A full report on progress of the Valley Line West LRT will be made available on Feb. 11, during an urban planning committee meeting at city hall.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CBC
a day ago
- CBC
A controversial dating app for women was hacked. Why is Tea still so popular?
Social Sharing What's incredibly popular, just as polarizing and not, as it turns out, a comforting drink? Tea. The U.S.-based women-only dating service app with more than four million users surged to viral status in July after gaining traction on social media for its ability to mark men as red flags as a warning to others interested in dating them. According to research firm Sensor Tower, the app has been downloaded two million times in the last month. Marketed as "helping women date safe" and described as " basically Yelp for men," Tea is currently the No. 1 lifestyle download in the U.S. App Store — but it's also the topic of heated debate about safety and privacy, been called " a man-shaming app" targeted by men's rights groups and now it's been hacked. San Francisco-based Tea Dating Advice said in a statement posted to its website on July 25 that some 72,000 images — including 13,000 selfies and photo IDs used for account verification — were leaked online. Then on Tuesday, Tea posted that it had suspended direct messaging after becoming aware that some messages had been accessed during the data breach, too. A spokesperson for Tea confirmed the data breach in an email to CBC News on Thursday, adding that it's "working to identify any users whose personal information was involved and will be offering free identity protection services to those individuals." Tea was reportedly intended to launch in Canada on Friday, according to information previously posted on the App Store, but as of this week the launch date is now in February 2026. Tea didn't respond to CBC's questions about the apparent delay. Yet even amid the current turmoil, Tea's waitlist has ballooned to 1.5 million women, all eager to join, the company posted on Wednesday. A day later, Tea posted in its Instagram stories that it had approved "well over" 800,000 women into the app that day alone. So, why is it so popular, despite the drama and risks? WATCH | Dating app burnout: Here's what dating app burnout looks like 1 year ago Many women feel unsafe dating online: study Women don't feel safe, so a dating app that centres on safety is going to hit home in a big way, said Treena Orchard, an associate professor in the School of Health Studies at Western University in London, Ont., and the author of Sticky, Sexy, Sad: Swipe Culture and The Darker Side of Dating Apps. "The main players in the dating app industry have not proven themselves to really double down on safety in ways that prevent certain forms of violence or misogyny, and the popularity of this app reflects how frustrating this is to women," Orchard told CBC News. One in five women experience online harassment in Canada, according to the Canadian Women's Foundation, and Statistics Canada notes that Indigenous women, bisexual women and women between the ages of 15 and 24 are even more at risk. A 2023 Pew Research Center study in the U.S. found that women were far more likely than men to say online dating wasn't safe — 57 per cent of women compared with 41 per cent of men. Ipsos polled more than 6,000 adults in the U.S. for its report. It noted that 43 per cent of women under 50 who used dating apps said someone had continued to search for them after they said they weren't interested, 37 per cent said they'd been called an offensive name and 11 per cent reported they'd received threats of physical harm. WATCH | How to spot romance scams: Ontario police say romance scams are on the rise. Here's how to spot them 6 months ago Canadians reported $58 million in romance scam losses to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre in 2024. CBC's Ali Chiasson breaks down the romance red flags that Ontario police want the public to be aware of. There are also multiple murder and rape cases where perpetrators have used dating websites to find victims. In March, Calgary police issued a warning of a man using online dating apps to sexually assault women. In addition, the RCMP has issued warnings about romance scams, where victims are contacted on dating apps for the purposes of obtaining their money. "Marking men with red flags is helpful in alerting women to a known offender or violent person," Orchard said. App facing backlash from men, who want it shut down Tea allows users to find "verified green flag men," run background checks, identify potential catfish, check for a criminal history and verify that a man isn't a sex offender, according to the app's website. Users can also share experiences and anonymous dating reviews. But one problem, Orchard said, is that the app also fosters conversations about more superficial things, like a man's appearance, body odour, conversation skills or romantic prowess. And then there's the backlash. Cleveland lawyer Aaron Minc, who specializes in cases involving online defamation and harassment, told The Associated Press that his firm has received hundreds of calls from people upset about what's been posted about them on Tea. A campaign on the men's rights subreddit urges people to report Tea, saying it "must be deleted." Another campaign in the same subreddit outlines a six-step action plan to get Tea shut down, including pursuing civil lawsuits. "It's just an echo chamber for women to shit on men, gossip or spread rumours," posted someone in the comments of one of the Reddit campaigns. Generally, people are legally allowed to provide opinions about other people in public forums, and truth is an absolute defence in defamation cases, said lawyer Tina Yang, a partner in the Toronto office of law firm Goldblatt Partners LLP who specializes in privacy law. WATCH | Lawyer warns against using Facebook to vent: Lawyer warns against using Facebook to vent 2 years ago What you can't do is breach someone's privacy, Yang said, and what's considered private is contextual. So it's possible someone could sue over what was written about them on Tea, she said, pointing to legal precedent where people have been successfully sued for defamation over negative Google reviews. There's also the potential for criminal consequences if the posts meet the bar for harassment, Yang said. "I, personally, would not post on Tea," she said. "The potential for things to go awry is pretty high." The tea on Tea's data breach Applicants have to be approved in order to join, Tea explained online. The process once required selfies and government photo ID to verify the users, it said, "as an added layer of safety to ensure that only women were signing up for the app." The company said it removed the ID requirement in 2023, but data that was stored before February 2024, when Tea migrated to a more secure system, was accessed in the breach. According to an investigation by 404 Media, users on the notorious image-based bulletin board 4chan claimed to have discovered an exposed database, and it posted women's photos and information online. A website viewed by CBC News lists what it says are the Tea selfies and lets people rank them by order of attractiveness. According to The Atlantic, 4chan users also created a map that claimed to link Tea users to certain locations, and told people viewing it to "enjoy." At least two class-action lawsuits have been filed against Tea as of Monday, according to Business Insider. One, filed by Tea user Griselda Reyes, claims she "has anxiety and increased concerns for the loss of privacy, as well as anxiety over the impact of cybercriminals accessing, using and selling [her] private Information. Yang said she hopes that risk would make potential users of the app think carefully before they download it. Orchard, too, said she thinks users should avoid Tea, at least until the security system and data breach protocol are fixed. Tea hadn't posted any further updates about the data breach as of Friday afternoon. But it did post a promotional video on Instagram advertising its features.
a day ago
Ontario, Michigan business groups jointly warn of 'crisis' if Canada, U.S. can't reach trade deal
Two groups representing businesses in Ontario and Michigan are urging Canada and the U.S. to get a trade deal done in order to avoid prolonged instability. Prolonged instability could have serious consequences for key sectors, from automotive and advanced manufacturing to agriculture and logistics, a joint statement Friday from the Ontario and Michigan chambers of commerce said. This is not just a trade story, it's a North American competitiveness crisis. The chambers are calling on both governments to return to the negotiating table. The statement comes after the two countries failed to come to some sort of agreement by an Aug. 1 deadline. U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Thursday boosting tariffs from 25 per cent to 35 per cent on Canadian goods that don't comply with the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA). Michigan and Ontario form one of the largest trade corridors between the two countries. The two jurisdictions are largely connected via the integrated auto sector. In addition to the 35 per cent tariffs on non-CUSMA compliant goods, Trump has also slapped a 25 per cent levy on the non-U.S. portion of assembled vehicles. The U.S. has also imposed 50 per cent tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from all countries. Enlarge image (new window) Tracking the trade war between the U.S. and Canada. Photo: CBC / Wendy Martinez, Graeme Bruce Prime Minister Mark Carney released a statement just past midnight on Friday saying Canada will continue to work toward a deal while focusing on providing supports for impacted industry and diversifying trade. Canada will be our own best customer, creating well-paying careers at home, as we strengthen and diversify our trading partnerships, the statement said. Trump's order cites Canada's lack of co-operation in stemming the flood of fentanyl and other illicit drugs across our northern border — even though Canada accounts for a small percentage of drug seizures entering the U.S. But a White House official gave CBC News a different explanation for the lack of an agreement with Canada, saying on background that Canada has repeatedly demonstrated a lack of seriousness in trade discussions as it relates to removing trade barriers. Trump gave Mexico, which accounts for the majority of drug seizures at the U.S. border, a 90-day extension of its current tariff regime with the goal of signing a new deal during that period. 'No deal better than a bad deal' Other Canadian business groups also expressed concerns about the lack of an agreement, but say it's better that Canada take its time rather than accept a bad deal. The Canadian Chamber of Commerce says it feels spending a little bit more time on crafting the right deal is well worth the wait because it will deliver lasting benefits. However, the group also feels businesses in Canada and the U.S. urgently need more certainty. Dan Kelly, the president and CEO of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB), blasted the U.S. administration for its tariff rationale. The hike in U.S. tariffs to 35 per cent will harm small businesses on both sides of the border. The fentanyl rationale is even more ridiculous than the decision itself, Kelly said in a statement. CFIB supports the view that no deal is better than a bad deal, but the lack of resolution means small firms will not be able to plan for the future or continue to put off difficult choices. WATCH | Scarcity of goods will force a trade deal by September, O'Toole says: Kelly's sentiment was echoed by the United Steelworkers union on Friday. While we're disappointed an agreement wasn't reached to end this trade war, the worst outcome would have been a deal that locked in permanent damage to our economy, national director Marty Warren said in a statement. Warren encouraged Ottawa to take retaliatory action if necessary. This fight is far from over. The federal government must remain steadfast to secure the right deal for the Canadian economy and Canadian workers and must not accept anything less. Premiers urge Ottawa to stand its ground Ontario Premier Doug Ford called the tariff increase concerning and said Ottawa should retaliate with 50 per cent tariffs on U.S. steel and aluminum. Canada shouldn't settle for anything less than the right deal, Ford said on X Thursday night. Now is not the time to roll over. We need to stand our ground. Quebec Premier François Legault called Trump's latest move disappointing and argued that it will hurt Americans. Recent events highlight the importance we must place on diversifying our markets and increasing our economic autonomy, Legault wrote on X in French. We are in contact with the federal government and other provinces regarding the next steps. Discussions with the American administration must continue. In any case, we will defend the interests of Quebecers. New Brunswick Premier Susan Holt said Canada should still push for a good deal. Canada has what the world wants, and we should not settle for anything less than the best deal for New Brunswickers, she wrote Friday on X. Canada is coming together like never before to support our local businesses, workers and build a strong and resilient economy. We have your back. Darren Major (new window) · CBC News · Senior writer Darren Major is a senior writer for CBC's parliamentary bureau in Ottawa. He previously worked as a digital reporter for CBC Ottawa and a producer for CBC's Power & Politics. He holds a master's degree in journalism and a bachelor's degree in public affairs and policy management, both from Carleton University. He also holds master's degree in arts from Queen's University. He can be reached at With files from Katie Simpson and The Canadian Press
a day ago
Canada 'disappointed' by Trump boosting tariffs to 35%, says Carney
Prime Minister Mark Carney released a statement (new window) just past midnight on Friday after U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order to increase a tariff on Canadian goods to 35 per cent. "While the Canadian government is disappointed by this action, we remain committed to [the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement (new window) ], which is the world's second-largest free trade agreement by trading volume," the statement read. The U.S. application of CUSMA means that the U.S. average tariff rate on Canadian goods remains one of its lowest for all of its trading partners. Other sectors of our economy — including lumber, steel, aluminum and automobiles — are, however, heavily impacted by U.S. duties and tariffs. He says the Canadian government will act to protect Canadian jobs, invest in industrial competitiveness, buy Canadian and diversify export markets. Even though the vast bulk of Canada's exports can still cross the border tariff-free, Trump's executive order (new window) increases the tariff rate, which had been set at 25 per cent since March (new window) , to 35 per cent (new window) starting Friday. WATCH | Trump speaks at the White House just hours before tariff deadline: The order cites Canada's lack of co-operation in stemming the flood of fentanyl and other illicit drugs across our northern border and the fact that Canada has retaliated against the United States for the president's actions. Border security improvements Carney's statement also outlined all the work Canada has been doing to crack down on fentanyl and increase border security. Canada accounts for only one per cent of U.S. fentanyl imports and has been working intensively to further reduce these volumes, he said. Canada's government is making historic investments in border security to arrest drug traffickers, take down transnational gangs and end migrant smuggling. Carney says they have hired thousands of new law enforcement and border security officers, implemented aerial surveillance and increased Canada's intelligence and security operations. Speaking to reporters at the White House, Trump was asked whether Carney's announcement that Canada plans to recognize a Palestinian state (new window) was a deal-breaker on trade. I didn't like what they said, but you know, that's their opinion, Trump said. Not a deal-breaker. But we haven't spoken to Canada today. He's called and we'll see. Negotiations ongoing Trump told NBC News Thursday evening that he was open to further discussions with Canada, adding that he may even speak with Carney later in the night. Carney's office would not confirm that a call was placed to the White House, and told CBC News it is not confirming any details about the ongoing negotiations. In a separate executive order on Thursday, Trump hit dozens of countries around the world with new across-the-board tariff rates ranging from 15 to 41 per cent (new window) . After speaking with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, Trump gave Mexico a 90-day extension (new window) of its current tariff regime, despite having previously threatened to raise the rate effective Friday. Canada's trade negotiating team is in Washington, but officials were tight-lipped Thursday about who they were meeting with — if anyone. WATCH | Canadians' boycott of U.S. booze draws attention south of the border: Tariffs remain 'unjustified,' says Poilievre Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre took to social media Thursday evening, calling the tariffs unjustified and saying his party continues to hold out hope for a deal to end all tariffs. That means zero tariffs on our steel, aluminum, softwood, autos, energy, agriculture and everything else, he wrote on the social media platform X. That is the deal Canada had before and the prime minister should accept nothing short of that. Earlier, Ontario Premier Doug Ford called the tariff increase concerning and said Ottawa should retaliate with 50 per cent tariffs on U.S. steel and aluminum. Canada shouldn't settle for anything less than the right deal, Ford said on X. Now is not the time to roll over. We need to stand our ground. Enlarge image (new window) Note: Trade deals are preliminary. Photo: CBC Union wants to see action Unifor national president Lana Payne said she agrees with Ford. This is the fight of our lives, said Payne, whose union represents some 40,000 autoparts and assembly workers in Canada. And we need to use all our leverage to fight for Canadian workers and their jobs. The stakes are high but we can do this Canada! For more than a week, Carney and other Canadian officials have been downplaying the likelihood (new window) of getting a deal by the deadline. They've also cast doubt on the urgency, given the exemption that allows roughly 90 per cent of Canadian exports to enter the U.S. tariff-free. David Paterson, Ontario's representative in Washington, told CBC's Power & Politics guest host David Common that Canadians should not be overreacting to the lack of a deal right now. WATCH | The latest from Washington, D.C. : The sun will shine in the morning and we will carry on, Paterson said Thursday from his office in Canada's embassy in Washington. We really support the prime minister's approach. When the time is right for that agreement to come together, it will. Comments from U.S. officials White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt suggested earlier Thursday the threatened tariff increases would kick in unless Trump reached last-minute deals with trading partners. Those countries that either do not have a deal or have a letter, they will be hearing from this administration by the midnight deadline tonight, Leavitt told reporters in a briefing. Trump's Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick criticized Canada for being one of the only countries to retaliate against Trump's tariffs. I just don't see the president stepping off the gas, Lutnick said in an interview on Fox Business Network. Trump issued similar ultimatums with the same Aug. 1 deadline to 17 major trading partners across the globe, including the European Union, Japan and Taiwan. Each contained threats of tariffs in the range of 30 per cent. Last week, Trump announced deals with the EU and Japan (new window) with across-the-board tariffs of 15 per cent, as well as vague commitments for hundreds of billions of dollars of investment in the U.S. A pending legal challenge Separately, Trump has imposed a 50 per cent tariff on steel and aluminum imports (new window) from around the world. Canada is the top supplier of both products to the U.S. For the 35 per cent tariff that specifically targets Canada, Trump used a law that allows the U.S. president to take emergency economic measures to deal with any unusual and extraordinary threat to national security. He cited the supposed flow of fentanyl across the country's northern border as that threat. That tariff is facing a legal challenge (new window) that has now reached a federal appeals court, putting it further along in the U.S. court system than any other tariff lawsuit. Mike Crawley (new window) · CBC News · Senior reporter Mike Crawley has covered Ontario politics for CBC News since 2009. He began his career as a newspaper reporter in B.C., spent six years as a freelance journalist in various parts of Africa, then joined the CBC in 2005. Mike was born and raised in Saint John, N.B. Follow Mike Crawley on Twitter (new window) With files from CBC News
