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Edmonton’s LRT plan has never been more on track, with stellar cheerleading from all three level of governments.

“We’re ready to go with rail,” Mayor Don Iveson says. “The federal funding is materializing, the provincial signals are very promising. The dollars will be there.”

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With the LRT campaign in its moment of triumph, it seems like a good time to again ask if our LRT plan is indeed the best way to invest billions of public dollars. Compelling arguments to invest in a different kind of mass transit, bus rapid transit or BRT, were made recently at an Edmonton workshop by international transportation guru Gil Penalosa. BRT is also being pushed by the Edmonton Transit System Advisory Board, which recently presented a pro-BRT report to council.

The strongest argument for BRT is that if Edmonton is ever going to have a workable grid of high-speed mass transit, with dedicated lines running to all corners of the city, BRT is the only way to go because of cost. BRT costs $10 million to $20 million per kilometre to construct. LRT costs $40 million to $50 million per km.