What is going on out there??

That’s what people keep asking me regarding the traffic situation these days. And I am preparing myself for that question to be asked over and over in the years to come … be it spring, summer, autumn or winter.

Let’s take a look at my back-of-the-napkin math today at lunch:

• Our 1,200,000 population in the Edmonton region is growing at ~3.9% per year, which means that we are adding ~46,800 new people in the Edmonton region, and adding ~20,000 new cars on our roads … every year. It’s also likely that ~3,500 of those new drivers have never experienced snow before. Yikes!

• Our $78 Billion economy is growing around ~3.7% per year, which means that we are adding ~14,500 new commercial vehicles on the roads … every year … on top of this year’s additional ~17,000 new commercial trucks carrying products and materials throughout the region each and every day.

Ouch! No wonder we have congestion … and not just in our sinuses.

No wonder expanding our LRT Network is the #1 Priority of Edmonton City Council.

We are not only a winter city … we need to be a student-friendly city, a green city, a fast-moving city, an efficient city, a scalable city, a downtown-friendly city and an affordable city for us to continue to be an economic and entrepreneurial engine for Alberta.

We are a high-cost jurisdiction when compared to many locations. In order for our economy to boom and our businesses to be competitive, we need to focus on the speed at which our people, ideas and goods can move.

Expanding our LRT system is a key investment that accelerates Alberta.

Let’s make it happen.