Tales of gridlock in southwest Edmonton’s suburbs are nothing new. But with the Alberta government recently approving funding to plan a new Heritage Valley charter school expected to house 1,200 students when it opens in a few years, concerns are growing that traffic could get worse before it gets better. As the city’s road construction season winds down, drivers can expect congestion to persist, or even intensify, following approval of the new school near 32 Avenue in southwest Edmonton. Jon Morgan, the area’s city councillor, took to social media to voice frustration over the prospect of worsening gridlock and to raise questions about development plans for a large parcel of land close to the proposed school site. To some extent, the city’s hands are tied. Land at Ellerslie Road and 127 Street was originally slated for a new hospital and an arterial road that was expected to be completed this year. But the province delayed plans for the southwest hospital in 2019 and ultimately cancelled them in 2024, stalling the city’s plans to extend Heritage Valley Trail South. That extension would create a new route through southwest Edmonton to Anthony Henday Drive. “(The road) could be built if the province releases those plans,” Morgan, who represents Ward Ipiihkoohkanipiaohtsi, told CTV News Edmonton on Wednesday. “We just need the province to make a decision on what they want.” Rihannon Hoyle, the MLA for Edmonton South, said the provincial government has not kept pace with population growth and that traffic and health care are among the top concerns she hears from constituents. In a statement to CTV News Edmonton on Wednesday, the office of Infrastructure Minister Martin Long said the province is working with the city on long-term transportation planning and continues to assess health-care infrastructure needs in the region. Morgan says he and southwest residents would like answers sooner rather than later. “Just give people another direct access route out of the area or into the area,” he said.
