An LRT-based social media segment is inviting Edmontonians onto public transportation to murmur their hottest takes into a tiny mic taped onto a city library card. Those takes are anything from Alberta NDP MLA Sarah Hoffman’s: “Legislature grounds are overrated for grad photos” to business owner Katy Ingraham’s: “Edmontonians don’t deserve to feel safe.” (Hear her out.) To that, local comedian and host Adam Dyck immediately responds with “high-level agree or “high-level disagree.” The series, which Dyck calls LRT Takes, may be familiar for the average Instagram doomscroller. “100 per cent agree” or “100 per cent disagree” is a reaction from viral series Subway Takes, headed by Kareem Rahma. Inspired by Rahma’s show, Dyck started his own project a few months ago to give Edmontonians a niche way to discuss their city. “So far, we’re booking guests. We want to get people who have takes sort of ready to go. We’re not trying to ambush anyone, we’re not trying to trick anybody into getting on camera,” he told CTV News Edmonton from the Valley Line LRT on Wednesday. “There’s so much going on in Edmonton, and we all live here every day, all day. We’ve all got opinions, and people want to share them … People want to have content that’s local to them and speaks to their lives in a way that, you know, national media maybe doesn’t.” The ready-to-go topics do touch on hot topics in and around the city, like the aforementioned idea of safety, or whether the Arc Card should be expanded to include access to other city services. Others are incredibly controversial: food writer Craig Martell, for example, says any pizza place in Edmonton with donair in the name does not make a good pizza or donair. “People really responded to that one with all of their favourite exceptions to the rule,” Dyck said. Occasionally the comment section – albeit still relatively small given it’s a newer project – will get a little angry. But that’s all part of discourse, Dyck says. “I think everybody who lives here has five things they hate and five things they love, and I think it’s important to hear both sides. You’ve got to be able to vent your frustration, and you’ve got to be able to celebrate all the things that makes Edmonton the greatest city in the world.” The secondhand benefit, Dyck says, is normalizing LRT travel. “I hope we’re also showing the bright side of LRT. There’s a lot of negative news about transit. Lots of people in the suburbs are scared to take the train, but I think that’s unfounded … It’s a great amenity for our city that I couldn’t support more.” With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Nahreman Issa
