From South Edmonton Common to High Level Bridge, the top spots city drivers love to hate

Despite the expansion of the bike-lane network and the continued growth of the transit system, Edmonton is still very much a “get in the vehicle and go” city.

A 2024 Statistics Canada survey of Canada’s 10 largest cities found that “car, truck or van” is the choice for 86.4 per cent of Edmonton commuters. That makes Edmonton the most personal-vehicle reliant major city in the country.

Then, take these factors into consideration: Edmonton’s population has grown by more than 100,000 people in just two years. So there are more people trying to get around. And, Alberta government stats show that only about a third of the more than 725.000 vehicles registered in this city are cars. The majority of us drive pickups. vans or SUVs.

So, not only are there more vehicles on our roads, we are choosing to drive larger and larger vehicles, which each take up more space, crowd lanes and clog street parking. And with the rise of even larger and heavier electric vehicles, we’ll see even more impacts on our roads. We need to accept that congestion is part of getting around in Edmonton. Our traffic isn’t Toronto or Los Angeles bad, but there are enough hotspots out there to clog your day and foil your plans to have dinner with the family before taking the kids to practice.

Where are some of the biggest traffic headaches? We consulted our readers and the City of Edmonton’s average annual weekday traffic map. If you’re traveling to any of these places, have your favourite podcasts or playlists ready, because you might be waiting around for a while.

The spot: 231 Street at Stony Plain Road (Hwy. 16A)

The flow: 40,843 vehicles a day

A decade ago, 231 Street near Hwy 16A had just 400 vehicles worth of traffic a day. It was Sunday driving all day, every day. And then the city expanded westward, and the Secord neighbourhood took hold in a spot where fields used to be. Now, 231 Street is about 15 times as busy as it was 10 years ago. That means a lot of people turn left off the highway (no lights, of course) onto 231 Street.

The highway’s left turn lane is short, but often dozens of cars are waiting to make that turn. So the drivers all pull into the left shoulder and inch forward as they wait to make that turn across traffic coming at them at more than 100 km/h. During the previous council session, now-Mayor Andrew Knack flagged this as one of the most dangerous intersections in the city. It’s compounded in the evening with all of the parents ferrying their kids to games at practice at the West Charpentier Complex just off 231 Street.

A tip: There’s no way around it, you’ll need wait on the shoulder to make a left turn. When your vehicle shudders as trucks roar by you at more than 100 km/h, just try not to think of the fact that you’re a sitting duck. Happy thoughts, folks, happy thoughts.

The spot: South Edmonton Common

The flow: More than 103,000 vehicles a day on Calgary Trail/Gateway Boulevard at 23 Avenue.

The city tracks a daily weekday average, but this number has to skyrocket during the holiday season, as drivers navigate the ramps up to 23 Avenue or wait to turn off at 19 Avenue into South Edmonton Common. The big-box mall is a maze that will have you wondering which way is north after a few shallow turns and shortcuts through parking lots.

You can literally follow a train of cars during weekend mornings from the main thoroughfare, snaking their way to the Ikea parking lot. The call of cheap breakfast is too much. At rush hour, traffic will snarl from the Whitemud all the way down to South Edmonton Common, and the fact that Calgary Trail and Gateway Boulevard are separated by blocks and blocks of even more big-box stores and fast-food restaurants jams the inside lanes.

The workaround: Well, if heading south, the best bet was to use 91 Street instead, but things have changed…

The Spot: 91 Street south of Whitemud Drive

The flow: (North of Costco) 44,380 vehicles a day; (South of Costco) 36,495 vehicles a day.

So, this used to be the alternative to get into Mill Woods, rather than slog down Calgary Trail during the afternoon rush. But two things have made 91 Street almost as impassable as Calgary Trail — it’s now the route of choice to connect Ellerslie Road-area communities to the Whitemud Drive and … Costco.

The line to get into the Costco parking lot will gum up traffic in the right lane. And it’s strategically placed in between the two busy Mill Woods exits, at 34 Avenue and 23 Avenue. A few readers flagged the exit from the Whitemud onto 91 Street as especially harrowing, noting they see new skidmarks in the exit lane each time they drive in the area.

The workaround: If you’re not making a right turn, stay in the left lane as long as you can.

The Spot: High Level Bridge

The flow: 24,376 vehicles a day

Use of the High Level Bridge has slowly been declining over the years, but it can still provide snarls. The issue isn’t always volume, but the entrance from the downtown side of the bridge onto the two-lane deck. Yes, the low clearance has fooled more than a few truck drivers over the years, who have wedged their vehicles into the “you shall not pass” opening that wasn’t mean for bigger rigs.

But the daily issue is that two separate lanes curve and converge as you enter the bridge, so drivers tend to take them awfully slowly for fear of swiping the vehicles entering next to them. Some drivers even stop, though there is no stop sign.

Pro tip: Because the two free-flow lanes tend to make drivers nervous, make the turn easier for yourself. Do as an F1 driver would so, and set up for a turn ahead of time. If you’re coming in from the left, put your vehicle as far as it can go to the right side of the entry lane. By doing this, you will make the turn into the free-flow lane on the bridge much more shallow and easier to complete. If you’re coming in from the right side, place your vehicle to the left of the lane as much as possible.

The Spot: 87 Avenue at 149 Street

The flow: 24,900 vehicles a day

Wait, this doesn’t seem like a lot compared with other examples, right? Well, for most of the day, this intersection is fairly quiet, but between 4 p.m. and 6 p.m., this turns into a lineup of vehicles waiting to make a left turn from 87 Avenue onto 149 Street, which is the favoured access point to the Whitemud for people coming out western neighbourhoods and downtown.

There are two left turn lanes, and the two left lanes on 87 Avenue are absolutely jammed. Some drivers know they can butt into the central left turn lane by hanging on in the right lane as long as possible before dive-bombing in. This makes those in the line behind wait even longer.

The workaround: Avoid the line by pulling off this totally legal, lateral-thinking manouevre. Stay in the right lane on 87 Avenue and go past the 149 Street intersection. Then turn right into the access road that leads to the McDonald’s that’s just to the west of 149th. Turn in to that lot, spin around and then make an easy right exit turn onto 149 Street.

As you head south towards the Whitemud, you will see drivers who were way ahead of you in line on 87 Avenue still waiting to get moving. Cackle with delight, because you understand that the fastest way between points A and B isn’t always a straight line.

The Spot: Quesnel Bridge

The flow: 104,561 vehicles per day

Not only is this the busiest spot on the Whitemud, but the most recent set of city collision stats shows it to be the most dangerous place to drive in the city. On the south side of the bridge, you have two busy exits in succession. There’s the standard right-turn exit to Fox Drive on one side, then there are tricky left-turn exits onto Terwillegar Drive. Plus, you have the incoming traffic from the on-ramps.

Terwillegar Drive takes about 50,000 vehicles a day, so you can see why Quesnel Bridge becomes such a pinch point. Because of the rapid entries and exits near the bridge, we see a lot of quick lane changing happening in very short order. If your kid built a bridge like this with a Lego set you’d cackle at the sheer lunacy of the thing.

Pro tip: Make sure you are shoulder checking and keeping your eyes peeled. This is a part of the city that requires your attention. If you need driver-assist tools in order to pass, remember that they are meant to be aides, and not something you rely on. Keep your head on a swivel.

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