100 Street Funicular

Inclined elevator in Edmonton, Canada January 2026 September 2026 thumb|right|The 100 Street Funicular ascending The 100 Street Funicular is an inclined elevator in Edmonton, Alberta. It connects 100 Street in Downtown Edmonton with Louise McKinney Riverfront Park, which is part of Edmonton's North Saskatchewan River valley parks system. Design The 100 Street Funicular's upper terminus is just south of the Fairmont Hotel Macdonald and descends parallel to a staircase with built-in seating and a bicycle rail. Its Plexiglass-walled cabin has a capacity of 20 people and traverses a distance of 55 meters in 48 seconds.Funiculi, funicula — Edmonton's funicular about to open Kent Gordon December 8, 2017 https://edmontonjournal.com/news/local-news/funiculi-funicula-edmontons-funicular-about-to-open April 7, 2025 Edmonton Journal Despite its name, the 100 Street Funicular is not a true funicular in the sense that it only has one car, not two counterbalanced cars. The funicular is free to ride. At the funicular's lower terminus is a 200 meter promenade and a pedestrian bridge over Grierson Hill Road, terminating in the Frederick G. Todd Overlook over the North Saskatchewan River and the Low Level Bridge. North of the promenade is a grassy slope featuring a public artwork, Turbulent by Jill Anholt, that doubles as seating. A conventional elevator with a capacity of 10 people can take riders to the river valley floor.Funicular project complete with elevator, urban staircase takes shape in Edmonton's river valley Mah Bill September 22, 2016 https://edmontonjournal.com/news/local-news/funicular-project-complete-with-elevator-urban-staircase-takes-shape-in-edmontons-river-valley April 7, 2025 Edmonton JournalConstruction on $24-million Edmonton funicular starts this week, takes inspiration from New York's High Line Ellwand Otiena March 7, 2016 https://edmontonjournal.com/news/local-news/funicular-part-of-edmontons-vision-to-connect-park-jewels-and-enhance-river-valley-access April 7, 2025 Edmonton Journal This entire route is described as the Mechanized River Valley Access project and provides fully mechanized access to lower reaches of Edmonton's river valley, including to disabled users.Funicular helps Edmonton man with cerebral palsy experience river valley for first time December 14, 2017 https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/edmonton-funicular-zachary-weeks-river-valley-1.4449321 April 7, 2025 Canadian Broadcasting Corporation The funicular was designed by DIALOG. In 2019, the design was honored by an International Architecture Award from the Chicago Athenaeum and the European Centre for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies.Edmonton's funicular wins international architecture award Johnson Lisa July 11, 2019 https://edmontonjournal.com/news/local-news/edmontons-funicular-wins-international-architecture-award April 6, 2025 Edmonton Journal In 2020, the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada awarded the full Mechanized River Valley Access project a National Urban Design Award in the category of civic design.National Urban Design Awards — 2020 Recipient: Mechanized River Valley Access https://raic.org/awards/national-urban-design-awards-2020-recipient-1 April 6, 2025 Royal Architectural Institute of Canada The design of the broader project was inspired in part by New York's High Line. History thumb|A view of the whole Mechanized River Valley Access system, with the funicular and staircase in the left background. The first inclined elevator to operate in Edmonton was the Edmonton Incline Railway, which connected an area just below McDougall United Church to the Edmonton Hotel, which was at the bottom of the hill. Unlike the 100 Street Funicular, the elevator cost a fee to ride—five cents per passenger on foot or fifteen cents for a team of horses. It operated from 1907 to 1918, its decline hastened by the completion of the High Level Bridge.Fun with Funiculars: Sliding into Edmonton's Past Simons Paula April 9, 2015 https://edmontonjournal.com/news/local-news/fun-with-funiculars-sliding-into-edmontons-past April 3, 2025 Edmonton Journal Paula Simons In the early 2010s, the construction of a new inclined elevator was proposed both as a tourist attraction and as an accessibility tool. By 2013, the idea was one of five river valley access projects to attract a funding commitment from the federal government and the River Valley Alliance, an arm's-length organization comprising seven municipalities along the North Saskatchewan River. The idea underwent considerable debate among both residents and city councillors, with some questioning whether it would be a wasteful investment, although a large majority of the funding was committed by the federal and provincial governments.Simons: Funiculì, Funiculà: Our funicular may strike a note we shouldn’t turn a deaf ear to Simons Paula April 8, 2015 https://edmontonjournal.com/news/local-news/simons-funiculi-funicula-our-funicular-may-strike-a-note-we-shouldnt-turn-a-deaf-ear-to April 7, 2025 Edmonton Journal Paula Simons A report noted that the journey into the river valley on the funicular would take longer than using the existing steps, but concluded that it should still be built to strengthen the connections between downtown and the river valley and aid those with mobility issues.Funicular should be built below Hotel Macdonald, report says Kent Gordon June 11, 2015 https://edmontonjournal.com/news/local-news/funicular-should-be-built-below-hotel-macdonald-report-says April 7, 2025 Edmonton Journal Edmonton City Council approved the project in June 2015. Mayor Don Iveson expressed that the stringent deadline and lack of flexibility in using the federal funds pushed the council towards committing to the project.Edmonton funicular construction to start March 7 Stolte Elise February 23, 2016 https://edmontonjournal.com/news/local-news/edmonton-funicular-construction-to-start-march-7 April 7, 2025 Edmonton Journal An environmental assessment was completed in February 2016, and construction began soon after on March 7. The foundation was laid by September 2016, and the Swiss-manufactured cab was set to be delivered by the end of that year. By August 2017, only some electrical work, testing, and landscaping remained to be completed.Funicular construction in final stages, set to launch in fall Cook Dustin August 1, 2017 https://edmontonjournal.com/news/local-news/funicular-construction-in-final-stages-set-to-launch-in-the-fall April 7, 2025 Edmonton Journal The funicular formally opened on December 9, 2017, with a ribbon-cutting ceremony by Don Iveson. It was delivered on time and within budget.Edmonton launches $24-million river valley funicular December 9, 2017 https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/edmonton-funicular-launch-river-valley-stairs-accessible-1.4441601 April 6, 2025 Canadian Broadcasting Corporation Out of the $24 million construction budget, Edmonton contributed $1.7 million, with the rest coming from provincial and federal contributions and the River Valley Alliance. The city also committed to covering nearly all of the operational costs.Edmonton's funicular will be ready by winter, city says Keeler Nola September 11, 2017 https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/funicular-completion-edmonton-river-valley-1.4284355 April 6, 2025 Canadian Broadcasting Corporation Challenges Shortly after opening, the funicular began to be beset by a number of problems. Some of them were caused by Edmonton's cold climate; during the first winter of operation, blowing snow in the door tracks triggered alarms multiple times, and it was found that the doors would malfunction under temperatures below −25 °C.'Consider it teething pain': New river valley funicular troubled by Edmonton winter Stolte Elise March 3, 2018 https://edmontonjournal.com/news/local-news/consider-it-teething-pain-new-river-valley-funicular-troubled-by-edmonton-winters April 6, 2025 Edmonton Journal In late 2018, three panes of custom-made glass were shattered in an act of vandalism. The repairs necessitated a shutdown of two days and cost $47,000.Vandalism leads to $47K repair for Edmonton's funicular September 6, 2018 https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/vandalism-leads-to-47k-repair-for-edmonton-s-funicular-1.4813451 April 6, 2025 Canadian Broadcasting Corporation In addition, the emergency stop button was pushed by accident more than 300 times during the first year of operation. Nevertheless, the city found that the maintenance and operating costs in the first year, which were about $716,000, were within the expected range. Improvements were made during a three-week period in December 2018 to reduce the number of incidents requiring maintenance, including by adding a cover to the emergency stop button and improving performance under winter conditions.Funicular not fun for city to maintain during first year McLean Tanara February 16, 2019 https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/funicular-costs-edmonton-1.5022370 April 6, 2025 Canadian Broadcasting CorporationNarrow rail for bicycles among the ups and downs of Edmonton's new funicular Neufeld Lydia August 17, 2018 https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/funicular-bike-rails-cyclists-edmonton-1.4789368 April 6, 2025 Canadian Broadcasting Corporation In June 2020, several of the glass panels were once again smashed by a vandal, who was apprehended.Edmonton's funicular closes down after glass panels vandalized Junker Anna June 23, 2020 https://edmontonjournal.com/news/local-news/edmontons-funicular-closes-down-after-glass-panels-vandalized April 6, 2025 Edmonton Journal There have also been occasional problems and complaints concerning the broader Mechanized River Valley Access project. The second elevator descending from the Frederick G. Todd Overlook, which opened in February 2018, was shut down two days after opening by a group of young men jumping up and down. Initially, cyclists also complained that when they had to take the stairs outside of the 7 AM to 9 PM operating hours of the funicular, the bicycle rail was too narrow and awkward to comfortably use. These issues were addressed in later repairs. Taking stock of the funicular's challenges five years after opening, Edmonton Journal opinion writer Keith Gerein argued that although there were understandable reasons for approving it, the funicular had turned out to be "one of Edmonton’s weirdest and most superfluous installations." He claimed that the challenges with vandalism, graffiti, and minor disruptions validated the concerns of the project's critics that Edmonton would be left shouldering a large maintenance bill, and questioned whether the ridership—averaging to 300 passengers per day—was worth it.Keith Gerein: Edmonton's funicular after five years — a tale of vandalism, costs and closures Gerein Keith April 13, 2023 https://edmontonjournal.com/opinion/columnists/keith-gerein-edmontons-funicular-after-five-years-a-tale-of-vandalism-costs-and-closures April 7, 2025 Edmonton Journal References 53 32 23 N 113 29 22 W title Category:Buildings and structures in Edmonton Category:Inclined elevators