Edmonton police to begin patrols on LRT

Edmonton Public Transit is teaming up with Edmonton police to patrol the LRT line from Grandin station to Clareview.

Starting this week, four police officers will team up with transit peace officers to patrolthe line, for the first time since the LRT opened. The six-month pilot project will endin mid-December.

In this partnership, we are going to be able to better provide service to the people of Edmonton, a wider range of service," said Staff Sgt. Gary Beaulieu. "We are limited by budget and resources, so this is a partnership that just makes sense.

Safety has been a growing concern among many LRT riders.

A video was posted online of a massive brawl that broke out on a crowded LRT platform after the Canada Day fireworks this year. The fight involved a group of young people and has received thousands of views on YouTube.

Transit officials were at another station when the brawl had started and by the time security arrived, the crowd had dispersed.

Coun. Tony Caterina says he is extremely happy with the move.He says he has spent the last few years trying to improve security and the perception of safety on the LRT.

This has been something that has been worked on for the past two or three years by myself and others, to improve that perception and improve security and certainly for the stadium and coliseum stations, Caterina said.

We want to make sure people feel comfortable being on that line at any time of the day or evening.

The pilot project will be evaluated once it wraps up in December.