Rutherford Route Update
The Rutherford route changed for the 2026/2027 season. It is a shorter ride, with one less meeting zone and no more crossing at Connors Road and 95 Ave. Here is what changed, and why.
Previous and current route
What the shorter route gives back
Morning arrival at school is still 8:20 and the afternoon still leaves at 3:40. The saving comes off the front of the morning ride and the end of the afternoon one, so the earliest riders get 18 more minutes at home and the last drop-off is 18 minutes earlier.
Meeting zones and times
| 2025/2026Six zones, 5.2 km | 2026/2027 Five zones, 3.8 km |
|---|---|
|
A
7:28am/3:43pm
Église St-Thomas
|
A
7:46am/3:43pm
Église St-ThomasSame place, 18 minutes later in the morning
|
|
B
7:40am/3:55pm
Gabrielle-Roy
|
B
8:03am/3:59pm
The Shops on 91Moved
|
|
C
7:48am/4:03pm
Strathearn CrescentNo longer a stop
|
Removed along with the northern loop |
|
D
8:07am/4:20pm
Central Baptist Manor
|
C
8:08am/4:04pm
Bonnie Doon HallMoved off the Connors Road crossing
|
|
E
8:15am/4:28pm
École Maurice-Lavallée
|
D
8:15am/4:10pm
École Maurice-LavalléeMorning unchanged, afternoon 18 minutes earlier
|
|
⚑
8:20am/3:40pm
Rutherford School
|
⚑
8:20am/3:40pm
Rutherford SchoolUnchanged
|
| Ride time 52 minam | Ride time 34 minam |
The zone letters shifted when we removed a stop, so please go by the place name rather than the letter. Zone D is now École Maurice-Lavallée, not Central Baptist Manor as it was last season.
What drove the change
-
The crossing at Connors Road and 95 Ave
- Not enough green time. Despite our advocacy, the City has not responded with appropriate accommodations for bicycles at this crossing. Green was raised to 14 seconds (up from 9), but remained insufficient.
- No bike detection. The signal would sometimes not change unless a car was waiting.
- The rails. There are 4 and they cross at a shallow angle, the worst case for a bike wheel. On their own they are manageable. Under pressure to clear a short green, they caused several rider falls.
- Supervision. Two crossing supervisors were required to cross safely with larger groups, which complicated volunteer coordination on every ride.
-
Very few riders in the northern loop
Hardly anyone joined us up there through the pilot, and enrolment data from Edmonton Public Schools points to few students at the north edge of Strathearn. A long stretch of route, very few riders to serve.
-
Winter on the northern path
Snow clearing on the multiuse path at the northern tip was inconsistent, which made the ride unreliable in exactly the months families need it to be dependable.
Tell us how the route is working
We shape our routes around what riders tell us and what our leaders see on the ride. If a meeting zone is hard to reach, if the timing does not fit your mornings, or if you used to join us somewhere we no longer go, we want to hear about it.
Every route gets reviewed each season, and a change like this one starts with someone letting us know something was not working. Get in touch anytime.