Edmonton Transit Service Meadowlark Transit Centre

Opened 1972 or Earlier
Closed Delisted April 24, 2021, closed February 5, 2022
Location Meadowlark Road at about 88 Ave, Meadowlark Mall parking lto
LRT Lines Served Future WLRT
Platform Loop with perimeter stops
Passenger Access N/A
Park and Ride No
1978                                          1998                                          2017

Meadowlark Transit Centre was a small loop-style transit centre located in the West parking lot of the Meadowlark mall, in the West end of Edmonton.
The origins of this transit centre a little bit hazy at this point. What we do know is that it seemingly existed as the same loop we were familiar with when it closed, at least as early as 1972.

1972 ETS map showing an apparent loop at the same location as we are familiar with Meadowlark being located.
In 1972, the only other transit centre was Jasper Place, with Westmount 3 years away. Meadowlark was listed as a timing point, but it never did have the "transit centre" moniker until into the 1980's. The 1965 aerial images do no show the loop.
Until the opening of West Jasper Place (WEM) Transit Centre in the Fall of 1981, Meadowlark would have been the primary transit centre in the area. In 1980 11 routes called at Meadowlark, but by 1982 it was down to 6 and by 1983 only 3 routes, which was probably adequate for the size of the facility! I would love to have seen Meadowlark with 11 routes, although we suspect some routes probably only stopped on the street. A number of routes ran close by on 87 Ave, but didn't divert into Meadowlark. Meadowlark would remain at 3 routes until Horizon 2000, when it increased to 4 routes, however, this included the route 2 which was routed off of 87 Ave into the terminal. This arrangement didn't last long, and the 2 was removed and left on 87 Ave by 2002, returning Meadowlark to 3 routes. By the time that the BNR was rolled out, Meadowlark was back up to 4 routes, 3 of them being routes utilizing Vicinity buses, while only the route #1 was operating 40' buses into the transit centre.
With the rollout of the BNR on April 25, 2021, Meadowlark would cease being listed as a transit centre. The BNR took into consideration the future WLRT, and consequently the route 1 was broken up, replaced by other routes in the West, with those routes avoiding the Meadowlark Road and 156 St corridor due to future LRT construction. That left the route 924 as the only route using Meadowlark, and this would come to an end on February 5, 2022. Instead of using Meadowlark to loop, the bus was routed around the Meadowlark Mall. By 2023 there was almost no sign of the Meadowlark Transit Centre, with it's former location becoming a part of the parking lot. Eventually, the West Valley Line LRT will have a Meadowlark Stop directly adjacent to where the Meadowlark Transit Centre was located.

A rendering of the future WLRT Meadowlark Stop shows it will be directly adjacent to the former Meadowlark Transit Centre.
The transit centre consisted of a simple 1 way loop with an entrance and exit from Meadowlark Road. While it's tough to judge how many bus stops existed from older aerial images, the terminal was probably capable of holding no more than 3-4 buses at once. A 2013 Transit Centre map showed only 2 stops, although each served by 3 routes.
Meadowlark has seen a few minor revisions over the years, in particular sometime between 1988 and 1998. The entrance originally was a shared entrance for regular traffic, this was eliminated, and replaced with what looks like a feature that could function as a bus bay, but I am not sure if it ever was. Along the North side of the loop, a bump out was added which almost looks like it could have created 2 bus bays. It looks like the parking lot was modified, leaving a wider space for transit users, and it seems that before these changes there were no bus shelters at Meadowlark.
The biggest changes came in 2017. During the summer of 2017 the bus driveway and passengers platforms/ sidewalks were replaced, thanks in part to Federal PTIF funding, which covered $728,000 of the $1,500,000 cost. The complete rebuilding allowed the proper replacement of the former joint automobile and bus entrance, allowing a bus bay on the southside. Following this upgrade, ETS would have bus bays on all 3 sides of the loop.
As a part of Horizon 2000 bus stop signage was replaced City-wide, including the "Transit Zone Limit" signage. For some reason, the original Transit Zone limit signs were never replaced within the Meadowlark Transit Centre, and lasted well into the Horizon 2000 era before finally being upgraded. There was also a well aged wood "Private Property E.T.S. Buses Only" sign until at least 2003. This sign likely dated from before the adoption of "Edmonton Transit" and the "Flying E" in 1976.

1976-style Transit Zone limit sign at Meadowlark.
August 2001		 Meadowlark looking East from Meadowlark Road.
October 30, 2003		 Meadowlark looking East from Meadowlark Road.
October 30, 2003		 ETS signage at Meadowlark. More than likely the sign which says ETS is older than 1975, before the name change to Edmonton Transit.
October 30, 2003		 Looking Northwest, a few days before the BNR.
April 22, 2021
Looking more towards the North.
April 22, 2021		 Bus stop #5302 along the Eastside of the loop, with newer furniture from Meadowlarks 2017 rebuild. Note the stop closing sign.
April 22, 2021
A route 1 in the South bay. This was one that was created with the 2017 rebuild. The bus stop sign indicates that this stop will still be used once the BNR is launched.
April 22, 2021		 Final scheduled information at Meadowlark.
February 1, 2022		 Looking towards the bus exit.
February 1, 2022
 
Looking towards the entrance, and the lone bus stop still in use.
February 1, 2022		 Last bus stop in use at Meadowlark.
February 1, 2022		 2013 arriving at Meadowlark as a 924.
February 1, 2022		 Signage at Meadowlark, with 2013 departing in behind. The signage includes the West Valley Line LRT extension, but also that No Entry sign features the old "Flying E".
February 1, 2022