In the very early hours of November 4, 2023, hundreds of excited riders boarded the very first Valley Line Southeast train departing the Mill Woods Stop and headed for downtown.
For residents of Mill Woods, it was a voyage over five decades in the making and a once-in-a-lifetime occasion for a community that has seen its fair share of unique “firsts” in Edmonton.
Jannie Edwards has lived in Mill Woods for more than 40 years. She and her grandchildren rode the Valley Line Southeast to downtown and back on its inaugural day.
“The grandkids were totally engaged and excited about going through the tunnel and crossing the river,” says Edwards. “It was great just stepping out exactly where we wanted to arrive.”
A socially-planned community
Mill Woods is unique. Established in the early 1970s, its development plan envisioned a sense of connection and belonging with designated recreational, educational, residential and commercial spaces. The plan also called for quality, affordable homes to accommodate a growing population and offset the inflationary impact of the 1970s oil boom.
Part of the ambitious plan included linking LRT to the heart of the community—Mill Woods Town Centre. At the time, Edmonton was in the midst of building the first phase of the Capital Line LRT from downtown to the northeast side of the city. It was the first modern light rail system in North America built for a population of less than a million people.
Public demand to buy a home in Mill Woods was high, and the first lots were sold by lottery at the end of 1971.
Residents began to move into the brand-new neighbourhoods in the early 1970s and development rapidly outpaced the original 20-year build-out plan.
Today, if Mill Woods was its own city, it would be the fifth largest in Alberta; bigger than Fort McMurray or Grande Prairie. The 2016 municipal census counted close to 80,000 residents in this southeast Edmonton subdivision.
A strong cultural fabric
Mill Woods is known for its unique diversity of cultures. This is partly due to Edmonton’s immigration influx at the time and Mill Woods’ attractive affordability. In the early 1970s and into the ‘80s, people flocked to the city from Uganda, Chile, Pakistan and Vietnam, and chose to make Mill Woods their home away from home.
Since 1990, tens of thousands of people pack Mill Woods Park every year to celebrate Canada Day with petting zoos, hay rides, food— and of course, fireworks.
There’s also the annual Nagar Kirtan Sikh Parade, which started in 1999 and draws tens of thousands of members from the Sikh community. Each May, participants gather at one of the two nearby Gurdwaras (a Sikh temple) and lead a colourful procession through Mill Woods. There are floats, food, music, speeches and prayers throughout the event.
The missing piece of the puzzle
In 2009, the City began re-examining the possibility of LRT expansion and completed a long-term study to define the future size, scale and operation of Edmonton’s LRT system. The approved LRT Network Plan called for the potential development of five LRT lines across the city, one of them being the Valley Line Southeast, which would serve riders between Mill Woods and downtown.
Mill Woods, arguably one of the largest benefactors of this new transit system, waited faithfully and patiently throughout the next 15 years of design, procurement and construction of the Valley Line Southeast.
Now, with three stops directly serving Mill Woods—the Millbourne/Woodvale Stop, the Grey Nuns Stop and the Mill Woods Stop, Valley Line will stitch this community together even tighter, whether residents hop on the train to see Santa at Mill Woods Town Centre, visit a sick friend at the Grey Nuns Hospital, take the kids to swimming lessons at Mill Woods Recreation Centre or ride to class at one of the two local high schools.
“A dynamic, thriving future”
And, while Mill Woods was designed as a self-sufficient “city within a city,” Valley Line opens doors to the community for people to move easily and reliably throughout the city; to attractions, events and work.
“We have been waiting decades for this and my partner and I have plans to get symphony season tickets and an art gallery membership,” says Edwards.
Even more than that, the new line welcomes transit riders from across Edmonton to visit and experience the uniqueness and deep cultural roots of this southeast suburb themselves, some for the very first time.
With the delivery of LRT to the heart of Mill Woods, new possibilities are opening up once again. In 2022, Maclab Development Group purchased Mill Woods Town Centre and announced they will develop the area into a transit-oriented community hub, with new community, retail and residential spaces.
“The Valley Line Southeast ushers in a new era for Edmonton’s connectivity and growth, especially for Mill Woods,” says Mayor Amarjeet Sohi.
“With the Valley Line finally operating, it not only signifies enhanced transportation, but it also represents the promise of a dynamic, thriving future for our community. The Valley Line Southeast is a testament to our city’s commitment to progress and accessibility for all.”
Mill Woods’ milestones
Mill Woods has a long history of bringing communities together. Its name comes from Edmonton’s Mill Creek, which flows through the northeast portion of the subdivision.
• Between 1876 and 1891, the Mill Woods area was settled, under treaty, by a Métis-Cree band led by John Papaschase. After 1891, the area became part of the ring of agricultural settlement surrounding the city of Edmonton.
• In 1970, concern over rising costs of serviced land prompted the Government of Alberta to assemble a land bank southeast of the city. In 1971, the City of Edmonton prepared a development plan and began purchasing the land from the Province.
• On March 2, 1979, an estimated 19,000 Edmontonians were evacuated from homes, schools and businesses after a pipeline ruptured in Mill Woods.
• Twenty-seven people were killed when a powerful tornado ripped through eastern Edmonton and parts of Strathcona County on July 31, 1987.
Editor’s note: the photo at the top of the post shows excited riders lined up at 4 a.m. on November 4, 2023 to catch the first Valley Line Southeast train departing from the Mill Woods Stop.
Read more about Mill Woods’ history and more on Tracks in Time, a collection of stories about Edmonton to commemorate the opening of the Valley Line Southeast LRT.