Residents in the city of St. Albert will be saying goodbye to a fading piece of technology that people are using less and less.
“I actually thought they were all gone already,” St. Albert Mayor Cathy Heron said. “It’s an end of a era, but also an indication of where we’re going in the future.”
Heron has lived in St. Albert since 1969 and remembers when it cost a dime to use the local payphones.
“I’d come out of the movie theatre and call my mom and dad. That’s how I got my rides,” she said.
TELUS is removing its last payphone in St. Albert in March, according to Chelsey Rajzer, senior communications manager with the company.
“The use of payphones has steadily declined over the last two decades due to the popularity and availability of cellphones and wireless coverage across Canada,” Rajzer said.
The last payphone, located inside the Grandin Medical Clinic on St. Anne Street, has generated about $5 over the last two years, which works out to 10 phone calls.
“It’s not generating much for probably what it’s costing,” resident Darren Dynes said.
With the payphone’s removal, a Global News crew went to to St. Albert to ask residents to share their memories.
“As a kid, you always had to check for change in the slot,” Dynes said.
“There’s part of my brain that still looks for them on a street corner or wherever. I use my cellphone, but it was part of our lives for so long,” Carole Picard said.
“Life moves on. Go forward. Everyone’s got a cellphone,” Pat O’Callaghan said.
“University, going out somewhere, you had to get the address, get the Yellow Pages out, look it up and did you have the money to put in?” Janet Smith said.
Most residents didn’t know a payphone in St. Albert still existed, nor how much it costs to make a call.
“Last time it was 25 cents. Not sure how much it is now,” Seamus O’Reilly said. “I didn’t know there were any payphones left in St. Albert, Edmonton surrounding area.”
TELUS has about 700 pay phones left across Alberta, including 77 in the Edmonton area.
It costs 50 cents to make a local call.
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