The 'lineup' being in the middle could be really messy...but its also unnecessary if people could use a little common sense and anticipate things. Get off the gas and coast in from the 3-way split and you'll hit the loop at about the right speed. But everyone needs to rush into the back of the line and slam on their brakes.
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Originally Posted by Nancy
I was going to wait for the "Ongoing Calgarians Complaining about Ring Roads" thread to bring that one up.
Only one lane and a tight loop. They could have expropriated some of the City of Calgary works yard to at least make the loop bigger to support a higher exit speed?
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It wouldn't be cheap or easy to relocate the substation. What would be a reasonable cost to save 10 seconds per trip?
1. EB-NB loop is about 900 meters long. About 46 seconds at 70 kph.
2. WB-SB is about 500 meters. About 45 seconds at 40 kph.
So the only difference is the time it takes to slow down and speed back up again.
Interestingly, the long one is rated at 40kph and the shorter one is 30 kph. I've only driven each a couple times, but the IRL speed delta may be even less than above. Even keeping the 30 kph delta at a higher overall average speed:
1. Enter at 90, apex(es) 70, exit at 90; say average 80 kph = 40.5 seconds
2. Enter at 60, apex(es) 40, exit at 60; say average 50 kph = 36 seconds
Seems like a classic perception =/= reality situation.