[Thunderball]

I somewhat agree with Table 5... sprawling communities along arterial roads is not an answer on its own. However, shoehorning people in and ceasing outward growth isn't either.

The solution is somewhere in between.

First and foremost is to come to grips to the fact that the LRT will not solve anything on its own unless literally tens of billions of dollars are poured into it. Even then there's no guarantees. So, you work to its strengths. What are two things the LRT can do better than driving? Access to downtown and dispersing large groups (ie: Sporting events). I'd argue right now they can't even do that right. The focus should be on perfecting those two uses for LRT... then try to tackle intracity ridership, which frankly, private vehicles do much better. Therefore, one needs good arterial roads and actual freeways in between quadrants of the city. Deerfoot is a poor freeway (Glenmore squeeze, anyone?). However, it'll do that job if its not the only one. There is no East-West Freeway and that is a collosal failure for city planners. Ideally, there would be two. One connecting NW and NE and one connecting SW and SE, intersecting at Deerfoot and the Ring Road. Once you have that, the intracity driving issue is greaty diminished. Problem is, one would essentially have to build interchanges and expand most of Glenmore and John Laurie/McKnight to do it.

As for housing, this city should be building up. It should also be building out (at a much lower rate mind you). Lets face it. People like single detached houses with garages and yards. There's no reason why they can't have that. They just can't be huge lots and neighborhoods designed to take up a ton of room. Lots of people also like condo living. Not just downtown, but anywhere in the city. Why can't there be a low-rise, middle to upper class condominium tower in Woodbine for instance? Build suburbs like small towns, with walkable plazas, single-family and multi-family dwellings. Just make sure there's enough garages, lane and alley parking. Think a combination of Canmore, Marda Loop, Mackenzie Towne and Garrison Woods.