Quote:
Originally Posted by Old Yeller
Really this thread makes me curious about what planning originally went into Deerfoot and if they had an ultimate plan before someone said "nah, #### it.. let's just throw down some lanes and see where they go".
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This story gives a decent overview of the history:
http://www.calgaryherald.com/news/De...087/story.html
The first segment (north city limits to 16th Ave) opened in 1971, when Calgary's population was just over 350,000.
Originally, the next segment would have crossed the river east of the zoo and would have cut through the middle of Inglewood. It would have essentially run straight south from Memorial to where it currently turns south after the Calf Robe Bridge. That alignment would have pretty much wiped Inglewood off the map, but we wouldn't have had all the problems of the Calf Robe and that stretch of Deerfoot. Inglewood residents successfully protested against the original alignment, and we got what we have now.
The southern portion of the Deerfoot originally was to go south of Anderson (likely following the same route that Bow Bottom Trail currently follows) through Fish Creek Park. Presumably, this portion would have connected to 22X around where Lake Sikome is. Peter Lougheed blocked this alignment from happening because he didn't want a freeway cutting through his newly-established Provincial Park.
Deerfoot Trail and the City of Calgary would both look a lot different today if they had built to the original plans.