Quote:
Originally Posted by Ironhorse
I don't think it is unrealistic to ask for usage statistics. It is part of proper engineering and use-case analyis before throwing more money at something. The fact that the city admin is stonewalling on providing usage numbers is a problem.
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It's a bad faith request. It would be like building Deerfoot from 16th Ave to McKnight, and then building Deerfoot from Douglasdale to McKenzie Towne and asking why Deerfoot isn't being used as much as planned. We have a good bike lane network started, but it's missing key connections to make it truly useful to the average person. There's so many bike lanes that disappear at random places and that hinders the usability of the network.
We already know from Ontario's fight with Toronto that restoring these "valuable" lost parking spots and lanes won't actually improve travel times for anyone. It's ideology over true long-term planning. If the UCP were truly concerned with travel times they wouldn't have chosen to fight the green line the way they are.
Finally, let's be clear here: Alberta Transportation is a car-focused government agency. They dabble in other areas, but cars are 95% of their focus. It's a fight to get them to include pedestrian friendly infrastructure at the best of times. They're getting better over time, but what they specialize in is so far outside what we encounter in urban areas that they shouldn't even be commenting on what cities need for accommodating all users.
EDIT: I see others beat me to the punch. I'm gonna leave this as-is though.