Calgary Public Transit - Discussion

[frinkprof]

In other news, 16 of the 38 new LRVs on order have arrived. Apparently they might be starting to run them regularly on the NE line as well.

[You Need a Thneed]

Originally Posted by frinkprof

In other news, 16 of the 38 new LRVs on order have arrived. Apparently they might be starting to run them regularly on the NE line as well.

I did see a consist of them running up in the NE this morning.

[Starfishy]

Originally Posted by frinkprof

Link to full article

They had a couple of guys at the Fish Creek lot this morning helping people park in the right spots.

[Bill Bumface]

Question for you LRT gurus. Why on any stretch of track where it seems like derailing would be even worse than normal (bridges/overpasses) is there a set of rails inside the regular ones. Does anything on the train actually contact these? What do they do? Trap the train if it does derail?

[Russic]

Originally Posted by frinkprof

In other news, 16 of the 38 new LRVs on order have arrived. Apparently they might be starting to run them regularly on the NE line as well.

Seems a little obvious, but I assume these are replacing the oldest model?

[frinkprof]

Originally Posted by Russic

Seems a little obvious, but I assume these are replacing the oldest model?

Nope. Mostly servicing track extensions. I believe it is 21 for the West LRT, 7 for the NW extension to Tuscany, 6 for the NE extension to Saddletown, and 4 to replace LRVs written-off by collision damage.

[TurnedTheCorner]

No word on how fast the free spots are filling up? At Crowfoot?

[frinkprof]

North Central LRT Open Houses upcoming in late May:

Wednesday May 25, 2011(4pm – 8pm)
Location: Cardel Place
11950 Country Village Link NE (lobby area)

Thursday May 26, 2011 (4pm – 8pm)
Location: Winston Heights Community Association
520-27 Ave NE (main hall)

Saturday May 28, 2011 (9:30am – 2:30pm)
Location: Huntington Hills Community Association
520-78 Ave NW (main hall)

http://www.calgarytransit.com/html/n...t_oh_2011.html

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If you think a more central routing (Centre Street or Edmonton Trail) makes more sense than the Nose Creek alignment, have your voice heard in person at the open houses, or e-mail in your comments.

Below is the official routing of the North Central LRT as of right now:

[fredr123]

Originally Posted by frinkprof

North Central LRT Open Houses upcoming in late May:

Wednesday May 25, 2011(4pm – 8pm)
Location: Cardel Place
11950 Country Village Link NE (lobby area)

Thursday May 26, 2011 (4pm – 8pm)
Location: Winston Heights Community Association
520-27 Ave NE (main hall)

Saturday May 28, 2011 (9:30am – 2:30pm)
Location: Huntington Hills Community Association
520-78 Ave NW (main hall)

http://www.calgarytransit.com/html/n...t_oh_2011.html

--------------------

This has probably been discussed elsewhere, but what is the anticipated decade for construction of some form of transit (LRT or whatever) along this north-centre route?

[Cowboy89]

Originally Posted by fredr123

This has probably been discussed elsewhere, but what is the anticipated decade for construction of some form of transit (LRT or whatever) along this north-centre route?

By the time your kids have kids.

[You Need a Thneed]

Originally Posted by fredr123

This has probably been discussed elsewhere, but what is the anticipated decade for construction of some form of transit (LRT or whatever) along this north-centre route?

Likely 20+ years away, unless the province or feds are rolling in cash and want to fund something.

Right now, the city is spending a lot of money on the west LRT. The North Central LRT is likely 3 big projects away (After the SE LRT and 8th Ave Subway).

Perhaps the NC LRT could be built together with the SE LRT as a P3, but that will only happen if Calgary gets a huge chunk of cash, say $3 billion+ .

I will say that I don't think that the current approved route up Nose Creek makes any sense, as I don't think it meets the transit needs of Calgarians, and it introduces significant operational and capacity problems for the NC and NE lines.

[Cowboy89]

Originally Posted by You Need a Thneed

I will say that I don't think that the current approved route up Nose Creek makes any sense, as I don't think it meets the transit needs of Calgarians, and it introduces significant operational and capacity problems for the NC and NE lines.

I also think it misses a huge opportunity to redevelop inner-city communities in the Center Street Corridor. If the city is serious about building up not out then it would make little sense to build an express line that bypasses commuters from 16 Ave to Beddington.

[frinkprof]

Originally Posted by fredr123

This has probably been discussed elsewhere, but what is the anticipated decade for construction of some form of transit (LRT or whatever) along this north-centre route?

There's no hard timelines on these things. It's the next priority (well, new line-wise) after the Southeast line. At one point, the SE line was ball-parked for when Calgary hits a population of 1.25 million, and the north central line for when it hits 1.5 million.

The real holdup is funding. If there had been funding in the 1990s, the west line, the northwest extension to Crowfoot, and the south extension to Fish Creek would have been all done by 1995.

My guess is we may not see the north central line done until maybe 2025 or later, but depending on a few variables such as population/economic growth and of course funding initiatives, I think it could be done by 2020.

[Superflyer]

Not sure if this has been mentioned but the integration of Google maps and Calgary transit is great. I had to take a new bus route today and I used Google maps with the transit part on my blackberry. Combined with GPS on the BB I was able to see where I was and when to get off the bus since I did not know the area I was in. It worked really well.

[You Need a Thneed]

Can't someone give the city $10 billion to complete the SE and NC lines, the 8th Ave Subway, and the entire BRT plan that the city put out last month?

That would be a sweet transportation system.

[SebC]

Originally Posted by You Need a Thneed

Right now, the city is spending a lot of money on the west LRT. The North Central LRT is likely 3 big projects away (After the SE LRT and 8th Ave Subway).

If that's the alignment, definitely. If it's a C St alignment, it could come before the subway.

[SebC]

Originally Posted by Superflyer

Not sure if this has been mentioned but the integration of Google maps and Calgary transit is great. I had to take a new bus route today and I used Google maps with the transit part on my blackberry. Combined with GPS on the BB I was able to see where I was and when to get off the bus since I did not know the area I was in. It worked really well.

The biggest issue with it is when service changes and Google doesn't get the data. (Seasonal changes... it doesn't get service disruptions at all.) At least you know when this happens though, because it doesn't use old data, it just doesn't work.

[Madman]

Originally Posted by frinkprof

Below is the official routing of the North Central LRT as of right now:

Wait, aren't they supposed to have stops every 8 blocks?

[frinkprof]

Originally Posted by Madman

Wait, aren't they supposed to have stops every 8 blocks?

There's no hard rule on that, but closer to downtown, a stop every half mile (8 Calgary blocks generally) is about right, the further out you go, one every mile or even every 2 miles works.


I will guess that your question was mostly prompted by the gap between 8th Ave. and 32nd Ave. on the proposed line. A stop at 16th Ave. might seem intuitive right? Well not including one highlights the large flaws of this alignment. If there were a stop at 16th Ave. on the Nose Creek alignment, it would be a nightmare to access, especially for pedestrians as it would be a hike up an embankment both ways, while dodging around the 16th Ave./Deerfoot interchange with its various on and offramps and the thoroughfares themselves.

[Addick]

Originally Posted by Cowboy89

I also think it misses a huge opportunity to redevelop inner-city communities in the Center Street Corridor. If the city is serious about building up not out then it would make little sense to build an express line that bypasses commuters from 16 Ave to Beddington.

I believe the fact that the point you raised is only a secondary issue from a town planning perspective is a massive indicator of how important the operational benefits from a Centre Street alignment are. In contemporary urban and regional planning, you hear a lot of discussion about the importance of the land-use/transportation planning nexus but with the North Central LRT it plays second fiddle. All the savings gained from having a, non-stacked, 8th Avenue subway would be lost if the Nose Creek Valley alignment is chosen; absolutely unacceptable.