Elbow Dr REALLY needs some work - Calgarypuck Forums - The Unofficial Calgary Flames Fan Community

GoinAllTheWay · 07-03-2009, 02:57 PM

I take this road daily from Glenmore to 5th St. This road is becoming a GONG show. It's got to be one of the most banged up roads in the city. Recently they just repainted the road lines and the bumps are so bad that it looks like they were being painted on during an earthquake, they are anything but straight. It almost looks like a heart monitor print out.

I really wish they would do something about it, heavily used road that shakes people cars to pieces driving over it. I'm sure it taking its toll on my suspension.

ARg!!

4X4 · 07-03-2009, 03:07 PM

I was lolling about that the other day. Going up that hill at Riverdale Ave the paint looks like a drunk driver was operating the painting truck. That hill is terrible, especially if you've got a good clip going. The back end of my truck skips around like I'm on a washboard gravel road.

The problem is that shutting down that road to pave it would be disasterous, but I'd get over it. Just pick a weekend, shut it down at 7pm on friday night and reopen it by rush hour monday.

worth · 07-03-2009, 03:15 PM

complain to 311

GoinAllTheWay · 07-03-2009, 03:16 PM

I totally agree, it is a major road and shutting er down would force many people through other routes but man, something has to be done soon otherwise it's going to be like driving down a country secondary highway. I would happily deal with the headaches of having that road repaired. I've lived through the Glenmore upgrade, I can live through this.

Resolute 14 · 07-03-2009, 03:28 PM

They could shut elbow down overnight/over long weekend easily to repave it. It would lead to disruption, but of a short term kind.

Your best bet is to organize everyone you know who uses the road into a campaign of writing the city/the local MLAs. Hopefully it convinces the city to move repaving the road a few notches up the priority list.

BlackArcher101 · 07-03-2009, 03:30 PM

I was wondering why a Elbow Doctor would need some work done... usually it's the other way around.

getbak · 07-03-2009, 03:47 PM

The problem with Elbow Drive is that it's a major north-south artery to Downtown that the people who live near it wish wasn't a major north-south artery to Downtown.

Look at some of the houses that are along or just off of Elbow between 58th Avenue and downtown. There are mansions in those neighbourhoods. If they wanted Elbow Drive to be paved with gold, it would be.

Those homeowners have money and influence with the city and they've spent decades doing everything in their power to make driving Elbow Drive into downtown as unattractive as possible. I'm sure they'd ask to have speed bumps installed on Elbow Dr. if they could (they've already had the speed limit reduced to 40 for a stretch).

Allowing the road to deteriorate is a pretty easy Plan B.

longsuffering · 07-03-2009, 07:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GoinAllTheWay

I totally agree, it is a major road and shutting er down would force many people through other routes but man, something has to be done soon otherwise it's going to be like driving down a country secondary highway. I would happily deal with the headaches of having that road repaired. I've lived through the Glenmore upgrade, I can live through this.

Since when do major roads have 40 and 30 km per hour speed limits? It's not intended to be a major road - for the reasons getbak outlined.

bcb · 07-03-2009, 07:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by getbak

The problem with Elbow Drive is that it's a major north-south artery to Downtown that the people who live near it wish wasn't a major north-south artery to Downtown.

Look at some of the houses that are along or just off of Elbow between 58th Avenue and downtown. There are mansions in those neighbourhoods. If they wanted Elbow Drive to be paved with gold, it would be.

Those homeowners have money and influence with the city and they've spent decades doing everything in their power to make driving Elbow Drive into downtown as unattractive as possible. I'm sure they'd ask to have speed bumps installed on Elbow Dr. if they could (they've already had the speed limit reduced to 40 for a stretch).

Allowing the road to deteriorate is a pretty easy Plan B.

Agreed it's the folks in Mount Royal who benefit the most from that ridiculously long playground zone...Them and the city coffers.

V · 07-03-2009, 07:42 PM

Most will be happy to know that an RFP has gone out already for this stretch of road. I would imagine the work will be done next year. I don't know the specifics of the project but it appears to be more than just repaving.

4X4 · 07-06-2009, 01:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by V

Most will be happy to know that an RFP has gone out already for this stretch of road. I would imagine the work will be done next year. I don't know the specifics of the project but it appears to be more than just repaving.

Would you care to elaborate?

BlackArcher101 · 07-06-2009, 01:37 PM

Probably storm sewer or other public works upgrades. Good time to do them when you have the road closed.

Does the city post their RFP's anywhere? I can't even find one little mention about it anywhere.

Bill Bumface · 07-06-2009, 03:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by longsuffering

Since when do major roads have 40 and 30 km per hour speed limits?

When rich people live along them.

If that road was in the NE it would have the speed limit upped to 80 and the crosswalks removed.

Swayze11 · 07-06-2009, 03:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by worth

complain to 311

How does this solve the problem? Elbow drive is in CALGARY

Suave · 07-06-2009, 04:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Swayze11

How does this solve the problem? Elbow drive is in CALGARY

I'm guessing you don't know that 311 is the number to call in CALGARY
for information, complaints and inquires for the CITY OF CALGARY

BlackArcher101 · 07-06-2009, 04:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Swayze11

How does this solve the problem? Elbow drive is in CALGARY

Uh, what? http://www.calgary.ca/portal/server....Operations.htm

GoinAllTheWay · 07-06-2009, 05:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by longsuffering

Since when do major roads have 40 and 30 km per hour speed limits? It's not intended to be a major road - for the reasons getbak outlined.

Since they become so busy that they figure they have to reduce the speed limit to discourage people from taking that route? You could reduce it to 20, it's not going to make any difference. People ignore the speedlimit right now anyways. I take this road twice a day, 5 time/week. It's packed almost all the time during rush hour. If it hasn't worked up to this point, it's not going to.

Even the rich people have to drive along that road and I'm sure they would rather their Jags, Mercedes and BMW'w weren't getting rattled apart either.

Fix the freakin road!

StoneCole · 07-06-2009, 05:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by V

Most will be happy to know that an RFP has gone out already for this stretch of road. I would imagine the work will be done next year. I don't know the specifics of the project but it appears to be more than just repaving.

...rehab of Elbow Drive from Mission to Glenmore Trail is part of a Major Roads Reconstruction Project that also includes Centre Street b/w 20 Ave and McKnight, and Edmonton Trail b/w 16 Ave and 42 Ave. It also includes the section of Macleod right in front of City Hall.

10 year project for all four roadways, however in the RFP it states explicitly that the priority is Elbow Dr. b/w Landsdowne Ave and Mayfair Rd. Construction for all four corridors is supposed to begin next season and be done in segments over the next ten years, so you can probably expect the rehab of at least a portion of Elbow to be done next summer.

As V mentioned there is "more" to the project than just repaving; for example, coordination with utilties to try and fit any maintenance/rehab in the same schedule as the road rehab (i.e. going about it the right way). It could even go as far as changing the cross-section of the road to allow for better transit / ped / bike accessibility (i.e. in-line with Plan It yada yada yada...)

The entire project goes into planning in the next month or so, and as I stated you can probably expect at least a portion of Elbow to be fixed next year.

4X4 · 08-11-2009, 07:57 PM

They're ripping it up and paving it! Yo yeah! All the way from the 100 mile playground zone to at least 58th ave (turned before there, so couldn't see how far they're going).

Locke · 08-11-2009, 08:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 4X4

They're ripping it up and paving it! Yo yeah! All the way from the 100 mile playground zone to at least 58th ave (turned before there, so couldn't see how far they're going).

It looks like they're re-doing the sewer and water main pipes, they're only tearing up one side of the road in front of the Jr High...