Calgary Public Transit - Discussion

[Madman]

GonDOlas. GONdolas. GondoLAS.

You to will need to figure out how to properly pronounce it when you board the new Calgary Transit Gondola system - or as I like to call it, the "The G-Train".

http://www.calgaryherald.com/travel/...122/story.html

[calgaryrocks]

where would they put a Gondola? Like up one of the hills surrounding downtown?

[Huntingwhale]

You can now sign up for transit email alerts if there is any important information regarding your route.

http://www.calgarytransit.com/alerts/

[goodyear]

Originally Posted by calgaryrocks

where would they put a Gondola? Like up one of the hills surrounding downtown?

The hills of Bankview?

Perhaps something like this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portland_Aerial_Tram

Speaking of Portland, Oregon, if Calgary can do something like their downtown streetcar? Maybe something that goes around the Beltline and or the developed East Village.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portland_streetcar

[mykalberta]

Originally Posted by Madman

GonDOlas. GONdolas. GondoLAS.

You to will need to figure out how to properly pronounce it when you board the new Calgary Transit Gondola system - or as I like to call it, the "The G-Train".

http://www.calgaryherald.com/travel/...122/story.html

$5-10 mil/km and carry 10 passengers - hahahahaha.

[You Need a Thneed]

Originally Posted by mykalberta

$5-10 mil/km and carry 10 passengers - hahahahaha.

I'm assuming that means 10 people per car, or 10,000 people, or something. Obviously a typo.

[BurningYears]

Originally Posted by You Need a Thneed

I'm assuming that means 10 people per car, or 10,000 people, or something. Obviously a typo.

Im sure it is possible they meant 10 people per car. but just didnt mention the amount of cars for the gondola. say theres a 100 cars on the line 50 in each direction at anytime that 10 now becomes a max of 500 in each direction for 10 min (educated guess) length of a ride.

Just think like the gondolas at Sunshine Village/Lake Louise/Revelstoke. and double or triple them in size?

[mykalberta]

Even if it is 10 a car and 600/hour, that price is still crazy. No part in Calgary needs transit that much.

[Ozy_Flame]

Gondola service to the ACH and FH, with proxy service to the University, would be an interesting proposition. Of course, such a route would have to go through the downtown core, which would make for one hell of a long gondola ride.

I'm sure there's benefits to gondola service that I just don't fully see yet, but routes would have to be so strategically placed that it would be a contentious public issue for years to come.

Perhaps a short gondola service to city-owned parkades on the outliers of downtown would reduce traffic into the core. Perhaps an extension of the park-and-ride systems, I don't know.

[Addick]

Originally Posted by Ozy_Flame

Gondola service to the ACH and FH, with proxy service to the University, would be an interesting proposition. Of course, such a route would have to go through the downtown core, which would make for one hell of a long gondola ride.

The way that I read it was the gondola would be a collector/distributor for an LRT station along the NW line. Essentially, a local spur of the NWLRT using a different form of public transport. While a gondola would be an interesting choice, I'd be more comfortable with a tram line. When it comes to intra-neighbourhood transit, I believe trams have proven themselves as the rapid transit mode of choice; they excel at complementing inter-neighbourhood lines.

[mykalberta]

Originally Posted by Addick

The way that I read it was the gondola would be a collector/distributor for an LRT station along the NW line. Essentially, a local spur of the NWLRT using a different form of public transport. While a gondola would be an interesting choice, I'd be more comfortable with a tram line. When it comes to intra-neighbourhood transit, I believe trams have proven themselves as the rapid transit mode of choice; they excel at complementing inter-neighbourhood lines.

A spur to where though in the NW - Hidden Valley? Not near enough people who would use it. The only place I could see it being used is over the Resevoir but again, population density there is far too low to justify the cost.

Maybe MacKenzie town as an alternative to SE line?

Both seem crazy. There are only 2 cities in the US who use them, and both have very specific geographic reasons why they are used.

[SebC]

Hey frinkprof, do you know what they're building at 7th Ave and 9th St SW? Looks like a tunnel entrance or the start of an elevated LRT segment or something.

[Addick]

Originally Posted by mykalberta

A spur to where though in the NW - Hidden Valley? Not near enough people who would use it. The only place I could see it being used is over the Resevoir but again, population density there is far too low to justify the cost.

Maybe MacKenzie town as an alternative to SE line?

Both seem crazy. There are only 2 cities in the US who use them, and both have very specific geographic reasons why they are used.

A spur to Foothills, the Children's Hospital, and the West Campus; major employment and activity nodes in the city. To clarify, I'm not talking about an end of the line spur but rather a spur from a station like Lions Park or University.

[frinkprof]

Telvent to supply Calgary smart card-based system


Telvent, a real-time IT solutions and information provider for a sustainable world, announced it has been selected by the city of Calgary to implement a contactless smart card based electronic fare collection (EFC) system for Calgary Transit.


When the project is completed, Calgary Transit will provide to over 94 million passengers per year a more convenient method to pay for fares. The new contactless EFC system will allow Calgary Transit to obtain information from the field fare collection equipment, customize fare policy, and offer more flexible methods of payment.


[...]

Link to rest of article

[SebC]

^^ But will they call it the Prairie Oyster Card?

[ken0042]

Originally Posted by 4X4

This leads me to another thought: whose idea was it to make those ugly, over the tracks stations to begin with? I can think of a dozen reasons why they're ridiculous, starting with cost, moving on to lack of handicap access, and ending with sheer ugliness.

And just a few posts later we have in this very thread:

Originally Posted by Madman

GonDOlas. GONdolas. GondoLAS.

You to will need to figure out how to properly pronounce it when you board the new Calgary Transit Gondola system - or as I like to call it, the "The G-Train".

http://www.calgaryherald.com/travel/...122/story.html

There's your answer. Somebody's brilliant idea in the late 70's is today's overpriced and hard to upgrade eyesore. I'm sure the artist reditions back then showed it as a meeting place and a marketplace. However for practicallity, they could have elevated all of the 36th street line for the same price if they built nice simple stations.

[frinkprof]

Apparently there was an incident along 7th Avenue yesterday evening. Must not have caused much delay.

C-Train hits car running red light, police say

By Deborah Tetley, Calgary Herald May 4, 2011

CALGARY - Police say it appears a 70-year-old female driver ran a red light downtown before the vehicle she was driving was hit by a C-Train.
The driver and a 58-year-old female passenger became trapped after being struck at the intersection of 7th Avenue S.E. and Macleod Trail just before 7 p.m. on Tuesday.

[...]

Link to rest of article

[You Need a Thneed]

Whitehorn Station Renovation progress photos from this morning:

[frinkprof]

Realtime arrival information coming for the LRT in July.

Real Time CTrain Displays and Automated Station Announcements

As part of Calgary Transit’s efforts to improve the transit system, new “real-time” information signs will be installed at CTrain Stations. These signs will let you know when the next train is coming, in real time, not scheduled time!

A new and improved automated audible “next train” announcement system will also be installed across the transit system.

[...]

Currently, automated announcements are made only on 7 Avenue station platforms. The new “next train” real-time signs and improved automated audible announcements will be unveiled across the transit system in July.

Link

[frinkprof]

Here is the proposed bus routing system for the area served by West LRT when it opens in 2012.



There is more info and a listing of what is happening with each route in the area in this PDF: http://www.calgarytransit.com/pdf/We..._June_2011.pdf

Basically the system will change from an "express to downtown" to a "feeder to LRT" system, with some other changes and a couple of BRT routes to MRU thrown in.

There are some public consultation open houses upcoming in June that will allow for input on the changes. Dates are as follows:

For residents west of Sarcee Trail:

Wednesday, June 1 from 5:00-8:30 p.m.
Strathcona Community Association
277 Strathcona Drive SW Upstairs Loft

For residents east of Sarcee Trail:

Thursday, June 9 from 5:00-8:30 p.m.
Glenbrook Community Association
3524 – 45 Street SW Main Hall

For Beltline residents:

Thursday, June 16 from 5:00-8:30 p.m.
South Calgary Community Association
3130 – 16 Street SW Main Hall

For Lakeview residents:

Thursday, June 23 from 5:00-8:30 p.m.
Lakeview Community Association
6110 – 34 Street SW Main Hall