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Old 12-07-2011, 02:04 PM   #161
burn_this_city
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After watching that video I don't have much sympathy except for the driver.
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Old 12-07-2011, 02:06 PM   #162
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Originally Posted by THE SCUD View Post
Another idiot jay-walking in front of the train yesterday at rush hour dragged for a ride and seriously hurt. Lucky idiot isn't dead but is probably brain injured:

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgar...in-injury.html
Sounds like that idiot had brain damage to begin with. Who is stupid enough to not look before crossing train tracks? Idiots like them are the very same people who cant even walk properly without tripping over their own feet.

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Old 12-07-2011, 02:36 PM   #163
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After watching that video I don't have much sympathy except for the driver.
I just watched that video and no way its accidental, it has to be a suicide cause I have a tough time believing anyone can be that dumb to not know by now....that you just got off the train, ummm you always let it pass before you cross. Umm hello! Im sure it wasnt the ladys first time on the train either, but either way its basic common sense!

I loved how everyone jumped back though, as im sure they were expecting to a tomato juice shower haha.
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Old 12-07-2011, 03:37 PM   #164
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People get hit by the trains for a variety of reasons -- they are idiots, they are distracted, they are impatient, they are mentally incapable of understanding the situation, they are depressed/suicidal.

Bottom line is it seems to happen a lot in Calgary. Regardless of whose fault it is, it isn't a good thing, for the victim or even for the other passengers using the service. Perhaps more safeguards are necessary.

And yes, people do need to be protected from themselves.
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Old 12-07-2011, 03:42 PM   #165
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Does it? I am sure there are stats for this?
I wonder what the comparable numbers would be for other cities if a list was compiled? Something like # of incidents per 100,000 commuters.
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Old 12-07-2011, 04:02 PM   #166
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I just watched that video and no way its accidental, it has to be a suicide cause I have a tough time believing anyone can be that dumb to not know by now....that you just got off the train, ummm you always let it pass before you cross. Umm hello! Im sure it wasnt the ladys first time on the train either, but either way its basic common sense!

I loved how everyone jumped back though, as im sure they were expecting to a tomato juice shower haha.
Yep, haha indeed

Your head must be a magical place.
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Old 12-07-2011, 04:05 PM   #167
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Yep, haha indeed

Your head must be a magical place.
I was trying to find a way to say that exact thing in a manner that didn't result in me ending up with a warning.

Thanks.

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Old 12-07-2011, 04:08 PM   #168
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Wow what a moron. I'm sorry but it's hard to feel sorry for anybody who does something as dumb as this. As someone said, it almost looks like its done on purpose.

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http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgar...y-warning.html

surveillance video of a crossing during an accident. (you don't see the impact). No safety feature would save this dude from himself.
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Old 12-07-2011, 04:13 PM   #169
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Wow what a moron. I'm sorry but it's hard to feel sorry for anybody who does something as dumb as this. As someone said, it almost looks like its done on purpose.
Thats what i said, i bet you it was suicide. How can anyone not notice everyone else waiting at the gate before crossing and the sounds of the train and the lights going off? Im very curious if the lady just bounced off the train when hit or was actually run over.
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Old 12-07-2011, 04:24 PM   #170
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Originally Posted by Cluelessboy View Post
Thats what i said, i bet you it was suicide. How can anyone not notice everyone else waiting at the gate before crossing and the sounds of the train and the lights going off? Im very curious if the lady just bounced off the train when hit or was actually run over.
They seemed to pick up the pace as the train started going too... Agreed it was a suicide.
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Old 12-07-2011, 04:39 PM   #171
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If it was suicide that video would not have been released to the media.
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Old 12-07-2011, 04:40 PM   #172
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I really doubt it was a suicide, and no way would the City or the police release the video if it were a suicide, nor is preventing suicide the point of showing anyone this video.
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Old 12-07-2011, 04:50 PM   #173
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Suicide with the train going about 10km/h at a station; ya right, he must be dumber than even I guessed
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Old 12-07-2011, 06:48 PM   #174
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Why did that woman open the gate for him?
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Old 12-07-2011, 06:53 PM   #175
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Why did that woman open the gate for him?
He was her pimp?
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Old 12-07-2011, 07:46 PM   #176
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CT operator interviewed about his fatality pedestrian collision last summer, collisions in general, what can be done to prevent them, and the operators' perspective on these events.

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Old 12-07-2011, 08:12 PM   #177
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^^The poor guy sure seems affected by it,lousy thing to see.
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Old 12-07-2011, 09:26 PM   #178
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The downtown subway plans are in the works; and the current estimated cost is somewhere near $1.2 billion. So for what the airport tunnel will cost we still aren't even in the ballpark. Nevermind that the preliminary work is still being completed. They are in the process of removing utilities from under 8th ave (where the subway will go)- and that is being done as ongoing work as opposed to adding 10's or 100's of millions to the final bill.
Just adding a bit.

Subway plans aren't really actively "in the works" at this time. There's just a general planned horizontal alignment (one along 8th Avenue, and another along 2nd Street for the SE LRT). There had been a study commissioned, but I get the impression that its scale was greatly reduced from when it was originally budgeted, and then it became more of an independent consultancy firm's report that was only presented internally. To to a more robust study with preliminary engineering, some more decisions have to be made first that I don't think the City has been prepared to make to this point. This would include capacity requirements, station length and design (are there going to be mezzanines, an underground pedestrian network, etc.), staging (which goes first, southeast line with 2nd street Subway or 8th Avenue subway), any future subway alignments (possibly 7th Ave or other options?), etc.

Not sure where the $1.2 B figure came from. The costing really hasn't been done and will vary wildly depending on some of the above factors and tunneling methods.

Regarding subways and what should have been done from the start, etc. Remember that Edmonton built their subway downtown and the network built to date pales in comparison to Calgary due to the costs incurred.

That part of the story is well-known and often mentioned, but there's another thing to consider. The LRT service was unproven way back in the 70s and Calgary and Edmonton (along with San Diego) were really pioneers and still are in its application in North America. As it has played out, the LRT has had to prove itself as an infrastructure option before subways could be justified in both Calgary and Edmonton (other cities too, Dallas is currently retrofitting a subway in their downtown for their LRT network for example).

The counter-argument to the "Edmonton has less of a system because of the subway" point is that they will have an easier time with expanding their system than Calgary will (and indeed Calgary is starting to hit some capacity limits as everyone is aware). Thing is though, the Edmonton subway among Edmontonians - decision-makers and not - is seen as a mistake that shouldn't be repeated. In fact, Edmonton is currently in the process of designing at-grade line downtown for the future west and southeast legs of their system, even though the current tunnel could squeeze them in (Link). Calgary on the other hand has justified building a tunnel through the tremendous success achieved by building a far-reaching system and it will actually get built. Higher costs, of course, but what is better? Doing the right thing later or abandoning the right thing later because of poor timing?

-----------

As for safety and the charges by some that Calgary is among the worst for such instances, it really isn't the case. These things happen all over the country and the continent, it's just that they don't make national or international news. Several cities come immediately to mind. Strictly limiting it to LRT systems, Boston, Minneapolis and Houston have had more significant problems with pedestrian/private vehicle vs. train incidents.

Also, regarding calls for removal of level crossings:

1. The costs are enormous for them as a group, and even for several individual ones.

2. Deaths and injuries will still occur without them.

and most of all

3. The costs associated with these events, in isolation of other factors, will not be the cause for changes to the infrastructure. It's perhaps cold to say, but the costs and delays just aren't that significant in the grand scheme of things. Large-scale (level crossing retrofit) improvements will be driven almost entirely by capacity needs.

That said, some of these things are on the radar, again prompted mostly by capacity needs. The Heritage Drive crossing will be eliminated when an interchange is constructed there, and there's longer-term talk about burying the portion between Cemetery Hill and the CP Tunnel (Stampede and Erlton Stations stretch).

Last edited by frinkprof; 12-07-2011 at 09:30 PM.
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Old 12-07-2011, 09:40 PM   #179
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Ottawa is putting in an LRT, and they're doing a tunnel through downtown and then above ground outside of the core. The tunnel portion would be about the same length as through downtown Calgary. I think for the actual tunnel part is just about $500 million, so $1.2 billion doesn't seem that far off, when you add in the other costs for stations and such. Of course they still in the RFP phase.
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Old 12-07-2011, 11:09 PM   #180
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Portland, OR has what I think is an amazing at-grade light rail system. I don't know where it ranks on lists, but to me, it was great to use when i visited.
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