Calgary's $8 BILLION Transit Plan - The RouteAhead

[frinkprof]

Originally Posted by Tron_fdc

Not at all, I used to live there. [Okotoks]

Sorry to hear that.

Okotoks, Cochrane, Airdrie, etc. will all be served in the future by commuter rail (think GO Train in Toronto or West Coast Express in Vancouver) as per the Calgary Regional Partnership's plans.

[frinkprof]

Wish I had more time to contribute to this thread but I'm currently in the midst of an 85 hour workweek. For now, some quick thoughts:

- Yes to streetcars (both radial and circular routes)

- Yes also to enhanced inner city circulation service (streetcars or buses) where the bus isn't full when it gets to you and also provides another circle that is closer in than the current 72/73 but also skirts around the downtown hub. It would connect to the first or second station outside of downtown on every current and future radial rapid transit line and the (very) inner city communities in between. For example it could hit Sunnyside and/or SAIT station, Bridgeland and Victoria Park or Erlton. There should probably also be a much more beefed up downtown - Beltline circulator that the Route 31 tries to be but fails miserably to be due to some particular quirks in its routing that make it very unusable as well as its 1 hour headway.

- Love the idea of evaluation criteria to make priorities and want to know more about it. No more route expansion (Tuscany, Saddletowne) traded off with capacity expansion (4 car trains, signal upgrades, etc.) when the latter is actually needed more than the former. Vice versa as well for that matter, although that hasn't happened yet.

More later.

[OffsideSpecialist]

Originally Posted by frinkprof

Ottawa:

Haha, that's in Gatineau too. We only have a few routes over there, so just imagine in Ottawa where all the buses go :/

[MrMastodonFarm]

I wasn't being serious. Referring to a bad idea in another thread.

[charper]

Originally Posted by You Need a Thneed

Hope you run again!

I'll be deciding soon!

[SeeBass]

Originally Posted by Nehkara

This is a map of Calgary from 1969 laid on top of a map of Calgary from 2010, the pink outline being 1969 and the orange being 2010. 41 years.

Spoiler button for size.

Spoiler!

1969 paper map of Calgary

Spoiler!

I got these from a thread on Beyond.ca

Boy I couldn't imagine how much better the city would be if in 1969 they would have realized how useless Nose Hill Park would be.
Another subdivision called Nosehill would have really tied this city together perfectly.

[Knalus]

Originally Posted by Nehkara

This is a map of Calgary from 1969 laid on top of a map of Calgary from 2010, the pink outline being 1969 and the orange being 2010. 41 years.

Spoiler button for size.

Spoiler!

1969 paper map of Calgary

Spoiler!

I got these from a thread on Beyond.ca

I love these maps, but the 1969 map outline is missing the inserts for Forest Lawn and Bowness. The city extended significantly further out in those directions at that time.

Also, why the orange doesn't cover Chaparral, I don't know.

[Addick]

Just a few thoughts:

• Considering we are at, or approaching, the theoretical capacity limits for 7th Avenue, I imagine if any project was to be moved forward it would be the 8th Avenue subway. We cannot even consider extending the Blue and Red lines before taking the Red line underground.
• Like others have said, we need to move way from being solely a commuter-oriented system and start to focus on creating a public transportation network that allows people to easily, conveniently, and quickly move around the entire city. The best place to start are the areas most conducive to public transport.
• As part of a shift to being a complete network, Calgary Transit needs to think about the qualitative changes they can be making. Changes that improve the customer experience and system usability (e.g. informative bus signs/poles and a bridge between the platforms at City Hall).

[Reaper]

Originally Posted by Addick

Just a few thoughts:
As part of a shift to being a complete network, Calgary Transit needs to think about the qualitative changes they can be making. Changes that improve the customer experience and system usability (e.g. informative bus signs/poles and a bridge between the platforms at City Hall).

Really? A bridge between the platforms? I know the four car platforms are long but it isn't that difficult to walk to either end of the block and cross at a crosswalk.

[Addick]

Originally Posted by Reaper

Really? A bridge between the platforms? I know the four car platforms are long but it isn't that difficult to walk to either end of the block and cross at a crosswalk.

Transfers are the worse part of the transit experience and need to be treated accordingly. The issue at City Hall is that it is probably the system's busiest and most important interchange station but does not accommodate these transfers. For example, quite often a City Centre train arrives moments before a Somerset train. If there was a bridge or the +15 was integrated into the station, one could easily make it across. However, people often get stuck at the intersection as the departing City Centre train has to cross Macleod.

[Reaper]

Originally Posted by Addick

Transfers are the worse part of the transit experience and need to be treated accordingly. The issue at City Hall is that it is probably the system's busiest and most important interchange station but does not accommodate these transfers. For example, quite often a City Centre train arrives moments before a Somerset train. If there was a bridge or the +15 was integrated into the station, one could easily make it across. However, people often get stuck at the intersection as the departing City Centre train has to cross Macleod.

I pass through the station every day. It just doesn't seem like a big deal to me. Waiting ten minutes for the next train to arrive if you miss one because you were on the other side of the street seems miniscule compared to missing a bus that only comes once per hour.

[ken0042]

I also thought the point of putting those platforms across from each other was so a person didn't have to walk a full block to transfer.

Keep in mind the bridge would have to be very narrow as to not take up a lot of space on the two platforms. Then the you would have stairs to climb to get across; which would add some extra distance to cover. Then where do you put those stairs? Depending on where you are getting on or off you still have to walk to the stairs.

So you would spend a few million dollars, take away the space they just made on the platform; all to shave a few seconds walk for a few people. Meanwhile if you made sure you were always on the front or rear car, you would have just about the same walk.

[First Lady]

Originally Posted by charper

I'll be deciding soon!

WT.... You're on CP?

Boy you've lurked long enough before posting.....

[FurnaceFace]

Originally Posted by nik-

The West LRT, the major contruction project, is doing fine on schedule.

It's close. The original plan was to be complete this December. I believe at the beginning of the year we received notice the completion date was pushed to the end of March 2013. Given the size of the project that's not unexpected, and from the May article they are saying any time from January to March it'll open.

[MrMastodonFarm]

Originally Posted by First Lady

WT.... You're on CP?

Boy you've lurked long enough before posting.....

Everyone is on Calgarypuck. If they live in Calgary, just assume.

[First Lady]

Originally Posted by MrMastodonFarm

Everyone is on Calgarypuck. If they live in Calgary, just assume.

Yeah, but the list of those who will hug me in public is very short.

[You Need a Thneed]

Originally Posted by FurnaceFace

It's close. The original plan was to be complete this December. I believe at the beginning of the year we received notice the completion date was pushed to the end of March 2013. Given the size of the project that's not unexpected, and from the May article they are saying any time from January to March it'll open.

The WLRT will almost certainly be open on Dec 10, the original opening date.

[getbak]

Originally Posted by First Lady

Yeah, but the list of those who will hug me in public is very short.

That's what you think.

[charper]

Originally Posted by First Lady

WT.... You're on CP?

Boy you've lurked long enough before posting.....

Haha because I don't tweet enough I figured I should maybe start participating in forums.

[Addick]

Originally Posted by Reaper

I pass through the station every day. It just doesn't seem like a big deal to me. Waiting ten minutes for the next train to arrive if you miss one because you were on the other side of the street seems miniscule compared to missing a bus that only comes once per hour.

For someone trying to use transit as their primary mode of transportation 10 minutes here and there is a very big deal. While I don't have grand dreams of transit over taking the private automobile in the modal split, I do think it can reduce the gap. In order to do this, which benefits the city and even those that drive cars, you have to enable transit to compete with the private automobile where possible.

Transferring between trains is like moving from one expressway to another. The current setup at City Hall would be akin to the interchange at Deerfoot and Stoney if someone had to get out of their car on Deerfoot then walk over to another car to Stoney. As that sort of interchange wouldn't be acceptable for drivers, the current setup at City Hall is not optimized for transit users.

Having an expansive system (i.e. quantity) is great, but the service and experience (i.e quality) needs to be great as well.

Originally Posted by ken0042

I also thought the point of putting those platforms across from each other was so a person didn't have to walk a full block to transfer.

Keep in mind the bridge would have to be very narrow as to not take up a lot of space on the two platforms. Then the you would have stairs to climb to get across; which would add some extra distance to cover. Then where do you put those stairs? Depending on where you are getting on or off you still have to walk to the stairs.

So you would spend a few million dollars, take away the space they just made on the platform; all to shave a few seconds walk for a few people. Meanwhile if you made sure you were always on the front or rear car, you would have just about the same walk.

It is not seconds, it is minutes.

Calgary Transit missed an excellent opportunity at City Hall as the +15 could have been integrated into the platform. If this was not possible and a new bridge was required, the electrical equipment and shelters could have been placed underneath the staircases.