Ring Road To Nowhere

[Ducay]

Sounds like that jaunt of Memorial just west of Kensington where it drops from 70 to 50 very briefly. CPS basically live there.

[zzibradleyizz]

Originally Posted by Northendzone

had to laugh the other night as I took stoney southbound from McKnight towards 114 av SE. There is a stretch on both sides, where the speed limit is reduced for some reason, and on the northbound side CPS had their lights on and someone pulled over, meanwhile I could see that there was a police car in the same situation further ahead on the southbound side as well - I reduced my speed to 90 but I get passed by some guy who goes racing by the police car in the southbound lane who has someone pulled over and then a second police car emerges on the southbound lanes with it's lights flashing to pull over the speeding southbound driver who passed me.

They did this speed seduction last year, same week as GlobalFest, so it's probably tied to that in some way as GlobalFest is this week.

[Jimmy Stang]

Originally Posted by zzibradleyizz

They did this speed seduction last year, same week as GlobalFest, so it's probably tied to that in some way as GlobalFest is this week.

I'm quite sure that's what it is for. We were at Globalfest last night and headed North on Stoney, and I noted the speed reduction and a bunch of "no stopping" signs all the way along that stretch.

Stopping on a major, high speed roadway to watch fireworks is beyond words, but I'm guessing that the signs are there because people have done it enough to warrant them.

[CroFlames]

Originally Posted by Jimmy Stang

I'm quite sure that's what it is for. We were at Globalfest last night and headed North on Stoney, and I noted the speed reduction and a bunch of "no stopping" signs all the way along that stretch.

Stopping on a major, high speed roadway to watch fireworks is beyond words, but I'm guessing that the signs are there because people have done it enough to warrant them.

Is that what those are for?!? They have construction ahead signs and it drops down to 80 for a good several kms.

So annoying.

[Jimmy Stang]

Originally Posted by CroFlames

Is that what those are for?!? They have construction ahead signs and it drops down to 80 for a good several kms.

So annoying.

Yeah - pretty sure. I did notice that it was labelled as "construction" with nothing in sight, plus the no stopping signs. Maybe I'm just crotchety, but I say just have a bunch of police patrolling the area give out $500 fines for anyone dumb enough to stop and watch fireworks. Maybe the reduction and additional signage gives the police more power to deal with it. I'd much prefer that over photo radar as a revenue generator.

Is this "zone" active 24/7, or just on Globalfest nights?

[calf]

Originally Posted by zzibradleyizz

They did this speed seduction last year,.

Yep, start off nice and slow, then a bit faster, then faster, faster faster.

[Amethyst]

Originally Posted by Jimmy Stang

Yeah - pretty sure. I did notice that it was labelled as "construction" with nothing in sight, plus the no stopping signs. Maybe I'm just crotchety, but I say just have a bunch of police patrolling the area give out $500 fines for anyone dumb enough to stop and watch fireworks. Maybe the reduction and additional signage gives the police more power to deal with it. I'd much prefer that over photo radar as a revenue generator.

Is this "zone" active 24/7, or just on Globalfest nights?

I've driven that stretch a few times during the day and there are no speed reduction signs. The No Stopping signs are up during the day and they are every year during Globalfest.

[Mazrim]

Originally Posted by Weitz

Construction zone implementation in Alberta needs to be overhauled.

I was a fan of the Highway 2 work going on where they put up the barriers and only dropped the limit to 100. Thats great.

Not taking down the lowered limit signs when no one is working and having far too long of construction zones than what is needed really makes people speed and not care about the zones.

Those barriers aren't cheap, and moving them isn't cheap, so the project needs to make sense for them to be used. A longer term project could definitely benefit from them, but since the ring road is P3, they're going to do everything they can to save money.

To me, the main thing is to reduce the active work zone size instead of going overkill on the length on either side of the work area. This is what causes people to disregard the speed signs. Normally you can't simply put away the construction speed signs when workers aren't there if there is any work in proximity to the road you still need to protect with cones or barrels. If people see literally nothing on the road for construction, they see no reason to continue going slowly. It would be nice to see that part improved.

[powderjunkie]

So it looks like the relatively new bridge for 37street crossing Glenmore Trail will be replaced as part of RR construction? I guess it won't allow for Glenmore to be 8 lanes wide underneath...

When was that built and for how much? It's not perfect, but I thought it was a pretty good solution for the area.

[powderjunkie]

Another question related to the ring road - it seems there are no plans for MUP to connect west side North Glenmore Park/Weaslehead and West Hills/Discovery Ridge? I emailed someone at the province a while back and told that nothing was planned. It's a pretty big gap in the pathway infrastructure that could be easily solved...

[Mazrim]

Originally Posted by powderjunkie

So it looks like the relatively new bridge for 37street crossing Glenmore Trail will be replaced as part of RR construction? I guess it won't allow for Glenmore to be 8 lanes wide underneath...

When was that built and for how much? It's not perfect, but I thought it was a pretty good solution for the area.

The bridge at 37th Street was placed as a temporary measure, using existing girders from a different project. It was purposely placed out of the way so the proper ring road interchange could be built with no closure to the road.

[Jimmy Stang]

Originally Posted by powderjunkie

So it looks like the relatively new bridge for 37street crossing Glenmore Trail will be replaced as part of RR construction? I guess it won't allow for Glenmore to be 8 lanes wide underneath...

When was that built and for how much? It's not perfect, but I thought it was a pretty good solution for the area.

Originally Posted by Mazrim

The bridge at 37th Street was placed as a temporary measure, using existing girders from a different project. It was purposely placed out of the way so the proper ring road interchange could be built with no closure to the road.

That's a great little setup. I didn't realize that it was purposely built out of the way to allow for the permanent interchange, but it certainly makes sense. I love that it was done by "recycling" the girders, and I love that the roundabouts take away the need for lights. Relatively cheap but very effective.

[Northendzone]

was driving up stoney trail northbound yesterday near 17 ave se - traffic was crawling along due to the fact the roadway narrows near 17 ave se - when I am passed by a dude on a Harley driving on the shoulder.....that really annoyed me and honked my hord as the dude went by. I checked my mirror and then notice his companion a little ways behind, as they got close I slid out into the shoulder the block them for a bit and express my displeasure. I eventually slid back in and then watched the rider pass. I saw several other driver send a similar message.

I guess loud pipes save lives and riding on the shoulder saves time. in retrospect, I should have snapped a picture and then sent it to CPS to see if they could issue a ticket.

[Swift]

Originally Posted by CliffFletcher

I understand it's a necessary project. But as someone who lives near the west end of Southland drive, the increased traffic and paving over of much of the green space and the off-leash in the area means the ring road will definitely decrease my quality of life.

What is the general feeling in that part of the city? The plans look awful for those houses right on the edge as it looks like they'll have major traffic right by their houses, particularly in Cedarbrae, but also by 90th and Southland. I drove by there a few months ago and wasn't surprised to see a high number of for sale signs on the roads that face the reserve.

[Lubicon]

Originally Posted by Cameron Swift

What is the general feeling in that part of the city? The plans look awful for those houses right on the edge as it looks like they'll have major traffic right by their houses, particularly in Cedarbrae, but also by 90th and Southland. I drove by there a few months ago and wasn't surprised to see a high number of for sale signs on the roads that face the reserve.

Should really be no different than in any of the other areas in Calgary or Edmonton that back onto the ring roads. I would assume setbacks are roughly equal so the effects would be similar. My in laws back onto the TCH in Regina and while it is slightly annoying if you sit in the back yard you don't notice the traffic at all if you are inside.

[Fuzz]

I hope none of these homeowners are surprised by this. It's been known about for decades.

[CliffFletcher]

Originally Posted by Cameron Swift

What is the general feeling in that part of the city? The plans look awful for those houses right on the edge as it looks like they'll have major traffic right by their houses, particularly in Cedarbrae, but also by 90th and Southland. I drove by there a few months ago and wasn't surprised to see a high number of for sale signs on the roads that face the reserve.

Resigned. A lot of people got to enjoy backing onto green space in a quiet neighbourhood for decades. But these plans have been in the books since the communities were built. Hopefully anyone who bought in the last few years did their due diligence.

The ring road sucks for dog walkers and others who enjoy that stretch of the pathway system. A popular off-leash is basically being turned into a freeway. There won't be much green space once the roads are laid down, so cycling along that extremely popular section of the bike network will no longer be the pleasant experience it is today.

People aren't looking forward to the extension of Southland either. Lots and lots of kids travel independently up and down Oakfield Drive between the schools and playing fields in Oakridge and Cedarbrae. They can do that today without crossing a major road. Once Southland is expanded and extended, that will involve crossing a major intersection, severing much of the foot traffic and kids on bikes in the area. I anticipate a lot more parents driving their kids the 4 or 5 blocks to school. Which sucks.

[4X4]

Originally Posted by CliffFletcher

People aren't looking forward to the extension of Southland either. Lots and lots of kids travel independently up and down Oakfield Drive between the schools and playing fields in Oakridge and Cedarbrae. They can do that today without crossing a major road. Once Southland is expanded and extended, that will involve crossing a major intersection, severing much of the foot traffic and kids on bikes in the area. I anticipate a lot more parents driving their kids the 4 or 5 blocks to school. Which sucks.

You should suggest a pedestrian overpass to your Councillor. If you bring it up early enough, you might get it. Maybe talk to some neighbours and try to drum up support. This is the kind of thing we should be spending money on, unlike other things.

[DownInFlames]

Originally Posted by Northendzone

was driving up stoney trail northbound yesterday near 17 ave se - traffic was crawling along due to the fact the roadway narrows near 17 ave se - when I am passed by a dude on a Harley driving on the shoulder.....that really annoyed me and honked my hord as the dude went by. I checked my mirror and then notice his companion a little ways behind, as they got close I slid out into the shoulder the block them for a bit and express my displeasure. I eventually slid back in and then watched the rider pass. I saw several other driver send a similar message.

I guess loud pipes save lives and riding on the shoulder saves time. in retrospect, I should have snapped a picture and then sent it to CPS to see if they could issue a ticket.

Yes, you should have done the bolded. Please don't try to correct other people's driving while behind the wheel. It never works, and often has the opposite effect. The biker won't get the message. He'll just think you're an ####### and keep doing it, or escalate things to a road rage incident.

[Northendzone]

Due to my son playing hockey at ness this week, I have been driving on Stoney at lot this week and level of lawlessness surprises me

- it seems pepople who use this road feel it is ok to cruise at 140 or so(I usually do 115 - so,perhaps,I should not thro stones)
- when traffic is backed up, folks have no issues sliding over into a merge lane, and moving up 20 cars and then merging back in
- folks will also bail out in areas where the grass has been worn away to form a "dirt access road"

I have lived in the Deep SE for a long time and don't recall seeing that on deerfoot